Date: 2014-06-03
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Blue Mountain B&B, Pennsylvania
Miles today: 220.4
Weather: overcast clouds

So I originally planned to update my Trail Journal upon my planned arrival at Delaware Water Gap tomorrow, but instead I'm doing so from a B&B roughly 50 miles short at mile 1,240. Why, you ask? Well, I've been maintaining a fast pace to reach DWG and contain a bad case of Pennsylvania Blues (they're real, people!) and I've been doing so in really crumby weather (six consecutive days of rain). Things were going well until Tuesdsy, when I began developing what has almost certainly become Trench Foot. Nearly 100 miles in four days wearing wet socks and shoes will do that! So I've decided to zero here today to avoid worsening the damage and forestall infection. I may zero again tomorrow, but the thought of doing so is anathema.After leaving Harpers Ferry I kept up a fast pace through Maryland, save for a wonderful morning of rock climbing at Annapolis Rocks with my friends Erica and Sabrina. They traveled far afield and took paid time off to meet me on the trail, climb with me, and feed me REAL food, and I couldn't be more grateful. Combined with a great evening in Harpers Ferry with my buddy Brett and his girlfriend Caroline and an absolutely lovely visit with my cousins and their families near Duncannon, these visits rank among the highlights of my trail experience! The terrain in Maryland was forgiving and the weather decent, and I made good time in an effort to reach Pennsylvania and my seventh state on the AT.Pennsylvania has been a mixed bag. I hiked my first two 30-mile days here, and I positively loved hiking the Cumberland Valley! Boiling Springs was a lovely place to spend an hour, and the espresso and breakfast at Caffe 101 were to die for! That said, Pennsylvania's notorious rocks began short of Duncannon and have been getting progressively worse since. The terrain gets so incredibly rocky in places that it's simply impossible to maintain momentum, and one's feet take a pounding. To make matters worse, the rocks become impossibly slick in wet weather (which has prevailed for the entirety of the trail after Duncannon), making every step precarious and increasing the risk of an ankle or knee injury or at the very least a pinched or jabbed foot. I'll be so bold as to say the weather and the terrain has made this 100-ish mile stretch of trail the most miserable of the past 1,240 miles! I've heard it gets worse until DWG, so I'm steeling myself for what's to come. As you might imagine, I'm VERY excited to reach New Jersey, New York, and points north.The trail itself is becoming a bit less crowded the further north I go. A lot of people have ended their thru-hike attempts, and I'm seeing more and more section and day hikers. Those thru-hikers who remain tend to be familiar faces and we're developing something of a closer bond, if only by virtue of the fact we've all stuck it out this far and, especially during times like the present, we're suffering together. I look forward to more of that to come. The bond, not the suffering!So I'll take a look at my feet tonight and decide whether to lay over another day. I've hiked without stopping through foot pain, Achilles pain, shin splints, a jammed knee, and a badly tweaked IT Band, and I've prayed for the judgment to know when to pause to recuperate. I suspect stopping for a day or two to forestall a hike-ending infection would be a good call. We'll see whether I'm smart enough to make that decision!Thanks to all for following along despite my infrequent posts. It great to have you along for the journey! I'm much better about updating my Instagram feed, so feel free to head over there (via the URL below) for more content from the trail!