Appalachian Trail - 17 miles 9/3-4/11

This weekend, my wife had plans to visit a friend in Hershey, PA.  Now wanting to leave me home alone, she suggested I come, too.  "Great!" I thought.  Here's a chance to spend a day or two hiking the AT.

I have wanted to hike the AT in its entirety for a good while.  However, to do so requires a 6-month committment and I can't take off work for that long, let alone bear the thought of being without my precious wife for that amount of time.  Maybe down the road, but for now I am sticking to shorter backpacking trrips that are more congruous with full-time employment.

That being said, my hike this weekend was accompanied by Cash.  He proved (once again) to be a good match for the varied terrain we encountered, as well as a fantastic hiking companion.  We began our trek on the Appalachian Trail where it crosses Rte. 94, south of Carlisle, PA.  Heading north, we set out into the dense forest.  The path was winding and rocky, as is much of the AT in Pennsylvania.  This happens to be an especially rocky section.  After a mile or two, we climbed a large hill and hiked along the ridge, populated with house-size boulders, left-over relics of the ice age's retreat over 10,000 years ago.  The trail goes around the giant rocks where possible, but in many instances, the path lies through or overtop.  On one occasion, I had to take off Cash's dog-pack so that he could squeeze through a particularly narrow opening.

Upon making our descent from the ridge and crossing a road, we met up with a friendly family, out for a day-hike.  After a brief consultation between our dogs, we hiked the trail together for a while.  The husband seemed eager and excited to discuss all things hiking-related.  We became fast friends as we shared stories of the trails.  It was quite pleasant to have some company for that stretch.  After a mile or so, we parted ways as Cash and I continued down the path.

The next section took us through some of the State Game Lands, and produced for us a steep ascent to a 1000-ft. peak.  While taking a rest, Cash was startled by a solo female hiker who was likely no more than 20 years old.  We had seen quite a few hikes thus far, but none so threatening (to him) as this unassuming young lady.  After prodigious apology, I decided it was time to get going again. 

The next mile was a gradual descent to the fields of Cumberland Valley. We zig-zagged through farmland, passing in and out of small, wooded areas.  The rest of the hike was pretty much flat from this point forward.  Thank goodness.  After passing through the town of Boiling Springs, we hiked down a long, straight stretch of trail.  By this time, our muscles were aching and our daylight was runing short.  I remained on the lookout for a good spot to stop for the night.  While setting up our gear, Cash startled a teenage female trail-runner.   2 for 2.  Another apology.  Another poor girl frightened.  Sorry.

There is one small problem with this: Camping is not permitted along the 18-mile stretch that we currently found ourselves on.   I apologize for breaking the rules, but we were out of options at that point.  We had no fire, did not litter and left by 6:00 A.M.  Didn't even eat dinner.  I had brought for us a freeze dried pad thai that I was excited about cooking, but the muggy weather had sapped our water reserves.  (A dog needs LOTS of water on long, arduous hikes!).  Therefore, we shared an energy bar and tried to sleep.
Cash made a good watch dog during the night.  I had no doubt that he would alert me to any potential threat, as long as it was a teenage girl.

Sleep was not an easy thing to achieve, let alone maintain.  At first light, we packed up and headed onward toward our rendezvous point.  Fortunately, a water source was found after an hour of hiking.   I got to use my water filter, but when puitting it away, the inlet nozzle broke off.  Hopefully, I can get if fixed or repaired.  

It took us three hours to reach Rt. 11 (Carlisle Pike).  Jackie met us there after a few minutes and we headed back to Pittsburgh.

Overall, this was a great stretch of trail.  I am glad that I headed north, doing the difficult climbing first.   Had I researched my camping prospects more thoroughly, I would have planned differently.  Regardless, I feel that my overnight presence disturbed very little.   Boots are a must for the rocky trail.  Also, there are several fresh water sources, but bring a filter.  Take it easy and go with it.  The AT is for everyone.  Definitely me.

Hike on.