Date: 2022-09-07
From: Powerline at SOBO 1036

To: Duncannon
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We were walking this morning at 6:10, twenty minutes before color came into the forest. We left with breakfast in our hands, hopeful we could cover the 9 miles to Duncannon before 10:00. We all wanted the rest and comforts a hostel affords. The rain found us just before 8:00. This was not a casual rain, not a hobby rain, we could tell in the first minutes that this rain was here to stay for awhile. We donned ponchos & unsheathed umbrellas and pressed on. Duncannon is a small town on the southern banks of the wide Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence with the Juniata. US Route 22 follows the left bank of the Juniata for 30 or more miles before being squeezed out by the encroaching Susquehanna at Duncannon. There, the highway makes its crossing of the Susquehanna on the Ferry Bridge, a wide, four-lane, divided highway bridge with strong interstate vibes. We could hear the traffic and trains from several miles away despite the rain and terrain. The trail dumps out on the railroad tracks and starts a 2 mile road walk to downtown Duncannon. The rain was driving as we stepped onto the Ferry Bridge and did not let up for our long walk down High Street. We arrived at the front door of Kind of Outdoorsy at about 10:30. I dropped my pack and wiped feet before stepping inside to scout it out. Betsy, the owner, invited us all in right away and showed us to our bunk room. Thirty minutes later we had all showered and donned loaner clothes. Jasper and I headed to the laundromat 3 doors down. We agreed to meet the other three at The Pub in 20 minutes. Jasper and I separated the socks from the rest of the laundry. Socks stink and make the laundry stink so I took to washing them all separately several weeks ago. Socks also get two passes through the wash. After the first, they each get turned inside-out and washed a second time. The dirt that appears as they are turned inside-out - fresh out of the first cycle - is impressive.Burgers all around at The Pub. ¢World Famous¢ was the description and I¢ll vouch for it. They were great. Back to the hostel for package opening. We had 8 packages at the hostel waiting for us. Several were new gear: a second Triplex, new bear line, 2 new sleeping pads for Joni and Jasper (1 each), new shoes for all 3 boys (thanks Aunt Liz!). Jasper¢s CC class sent a care package full of candy and other goodies. The Harper¢s sent an assortment of Japanese candy/snacks that generated lots of interest. It was a little slice of Christmas in September. We all put a mind on mailing a box home and started organizing gear, drying stuff out as we got to gear that needed it. Betsy let us know that we were the only ones in the hostel for the evening so we hung a tent up in the lounge. YouTube played on the TV, video got edited, devices charged, Kindles got read, snacks got snacked. When dinner time came around Baxter wasn¢t hungry. We locked him in the hostel and gave him Joni¢s phone. Jasper, Grayson, Joni, and I returned to The Pub for round 2. As we walked in, Dodo Bird was sitting by herself, having just ordered. We invited her over and enjoyed getting to know her story. The boys headed back to the hostel after dinner while the 3 adults headed to the ice cream stand. Cones, cups, and milkshakes were enjoyed.Back at the hostel, we did our best to mostly pack up. We don¢t intend to leave before 10am tomorrow but we¢d like to have most of the bunk room clean when we wake up in the morning. There are no windows in this room, the doors are barred, the AC is blasting. Goodnight.