Pennsylvania 6-5000

There are 229 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. I'll be hiking in Pennsylvania for a while now. The southern part of the trail passes through Cumberland Valley.  

5/22 South Mountain, PA to Big Flat - 15.9 miles

Another rainy night and continued rain when we got up in the morning. It's supposed to rain all day, but calling for less rain than yesterday, so I'm planning on hiking and getting a little wet in the process.

Angelika drops me off at the trailhead, but has no interest in joining me for a rainy hiking day. It's just drizzling now and very cool, so it's comfortable to hike in my rain shell. The trail takes me right through Caledonia State Park where we're camped. By the time I get there, the light rain has gotten distinctly heavier. I stop under a picnic shelter to get out of the rain for a while and decide if I should call it a day and just go back to the van. Just then, the rain stops and so I decide to forge ahead.

Of course, about 30 minutes later the heavy rain starts up again. I stop at Quarry Gap Shelter to get out of the rain again and have my lunch. The weather radar shows the rain letting up in an hour, so I decide to hang out here to wait it out. While I'm waiting, through hiker Mayhem comes through. I met him weeks ago at a shelter in the Virginia Highlands. I also meet section hiker Scott from Minnesota who is stopping for lunch as well.

It's still raining, but I can't wait any longer so I head back out again. It does let up for a while, but starts up again further down the trail. It's just a cold wet slog today. 

When I pass the shelter at Birch Run there's an interesting sign on the picnic table there. I never heard of Bat Bugs. They are apparently similar to bed bugs. I kept my distance.

It's just over a mile from the infested shelter to where I'm meeting Angelika. She's waiting for me in the parking area. I take off my soaked boots and socks to drive back to the campground. Since it's still raining off and on we decide to go out for pizza and pasta for dinner rather than cook in the van. 

5/23 Big Flat to Hunters Run - 17.2 miles

We woke up to another chilly morning. The weather forecast says there is a slight chance of showers, so that's a welcome change. We head out ready for rain in any case.

Angelika hikes in with me today. We're expecting to hit the AT halfway point today in about two miles from the trailhead. Sure enough, it's right where it's supposed to be, although a little underwhelming.

This is the official halfway point for 2025 at mile 1098.7. Because the trail changes occasionally, the total mileage can change and the location of the official halfway point might move from year to year. What I didn't know is that there is also a "ceremonial" halfway point further up the trail with is more impressive.

This one's permanent and doesn't reflect the current mileage, but makes for a better picture. There's also a log book here for you to sign and see who else has been through here before you.

In between, we passed the 1100 mile mark which someone commemorated on the side of the trail.

There were lots of trail mileage events to note on this section.

After snapping pictures at the ceremonial halfway point, Angelika headed back to the van and I moved along to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. This is a nice park with a big picnic area, camping, and a fishing lake. It used to be the site of an iron mine, smelting furnace, and pits for making charcoal to heat the furnace. Just as I got here, that slight chance of rain turned into some actual light rain. There was a camp store nearby, so I pulled in to sit under the porch roof out of the rain with a few other hikers. One of the through hikers I've met before proudly tells me he did the "half gallon ice cream challenge". I quietly decided I didn't want to learn the details and let it pass.

The rain lets up and I'm back on the trail. From the state park the trail ascends Piney Mountain. The trail slopes up gently and switches between smooth and rocky footing frequently. Along the way the trail is surrounded by Mountain Laurel which is just starting to come into bloom. It's an impressive display.

The descent off Piney Mountain down to where Angelika is meeting me at the trailhead near Mount Holly Springs is uneventful. 

We head to our new campground which is packed liked sardines because it's the beginning of Memorial Day weekend. We decide to head into Carlisle to celebrate passing the halfway point with a beer and dinner at the local brewery. Back at the campground it's noisy and crowded...we're not going to be enjoying spending time here.

5/24 Hunters Run to Carlisle, PA - 14.7 miles

The rain should be holding off now although it's still overcast, chilly, and breezy starting out. Angelika joins me for the first 2.5 miles going up Trents Hill. After she turns around there are still several more climbs to deal with before the day is done.

For the last couple days I've been periodically serenaded by cicadas. They're pretty loud when they get going. Angelika managed to spot one on the side of the trail and got a picture of it.

At one high point we enter the "Rock Maze". In this section I'm walking between, around, and over these big pieces of exposed ledge. It makes for interesting, but slow going for a while. 

Later I reach Center Point Knob which is another one time midpoint of the Appalachian Trail. There's a bronze plaque with an image of a backpacker on it mounted on a rock at the top.

After descending from Center Point Knob, the trail goes through farm fields. It makes for a nice change of pace having been walking through forests for so many miles.

Then we enter the town of Boiling Springs, named for the natural artesian springs here. The trail passes through a nice park in the town center, so I decide to stop here for lunch. There's an old iron forge on display near where I'm having my lunch.

After lunch I run into section hiker Scott who I met at the shelter I stopped for lunch at a couple of days ago. He's looking to stay in town tonight, so I offer to give him a ride to his hotel in Carlisle when we get to the van. He's happy to not have to walk an extra four miles today.

Angelika meets us at the parking lot on Trindle Road, we drop Scott off, then do a few errands on our way back to the campground. We make a nice stir fry dinner and get ready for bed. We need to get an early start tomorrow for a long hiking day.

5/25 Carlisle, PA to Hawk Rock - 20.6 miles

It's going to be a long hike today, so we get up early and make our way to the trailhead at Trindle Road. It's cloudy today, but no rain in the forecast and temperatures in the 60's. It should be a good day for hiking. Angelika joins me for the first part of the hike this morning. 

The first eight miles are mostly flat passing through farm land and along Conodoguinet Creek. This seemed like it would be quite easy looking at the elevation chart, but I haven't really walked this far on mostly level trail since starting this trip. This type of walking must be using different muscle groups because my legs are getting pretty muscle sore by the time I stop for lunch. Once I start climbing Blue Mountain, I'm feeling stronger and making good progress. Near the summit there's a view to the west.

After coming down off Blue Mountain, the next order of business is climbing Cove Mountain. This is actually a long ridge that continues for five miles. After cresting the ridge there's a nice view to the east from a pipeline clearing.

Continuing on the ridge the footing is very rough and rocky, so it's slow going. On the other end of the ridge is Hawk Rock. This is an outcroping that hangs out over the slope of the ridge with great views of Duncannon and the Susquehanna River below. It's Sunday, so there are bunch of day hikers here enjoying the view as well.

It's a short but rocky, steep descent from here to get to the trailhead parking where Angelika is waiting for me. We're living it up and staying in a hotel tonight. On the way we stop for dinner at a nice Mediterranean restaurant. It's been a long day, my feet are sore and my legs are stiff. I can't wait to get started again in the morning. 

5/26 Hawk Rock to Clarks Valley - 18.6 miles

We enjoyed a hot breakfast at the hotel and watched the weather channel in the breakfast room. It should be sunny with temperatures in the 70s today. Another perfect hiking day.

Angelika drops me off at the Hawk Rock trailhead. She's going to hike in and join me at the end of the trail today. I start out by following the trail through the town of Duncannon then over the Clarks Ferry Bridge to cross the Susquehanna River. This is a pretty wide river when you look at it from the bridge.

At the end of the bridge I run into In Tandem. He's supporting his wife's through hike the same way Angelika is supporting me. They have a conversion van as well and he's waiting for her at the parking lot at the end of the bridge where she'll finish today. Apparently he's already met Angelika and knows all about me although we've never met. They're just a day behind us so we'll probably see them more over the next week.

Next is climbing up Peters Mountain. This is another mountain which is really more like a ridge since the trail takes over 12 miles to start going down again. Of course there are some nice views along the way.

 

There's a point along the way where I cross over busy route PA 225 on a pedestrian footbridge. There's a trailhead parking lot on the other side, but when I get there it's full of fire engines and firemen. There's a burned out car right at the end of the lot which seems to be the center of attention. It's a Ford hybrid and it apparently just spontaneously combusted. Luckily nobody was hurt, but there's very little left of the car and the car next to it was also badly scorched. We have to wait at the end of the bridge until the firemen tell us it's safe to pass.

I stop for lunch at a viewpoint called Table Rock. It's a large rock outcrop with clear views to the east. The view looks out on a wooded ridge across the valley. I didn't find the view too remarkable, so no picture. I'm getting spoiled. Since it's Memorial Day I'm sharing the view with a few day hikers who headed out here from that trailhead parking lot I just passed through.

Angelika meets me about 4.5 miles from the end of today's section. We hike out together including a somewhat steep and rocky downhill at the end. Angelika is doing pretty good now hiking almost ten miles today on uneven terrain.

We're back at a KOA for the night now. By the time we have dinner and a shower it's getting late and I have sixteen more miles to do tomorrow. We're keeping an eye on Wednesday's weather. We have more rain in the forecast. 

5/27 Clarks Valley to Swatara State Park - 16.0 miles

It's a little bit cooler today and a bit overcast. There's no rain in the forecast for today, but tonight and tomorrow looks like we'll be expecting steady rain most of the day.

Angelika joins me for the beginning park of the hike from the trailhead at Clarks Creek. We immediately start climbing Stoney Mountain. The trail is steady up, but pretty smooth. This is an old stagecoach road that serviced a mining village that used to be up the trail further. Angelika turns around at around 2.5 miles and I continue on to the summit. Hiking further I'm crossing the top of Sharp Mountain and reach the site of the abandoned village of Yellow Springs.  

All that remains now are some hand dug stone wells and foundations. There are some nice campsites here and a log book in the mailbox to record your visit.

The trail from here to Rausch Gap is pretty flat and uneventful. I'm making good time and stop for lunch near the Rausch Gap Shelter. There's a creek here and lots of nice campsites.

Shortly after the shelter I cross an old railroad bed which is now the Stoney Valley Rail Trail. Hiker Alumni Iceman is here with Trail Magic on offer including cold soda and snacks. I stop for a break and share a snack with through hikers Alpha Gal and Metro. I met these guys yesterday on the trail but we haven't really introduced ourselves until now. Alpha Gal's wife is also driving support for him and it seems we're going at a roughly similar pace. They went back to Damascus for Trail Days and have returned to the trail three days behind where they were so this is the first time we've met. They're recording their whole experience on YouTube. I'm suitably impressed, but can't really relate.

From here it's down, over a beaver dam, and then back up over Second Mountain. Near the summit is looks like there were wildfires here in the recent past. You can see down into the valley now with all the trees bare and the undergrowth so low.

Coming down Second Mountain the trail leaves the forest into a wild meadow. This makes for a nice change of pace for a half mile or so.

It's only a mile from here to the trailhead parking where I'm meeting Angelika. I beat her there, but meet Alpha Gal's support waiting for him in the parking lot. We chat for a while and she gets out to meet Angelika when she arrives a few minutes later. Alpha Gal and Metro show up just about the same time, so we do introductions all around.

The campground is a short drive from here so we head back, sit outside and relax for a few minutes before making dinner. We treat ourselves to an ice cream at the camp store for dessert before heading for the shower and getting ready for bed.

The weather is looking grim so I'm planning a zero day tomorrow. I need a break and I'm not enthusiastic about walking in the rain all day. 

5/28 Zero Day

As predicted, we got up to rainy weather in the morning and it's expected to be steady rain all day. We spend the day on our typical rain day chores catching up on bills and other exciting activities.

Years ago I read Bill Bryson's book A Walk In The Woods and didn't really care for it. I remembered my main complaint being that he didn't actually walk the whole trail, but that was all I could recall. Now that I've walked over half the trail myself I thought I'd give it another try. Well, I dislike it even more now.

Not only does he not hike the whole trail, he actually gives up on reaching Gatlinburg which is about halfway through the Smokies. When he and his partner look at a map and see how much they still have to go they decide to give up and start just sampling sections of the trail. A lot of hikers drop out in the Smokies, so it's not really surprising, but most don't get paid to write a book about it.

Bryson is actually kind of a jerk. He has almost nothing good to say about anyone he meets, or the environment he's in. His relationship with the outdoors is very adversarial. Everything is out to get him. He spends a lot of time dwelling on mishaps and misadventures he and others experience. 

My experience is very different. The first thing you learn is how many people hiking the trail feel part of a community. This goes for current hikers and alumni that keep coming back to be part of that community. It's not my thing, but it's a big part of what's happening on the trail. Byson misses this aspect entirely.

Also my relationship to the outdoors and being alone in the woods is very different. I feel very much a part of the environment when I'm hiking. I enjoy observing the subtle differences in the woods from day to day. How the terrain looks and feels, what the landscape looks like from high up on a ridge, the wildlife and flora. There's a lot going on and I'm part of it as well. 

I'm not really enjoying the book very much, but unlike Bryson I try to finish what I start so I'm going to stick with it. I'm pretty certain I won't try to read it a third time though.