I slept in but still hit the trail by 7:10 on a cool sunny day. I wore jacket, gloves and wool cap for the first hour or so. The trail became crowded as I approached the town of Duncannon. A group of about ten middle aged to older South Asian men had hiked up for a lookout and were chatting cheerfully and vigorously. I rook a wrong turn and when I came back two minutes later they had vanished.
Duncannon was a disappointment. Whereas Boiling Springs had nicely done up houses and healthy businesses, Duncannon had highways at both ends and the houses were worn out, trash, old furniture and gear on front porches, and the retail places looked desperate. I had planned to eat at a diner there but the sign on the door, “Cash only, ATM inside” as well as the sad look of the interior turned me away. I continued to the other end of town and made a ten minute detour to a Sheetz down a busy highway for a breakfast burrito and a spot to charge my smaller battery bank. I spent half an hour there planning the next couple of days.
The trail crossed a railroad where a sign warned that freight trains could sometimes stay stopped and block hikers from getting to the hill, but that going under the train was not safe. The climb was pretty steep but the trail was nice even gravel.
Much of the rest of the day involved hiking along a single ridge with occasional partial views of neighboring valleys and other ridges.
Around noon I met Pooch, a 56 year old man from Texas who has been hiking since February with his daughter Echo. We chatted a bit but he said he was slow so I went on ahead. A half hour later I met Echo. We talked about hiking in the cold since that had got me off trail, and since her early start meant she and Pooch got the brunt of the cold and snow. They were hiking knee deep in snow at one point.
I stopped for lunch and Echo passed me. Around 3 I caught up with her at a large fancy shelter, but nonevof us planned to stay tgere as it wasn’t enough miles for the day. There was a spring 6 miles further north with some tentsites, and we were all keen on that even though we would get in pretty late. I was out of water and had to walk down 200 rock steps from the shelter to a spring. I brought back four liters because for one I wasn’t yet committed to the 6 mile walk, and also I figured that if I didn’t need all of it I could share it. Turns out she was also out of water (so was Pooch when he arrived a bit later) so they were happy to take a liter each.
Late in the day I met a ridge runner, an ATC employee who is paid to hike a section (in her case 75 miles) on a 5 day on 2 day off schedule from May to sometime in the fall. She said she loved the work even though she hiked the same section week after week.
I got to the tentsites about 12 hours after leaving Cove Mountain Shelter. One tent was already up, occupied by Big Sire from Oakley CA. I helped him hang his food by tying my bear rope in a loop, then tying his rope to mine and pulling it over.
It’s now 8:55 and Echo is already here eating dinner in her hammock. Pooch just walked into camp moments ago. Time to do dishes and head to bed.
Mile 1146.7 to mile 1168.2 = 21.5 miles
Coming down towards Duncannon
I liked the geometric look of these three bridges together
A rattlesnake who rattled at me on the ridge. I gave it a wide berth.
The remaining photos are just views
