Date: 2006-06-08
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: PA 850 (1124.2 miles)
Miles today: 16.6

Cell n/a.I met Sue today at a road crossing (PA 850) and we headed into Harrisburg. We chose this crossing to coordinate arriving around the same time. Sue arrived first and was sitting there waiting for me. A funny thing happened with my arrival. I came out of the woods at an unmarked road - that is to say that I didn't know what the name of it was. When I looked at my handbook, I got the impression I was over a mile away from my destination. I called Sue and told her I would be there in about a half hour. I then continued to hike, and discovered she was just over the next hill (and I arrived 2 minutes after we talked)!If any trail bosses read this journal, please find a way to identify road names at road crossings. It could be as simple as painting it on the sign post. We hikers cross many crossings and honestly don't know if we've crossed Miller Gap Road, or PA 850, or whatever. Sometimes we have information that there is a town, or possibly services we could use at road crossing X. We need to know we've reached road crossing X. Putting out that information would be very appreciated.The hiking was again very kind to me today. Incidentally, I separated with Cayotebec, Gumby, and Tinkerbell at noon to move forward to meet Sue. I had a wonderful experience hiking with them. They hike at about the same speed I do and their daily goals are about the same as mine. We've had excellent conversations along the way and they are great people.The only challenging stretch was towards the end of my hike. Most of the day was hiking Cumberland Gap, a flat lowland with only slight hills. There were times I hiked through farm fields today. In fact one time the cows ran away from me and then turned to stare me down. The stare was almost as bad as at the Germanhaus in Boiling Springs,Pa, but this time I could write it off as dumb barnyard anamals.One sign that we're in the north is that people are starting to see woodchucks. Many southerners have never seen them before, and couldn't identify them. It was kind of neat being the one who knew what they were and explaining things about them.Tomorrow I have a few chores to do, like buying a new fanny pack. The seams on the one I'm using are all coming apart. This seems to be happening all of a sudden too. I washed it at Janet's house, and maybe I weakened it. Then again, it has bounced on my hip full of stuff for over 1100 miles, and it needs to be retired. I hope I can find one that will work and feel comfortable. I also need to find some shoe inserts - the boots [LL Bean Crestas] are still holding up okay, but the inserts have lost all of the cushioning in them. I would love to be able to wear these boots the entire hike, but I doubt that is possible. I'll go as far as I can with them before they wear out. My plan is to order a new pair of the same ones and have them shipped to my next resupply town. I'm able to do it this way because these boots were comfortable right out of the box, and I hope the next pair will be too. I've been told thru-hikers feet expand, and sometimes require a larger size shoe at the end of their hike. By planning my shoes this way, I would be able to order a larger size if it is needed.I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm on my third backpack. The Gregory Z was not the pack for me. I carry a heavier load than what that pack was designed for. Then the external pack was not my favorite external pack. My favorite external pack has many seams pulling apart, and it had to be retired to my basement a long time ago. Sometimes when I'm home and planning a hike I look at it and mourn its demise.This new pack is a Granite Gear Stratus Latitude; it's the biggest Granite Gear pack I've seen out here. This pack is made to carry a heavier load than many other high tech internal frame packs. I'm still trying to cut my pack weight down. If I do, this pack will tighten up around the smaller load nicely. The pack has been comfortable so far - the hip belt is beefier than the Z pack, and a lot more comfortable. One thing I think Granite Gear should try is inflatable padding in the hip belt. I'm thinking something like Nike used in there shoes a few years back. The inflatable belt would help to replace the natural "Love handles" padding as it disappears. I'm developing a technique to efficiently pack this new pack each morning and I'm liking it more each day.Goodnight.Old GoatSue's Note: I still wasn't feeling completely well today, but I have been having a difficult month and really needed/wanted time with Old Goat. A whole bunch of things happened during this past month that would have been okay if each one hit me by itself, but one happened, then another, and then another without having time to get past one before the next one hit. I ended up in a downward spiral emotionally and wasn't able to get myself out of it. In normal circumstances (when Old Goat is home), I can talk about them and/or vent with Old Goat and then let them go. (He's such a good friend.) Old Goat and I talked about my health and decided to take the chance. I haven't been able to eat much at any one time, so we ate at a fast food place for dinner so I could eat just a little and Old Goat could eat as much as he wanted. I realized the bug was history when I was able to eat more than just a plain hamburger. I have a scratchy throat though, so we'll do what we can to not pass that on to Old Goat.