Thursday, June 16, 2011

Duncannon, PA - mile 1,138 June 15

We finally got a break in the weather and got into the low 80's, rather than mid-90's. It's so much better to hike in cooler weather. Plus, PA had some easier terrain. We had about 15 miles of flat terrain as we crossed the Cumberland Valley, through fields and farmland. It made a nice change from being in the woods. But the infamous Pennsylvania rocks are coming up.

 Crossing a road in PA. Y-Knot bought mister bottles that we use to spray water on ourselves. It keeps us cool, for about 5 minutes anyway.
 Trail magic! A hiking club put out food for thru-hikers: burgers, watermelon, cantelope, blueberries, cherries, blueberry pie. So good. It was great to get fresh fruit on the trail.
 The official sign for the halfway point, mile 1,090.5. Actually, the trail mileage changes every year and this year the total is 2,181 miles.
So many miles hiked, so many more to go.
 The half gallon challange at Pine Grove Furnance camp store. Mike and I split a half gallon. H3, the hiker on the left, had no problem finishing off a half gallon, and ate dinner afterwards. Some other hikers took the challange and then felt sick.
 The AT drops down out of the mountains to the Cumberland Valley. We had some flat miles in this section.
 We passed through farmland and fields of wheat and corn. This terrain makes a really nice change from being in the woods all day.
Heading in to Boiling Springs, PA, through a cornfield.
 This house in Boiling Springs was part of the underground railway.
 Crossing through farmland in the Cumberland Valley, PA
 We had an easy 15 miles as the AT went across the valley floor.
We found blackberries along the path.
 Cumberland Valley farmland

 The grass fields looked nice, but were a pain to hike through. Also, we had to keep checking ourselves for ticks - they love tall grass.
Camped by Cove Mtn shelter with Bald Eagle and Vegan
 Overlooking Duncannon and the Susquehannah River, PA
Mike's mom and Tony meet us at the Doyle hotel in Duncannon

1 comment:

Barbara said...

It was great meeting up with both of you at the "world famous for hikers", Doyle Hotel. We were impressed how good you looked - keep up the fine job.