Date: 2008-06-23
From: Darlington Shelter, PA

To: Juniata River, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: scattered clouds

I was laying in my tent last night when a hiker I hadn't met yet hollered out "Stumpknocker". I answered and he said that the '04 hiker that left that first cooler of trail magic that I came up to yesterday was Papparazzi....I had hiked with him!! He came back to check on the cooler and saw my name and the smiley face sticker and knew it had to be the Stumpknocker he had hiked with, so he drove around to the Scott Farm and saw I had already been there and left. I woke up at 6am after sleeping very well last night. The rain and thunder storms of last night didn't amount to much more than just some noise and lighter rain. I had some fruit for breakfast and started packing up. It was a very mild morning out...in the upper 60's and I could see the sun starting to shine through a few of the trees. I was packed up and walked over to the shelter at 7:10am. Mary Poppins was the only one there I knew and I met Half Ounce, who also told me that Papparazzi was looking for me. I talked for a few minutes, then left and started walking north on the Appalachian Trail. I walked down off Blue Mountain and started walking through some fields of tall wheat hay. There were spots where it was up to my chest. I must have walked over a mile through the tall hay fields before entering the forest again and feeling the coolness of the morning shade. It was just warm enough and humid enough to make me glad I wasn't walking out in the open today. I passed by Little Engine That Could at a stream where she was getting water. We talked for a minute, then I started the climb up Cove Mountain...my last climb before I walk into Duncannon later today. It was only about a 700 foot climb and it started getting pretty rocky on the Trail. I just walked slowly and enjoyed the morning. I haven't mentioned it, but almost everyday...at least at some point during the day, ever since just before I got to Harpers Ferry, WV, I've been hearing cicadas on the Trail. I think they were loudest today. I had about a 5 mile ridge walk before heading down off Cove Mountain. I got to the side trail to Cove Mountain Shelter and the sign said .1 miles. I had lots of time, since my plan was to just go into Duncannon, so I walked the .1 miles downhill to the shelter...only it turned out to be closer to .25 miles downhill. I was sorry I walked that far downhill just to stop and eat a snack, but I was there so I sat there and ate some tuna salad and Fritos, diced peaches and nuts. I signed the register and used a smiley face sticker. :-) The shelter showed lots of signs of recent porcupine damage. The little buggers chew all the wood on the edge of the shelter...I guess to get at the salt off the sweat of the hikers that sit on the edge. I walked the .25 miles uphill to get back to the Trail and headed north. I caught up to Mary Poppins when I got to Hawk Rocks, which overlook Duncannon. We walked together heading down off the mountain. She said her hiking partner, Professor Longjohns didn't sleep well last night, so he left early and she was meeting him at the Doyle later. I walked down the street and was getting ready to take a picture of the Doyle Hotel when Retread stood up on the second floor balcony and waved. I walked up stairs and talked to him for a minute. There was a hiker that was just being picked up by his wife for a few days off Trail. His name was Vachon, but he was busy, so I didn't get a chance to meet him. I walked downstairs and was getting ready to go inside the Doyle when Vicki came out and gave me a big hug!!! :-) She owns the Doyle and said she heared that I was coming in. Boy, that really made me feel good!! :-) She said Papparazzi was there looking for me. It got real busy, really fast!! It was great seeing Papparazzi again, Professor Longjohns and Circumstance were in there playing some billiards, Vicki was talking to me, Sunkist came in and Half Ounce came in. It's amazing how a person can go from walking quietly through the woods one minute, then being surrounded by friends in a bar the next minute. :-) It was fun though. :-) I sat at the bar and ordered a Yeungling draft and a cheeseburger with fries. Papparazzi just ordered fries. (guess he can't eat like a hiker when he's not actually hiking anymore) Ha! I remembered the night in '04 when Papparazzi and I walked out of a town and ended up camping near each other. He had just bought a Hennessey Hammock and had never set it up before, so he fumbled around with it and finally was satisfied he had it right. We sat down to eat and he pulled out a bag of Liptons Noodle and started to cook. I pulled out a half pound hamburger I had packed out along with a Coke and started to eat. He looked at what I was eating and what he was cooking and said; "Stumpknocker, you just taught me a REALLY good lesson!!" :-) A very strong storm rolled in and I headed into my tent for the night. I'm not sure if he ever finished eating his noodles or not, but he headed into his hammock. I slept like a baby!! I always sleep like a baby when it's raining and I'm toasty and dry inside my tent. I woke up the next morning after it had rained REALLY hard most of the night. I stretched and was thinking how great I felt when I looked over to where Papparazzi had set up. He was soaking wet, cold, miserable looking and VERY tired looking. I asked what had happened and he said water poured into his hammock all night long. He ended up sitting up in the hammock with his feet on the ground and held stuff in his lap he didn't want to get wet....all night!!! He had set his hammock up wrong and paid the price. He said he sat there all night during the storm, looking down at the dark ground and each time the lightning lit things up, he would see the same quarter laying in the puddle of water his feet were in. He said he watched that quarter most of the night. :-) Boy, I LOVE MY TENT!!! :-) It was great seeing him again! It was getting close to 2pm and I had made other plans for the next few days. I hadn't said anything about it yet because I wasn't sure it was going to happen. I talked to Mrs Gorp yesterday and she had mentioned she was going down to help Rambunny for a couple days working on her new hostel. I said; "I want to go too!" :-) Rambunny just closed on a place in VA that she is turning into a hiker hostel...a dream of hers for years now. Mrs Gorp was taking some supplies down to her and going to help do what ever she could for a couple days....and I wanted to help Rambunny out too. She has been a close friend for some time now. Well, like things always happen on the AT, it worked out perfectly!! Duncannon was only about 15 miles off I-81 and Mrs Gorp said she could easily swing by and pick me up....sooooooo, I'll be off Trail for 2 or 3 days helping Rambunny with her new hiker hostel. :-) I'll keep my journal going for those couple of days and try and talk about the new hostel and where it's at...and upload some pictures too. It probably won't help out this year's hikers, but it should be a great place for hikers for many years to come...and in a place that one was much needed too. I am having a GREAT year walking this Appalachian Trail!! :-)