The Next Step

I have to admit, it has been quite a while since I’ve visited my own website. Honestly, what brought me back was trying to figure out something on another site I have been tasked with editing. I was comparing some of the editor features between my site and the other one and trying to get my bearings again since I’ve been so long away from WordPress editing. While visiting my site, the first thing I noticed was several inappropriate comments (no, I don’t endorse off-label Viagra.) As I was dispensing with these spam comments, I noticed several comments that I hadn’t seen before. One asked specifically about Angel and Bullfrog and there were several others offering encouraging words to Hawkeye and me after we ended our hike earlier than planned.

First, let me update you on our trail family. Though we parted ways just a day or so into New Jersey, they continued onward to Kent, CT before they made the decision to leave the trail. Not long after, Angel and Bullfrog were engaged and had planned to be married at an old church in the Cataloochee section of Great Smokey Mountains State Park. They chose this church because Angel’s grandmother had lived nearby and Angel had visited it as a child. As luck would have it, Gavin and I had hiked past this very church in December 2018, while doing a training hike for the AT. They had asked my dear friend Paul Sink to officiate. I thought that was really cool since they didn’t know him from Adam’s housecat other than having met him on the trail the two times he came out to provide trail magic for us and other hikers.

The wedding was planned for May of 2020, and of course, you how that story ended: their reservation for the church in the Smokies was canceled due to COVID. There was a happy ending, however. Paul offered up his scenic backyard pond as a venue for their wedding. Because of distance (FL and KY) and COVID protocols, none of their families were able to attend, but we streamed the wedding live on Facebook for them. On May 25, 2020, with my family and Paul’s famiy as witnesses, Angel became Mrs. Bullfrog and there was much rejoicing.

Angel and Bullfrog moved back to Kentucky to be near his family and we have kept in close touch since. He went back to driving a truck, and at least once a week while he was out on the road, he’d call me to check in. We’ve gotten together a few times in the intervening years, usually when they were heading to Florida to visit her family. I have to say that I was surprised at the news he shared with me in a call 6-8 months ago. He told me that they were going to get back on the trail. Not in Kent, where they left off, but back at Springer Mountain, GA. Angel and Bullfrog want to be thru-hikers, not just 2,000-milers, and that means starting over. This news brings us to today.

This afternoon, Hawkeye and I, with Beth and Griffin, arrived back home safe and sound from our VRBO in north Georgia. This weekend we were able to be together as a family and trail family (tramily,) along with Angel’s mom, to see Angel and Bullfrog off on the next chapter in their lives. After spending Friday night in a rented cabin, Angel’s mom headed back to Florida by way of Mountain Crossings at Neel Gap to drop off the first resupply box, and the rest of us loaded up for the drive up Springer Mountain. By 11:00, after hugs all around and perhaps a few tears, Angel and Bullfrog took their first steps on a nearly 2,200 mile journey toward Mt. Katahdin in Maine. I look forward to hearing from them often as they journey north. I also hope that we’re able to go out and be with them as they come through North Carolina, Tennessee, and southern Virginia to provide encouragement and “real food.” We implore you to send up prayers for a safe and swift journey for them.

Many of the comments I mentioned above had words of encouragement for Hawkeye and me after the disappointment of an aborted thru-hike. We sincerely appreciate those well-wishes, and I’m sad that I didn’t see them before today. Looking back now, a few years later, I can say that we are proud of what we have done. There aren’t many people who can say they put life on hold for six months to walk 1,325 miles. As the comments indicated, we should be proud of our accomplishment, and we absolutely are. But we aren’t settled or content.

You see, when I was just fourteen years old, while completing the application for my Eagle Scout award, I was asked to write an essay on my life’s purpose and goals. I can still remember Rev. Mullis reading part of that essay at my presentation ceremony and saying, in an unbelieving tone, “and he says he wants to hike the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia.” And I do. Not part of it – all of it. Hawkeye does too. And he, like me, like Angel and Bullfrog, wants to be a thru-hiker. This means that we don’t rent a car and drive back up to New Jersey for an 850-mile “finish.” It means that someday Hawkeye and I will be back in Georgia, standing on the summit of Springer Mountain-like we were this weekend as we waved goodbye to our friends-with a really long walk in front of us.

I am coming to you on August 8, 2019 from the bed of a hotel in Newton, NJ. We arrived here the day before yesterday, in the early evening. We zeroed yesterday to let our tired feet recover. Last night it became evident that Gavin and I have expended all the energy we can muster for this trip. We talked with Beth, Angel, and Bullfrog, and most importantly, God, about the decision to end our journey here.

This has been a difficult choice to make, and one we’ve been wrestling with for quite some time. When Beth and Griffin came to meet us a few weeks ago, I expressed to her that I have become weary, and that the day-in, day-out walking was beginning to wear on me. I proposed to her that we hike to the PA/NJ state line and make that an even break point. She encouraged both of us to keep up the journey, because so much time and effort has gone into making it possible. Each day I thank God for both the opportunity and ability to make such a trip. Since that day we have been plowing on, but it has become a difficult toil.

That isn’t to say that this hasn’t been a remarkable journey. I wouldn’t take anything for the experiences we’ve had or for the people we’ve met on this trip. We have hiked with Angel and Bullfrog almost continuously since April 9, four months, and they have become lifelong friends to us. I know that at some point our paths will cross again. There are so many other people we’ve met, like Travis and Pringles, that I know we will be in touch with in the future. I think, however, that the decision to return home, while a heartbreaking one to make, is the right one for us right now.

This morning before finally deciding to end our trek, I revisited a document I created months ago called Appalachian Trail – Why. The genesis of that document comes from the book Appalachian Trials: A Psychological and Emotional Guide to Successfully Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail. The author, Zach Davis, encourages would-be hikers to make three lists: I am thru-hiking the AT because, When I successfully thru-hike the AT I will, and If I give up on the AT I will… I’d like to share some of the content of my lists with you now.

Among my reasons why are that hiking the AT has been a lifelong dream of mine. Even on my Eagle Scout application, completed when I was nearly 14, I listed hiking the whole AT as a life goal. Though I have fallen short in this attempt, completing just over 1,300 miles, I can, and intend to come back and finish the remaining miles in the next year or two. Another of the reasons why is the desire to experience God’s creation through nature. I can absolutely say that this goal has been realized. Just yesterday afternoon I was flipping back through some pictures from the trail and I came across a few I took when leaving Pine Grove Furnace State Park. It was mid-morning and the sun what’s streaking through the trees and fog lifting from the creek beside the trail. I think those photos are among my favorite from the entire trip. I also think back to the summit of Rocky Top, TN, where I was nearly brought to tears by the panoramic views from the top. I remember saying, “God was really on his game when he made this.” These and many other sights of the wonderment of God’s creation will live with me forever.

My third reason for undertaking this trip was to see Gavin become self-sufficient and to develop self-confidence. If you’ve been keeping up with my blog posts, you know already that as our hike unfolded, I went from allowing Gavin to be 10-15 minutes behind me to allowing him to hike out ahead and get a mile or two farther up the trail than the rest of us. I am proud of his ability to hike, and the comfort that he has being by himself in the outdoors. I also know that he can handle himself in difficult situations, such as the time when he found himself off the trail and had to backtrack, or the time when he fell and was almost a mile behind the rest of us. He did what he had to do to continue, and I’m proud of him that he has that confidence in himself. His transformation into a completely self-sufficient, self-confident person hasn’t completed itself yet, but I know that it is well on its way. Though he still struggles with “I can’t” moments, he has, on a multitude of occasions, found the strength to say, “I will,” and hopefully this strength will continue to develop as he does.

Fourth on the list was to just see if I was up to the challenge of a 2,200 mile hike through the woods. Though I have not completed the trip, I know that physically, I can do it. It seems odd to write that I feel like I could mentally do it too, considering that we’re throwing in the towel, but I still believe I have what it takes. Honestly, I started the trip fifty pounds overweight and completely out of shape, so the fact that I made it out of Georgia is somewhat of an accomplishment in and of itself. We have experienced physical growth beyond what I ever expected. When we started, it would take us nearly all day to go 8-10 miles. At this stage of the trip, we could easily do this distance before lunch. I remember one of the first days in which we hiked over 14 miles, up and over Rocky Top and Clingman’s Dome. It seemed like it took us forever, and it was nearly dark by the time we reached the campsite for the evening. Now, we are physically able to do 14-mile days by mid-afternoon.

The psychological challenge of completing the thru-hike, though, seems to have defeated us. One of the things I’ve been going over in my head about for the past few weeks is that we had planned to be finished with the trip in mid-August. That would put us out for six months, which is a long time to be away from your family, pets, and other loved ones. It is quite easy to dwell on the simple pleasures you miss from being at home, such as mowing the grass for me, or fishing and playing the drums for Gavin. I also miss the luxury of being able to go eat or shop in places that are beyond walking distance from where I’m sleeping. I have missed my bed. In the months that we’ve been on-trail, these things have been on my mind perhaps more than they should have been. In trying to plan the completion of this trip, it has been difficult to mentally push these thoughts aside for what would likely be another couple of months of hiking and being away from home. It is most certainly the psychological aspect of this trip that I have found most difficult to conquer.

In a similar vein, my fifth statement of why was to establish some new life habits related to exercise. As I mentioned above, I have lost 50 pounds on this hike, and it will be a struggle to keep it off when I return home. In the past, I’ve never been one for walking, running, or working out, but I do believe that I am at a point where hiking regularly will be among my habits. I have thoroughly enjoyed being in the woods, and there are plenty of places near home where I can take day-hikes, or even short backpacking trips. Now I have to make myself do it. Certainly, I have seen the benefit of exercise and have enjoyed the feeling of being “in shape.” Now I have to take the Next Step and continue the process when I get home. Through this hike, I believe I have a new understanding of the importance of physical activity which should make it easier for me to continue.

My final goal for this trip was for Gavin to know and experience God. There have been so many “God moments” on this trip that I am now confident that he gets it. As I have written before, the four of us, Angel, Bullfrog, Gavin, and I, start our day with a prayer. Usually it is Gavin who leads us each day. His appeals to God are meaningful and appropriate, and I have enjoyed seeing him grow in his faith. It remains a special moment for me to see him reach the top of a mountain where there is a view and hear him say, “Wow!” I am now fully confident that Gavin knows that God is responsible for all the things we’ve seen and that he is appreciative of God’s creation.

In looking over the “If I give up” list, the point that strikes me most is that I would disappoint all the people who have been “pulling for me.” As I ruminate over this statement, I know that there are scores of folks in that list, and I appreciate all of you who have read our blog, looked at our Facebook posts, have watched our videos, or who have just thought about or prayed for us. In flipping back through my photos trying to find the one of my AAA card so I could get a hotel discount, I came across the pictures taken at Casa Mexico just a few days before we left. We have had the support of our church family, our school family, and our family family, and we appreciate it more than you will ever realize. I am disappointed to be leaving the trail for now, but I am hopeful that we can come back a month or two at the time in the future and finish this magnificent journey. When we do, we’ll still covet your support and prayers.

I am trying very hard right now not to dwell on the idea of disappointing others. Though we didn’t make it to Maine, we have hiked 1,323.8 miles through eight states, and I have to view that as a serious accomplishment. Not many people get that sort of opportunity. Instead of dwelling on the negative aspects of not finishing the journey, I will choose to focus on the fourth item in the “give up” list, which is to focus on the positive aspects of the trip.

There are so many positive memories that I will take from this trip. Some I have already mentioned, such as the “God made this” moment on the peak of Rocky Top. We have been so blessed in so many ways. Even though we started in late February and I expected to be driven from the mountains several times by snow and ice, we only encountered ¾ of an inch of sleet on the entire trip. We have almost been equally fortunate with regard to rain and storms. We’ve hiked in inclimate weather so infrequently that I can only remember two occasions where we had miserable rain. The people from all around the world that we’ve met have been phenomenal, including the three groups of individuals who worked together to get Gavin’s phone charger back to him when he lost it. Everyone we’ve met on trail is on the same team and they’ve been supportive of each other beyond measure. We have met the right people at the right times, such as Wednesday and Pringles, who have been “mother” figures to Gavin when he really needed it. Meeting and hiking with Travis early on, and later Angel and Bullfrog has to have been a God thing. He put us with the right people at just the right times for us to have been able to make it this far.

One thing that we have continually asked for is to inspire and be inspired by others. When I made my lists, this thought didn’t come to me, but it has been our mantra for continuing along the trail. We have drawn inspiration from so many folks we’ve met along the way, and we appreciate them all. I also hope we have been an inspiration. I remember the day we met Angel and Bullfrog and she was ready to call it quits. As she was throwing a major tantrum, out of the darkness of the shelter came a 13-year-old voice which said, “Do you need a hug?” At that point, Gavin instantly became an inspiration to her and we’ve been hiking together ever since. Without putting names to it, I can think of at least three or four people right off who have commented online that Gavin had uplifted them and kept them going when the thought of going on was difficult. I thank God for the opportunity to influence others in this way.

I believe it is time for me to draw to a close. I set out this afternoon to reflect on this trip and all that it has been for Gavin and me. Perhaps this post was more for me to clear my head than it was meant for your consumption, but I believe that after the support you have lent us over the past several months, it is important for me to share my thoughts about leaving the journey unfinished, at least for now. I will be prayerful that in the next summer of two, we can count on your continued good wishes as we strive to complete this trek northward. I also look forward to seeing what my Next Step will be.

155On Sunday, July 28, we prepared to hike out of Port Clinton, PA. We stayed the night before at the Port Clinton Hotel, a cozy old hotel with no frills, down to the common bathroom down the hall. We breakfasted in our rooms, mostly on protein bars and such, and went downstairs to check out and start our hike. While we were on the front porch getting ready to hike out, a van pulled up and the driver rolled down his window. He informed that the 3 C’s restaurant was open for breakfast about a mile down the street. Even though our morning meal was less than ideal, we weren’t sure whether we wanted to walk down to the diner. Sensing our dilemma, he offered to drive us down. Three of us climbed into the back of his cargo van, complete with a cage separating us from Bullfrog in the front. Along the way, we found out that the driver was the owner of the restaurant and Bullfrog was able to get him to commit to bringing us back to the trail when we finished. Needless to say, we had one of the best breakfasts we have had while on the trail.

After eating, the restaurateur returned us to the trail, packs and all, and we set out for the day. Our goal was the Eckville shelter, about 14 miles distant. We had a bit of climbing and descending, which was quite a challenge since we were not used to carrying our packs. I suppose it would be redundant to say that there were plenty of rocks as well. By early afternoon, the trail had taken its toll on us. Fortunately, we had an out. At mile 9.1 there was a 1.3 mile trail down to the Blue Rocks Family Campground. It was a tough climb down over lots of rocks, and much of it seemed to be in a ditch, but before too long we arrived at the campground.

We hiked an additional half mile or more down to the office to register. They gave us a hiker rate of $9 per person and we chose a campsite that would be close to the trail back to the AT the next morning. It must have been nearly a mile from the camp office to our campsite, and it wasn’t marked well, so it took us at least an hour to get settled in a spot. It turns out that we set up in a campsite beside the one we had been assigned because it was so poorly marked that we never found “our” campsite. It didn’t matter because those tent sites were so remote, there was no danger of someone else coming to claim the site we were in. We had a good laugh at several things about the campground. First, there was a huge boulder field in the middle of it. Truthfully, we expected it to be the kind of terrain we’d be traveling through before we left the state, but thankfully, we never had to traverse anything quite like it. We were about 0.3 miles from the nearest privy and at least 0.5 from a water source. I joked that had this been a campsite listed on the trail, we wouldn’t have stayed in it, yet we paid a total of $36 to stay there. Gratefully, we slept well anyway.

On Monday, we set out to rejoin the trail. We didn’t know it, but the yellow-blazed trail from the campground back to the AT was probably the steepest and rockiest trail that we have traveled. There were multiple places where we had to toss our trekking poles ahead so that we could use our hands to climb the steep rocks. Eventually we made it to the top of the trail and were back on the AT. We rested briefly and then realized that we were only a few tenths of a mile from The Pinnacle, a rocky outcropping with incredible views. We moved on down the trail toward that destination with the plan of stopping and resting more fully after the rigorous climb. The Pinnacle was everything the guidebook said it would be. We had gorgeous views of the valley floor below. There were also some day hikers there whom we chatted with a bit. They were impressed when they realized that we had started our trip in Georgia. We answered all their questions and then headed on down the trail.

Thankfully, the trail for the rest of the day trended downhill. When we reached the Eckville Shelter, we decided to call it a day, even though we had gone only 5.7 miles. Eckville was an unusual shelter for the AT. It was actually an outbuilding or garage behind a farmhouse that had front and back doors. I’m not sure we had stayed in a fully-closed shelter before. There were a few hikers there ahead of us, and a couple came in behind, but they all hiked onward so we had the place to ourselves. Another feature of the shelter was a flushing toilet and solar shower. Essentially, there were two barrels of water that heated in the sun and gravity fed into the shower. Not knowing how many people had used the sun-warmed water, I didn’t take my chances on all the warm water being used up.

Used up and beaten by the rocks and the weight of our packs, after eating we called a local shuttle driver to explore the possibility of slackpacking the next day. It was arranged for him to pick up our bags between 7:30-8:00 the next morning, and we went to bed happy.

On Tuesday morning, Mike from the Common Ground Farm and Retreat arrived as scheduled to pick up our packs. Our planned hike was 16.4 miles to Bake Oven Knob Rd. where we would call him back and be picked up to go to Common Ground. We didn’t know it at the time, but the day had lots of boulder-hopping in store for us. We started our day with a significant climb back onto the ridge line. Over lots of rocks. The peak of the climb was Dan’s Pulpit, another rocky outcropping with views. It was a bit difficult to enjoy, though. Just after we got there, Angel walked up the trail just a few feet and squealed. Copperhead. Right beside the trail where she was going to take care of some business. I really don’t care much for venomous snakes, especially when they’re hiding and you don’t see them until you are right on top of them. I did venture out on the rocks to take in the views, but I moved slowly and watched my feet carefully for fear that the snake had a friend.

On up the trail we got to a section called the Knife Edge. This was a tremendously rocky part, much akin to hiking at Rocky Face. The main difference, though, was the rocks were broken apart and car-sized, and slanted at a steep angle. One plus, though, is that they were dry, so they weren’t especially slippery. Picking our way through this section of the trail was slow-going, especially since it is just the sort of place that I’ve always pictured as a great hangout for rattlesnakes. Thankfully, we made our way through without seeing or hearing any.

As we made our way off the Knife Edge, we were near the end of our hike for the day. That was a good thing, because as we made our way to the parking lot, the wind whipped up and the temperature dropped. We feared that we were about to get hammered by a storm. When we arrived at the parking lot, we went to the far side and sat on some rocks slightly under the cover of some trees and waited for Mike to come pick us up. We had called him about a mile or so from the road and he offered to stop for us to pick up pizza on the way back to the farm. When he got there, it was evident that he had picked up sweaty hikers before. All the seats were draped with towels and sheets so our hiker funk didn’t become a permanent feature of his car. He had menus from the pizza place and we called to place our order before heading out. It did eventually rain a little bit, but it was nothing like what we expected.

With pizzas in tow, we arrived at the farm. We really didn’t know what to expect, but there is no way we could have imagined what we saw when we got there. Common Ground Farm and Retreat is a non-profit organization whose mission is to reach out to those who are going through life transitions, especially veterans. The whole place is made up of old farm buildings that have been renovated into comfortable, antique-laden guest rooms. I’m not sure how many people they can accommodate, but we were the only ones there that night. Gavin and I stayed in the Barn Room. It featured a living room with leather furniture with a separate sleeping area with a queen sized Murphy bed and a rollaway cot. Being the larger and more aged person, I called dibs on the queen bed. The bathroom and shower were across the barn. It was quite rustic. Instead of tile or a regular shower enclosure, the walls had been fitted with sheets of tin. There was a huge “rainwater” shower head and the shower area was at least 6’ x 6’. It was a really neat place to stay, and I’d love to go back sometime. Mike’s hospitality was endless and we were made to feel right at home.

On Wednesday we awoke and headed over to the main farmhouse for breakfast, which was included in the price of our stay. Mike made coffee for me and tea for Angel, and had prepared an excellent breakfast. There were organic muffins that his wife had made that were to die for. There was also wheat toast and homemade strawberry preserves. Another special treat for me, since I don’t eat eggs, was a bowl of fresh fruit. It was a great breakfast, and we appreciate Mike for taking the time to make it for us. 

We had talked with Mike the night before about slackpacking us to Palmerton, PA. He dropped us back at the trailhead and took our packs ahead. For a slackpacking day, it was a short one, at only 8.9 miles, but along the way we passed through several boulder fields that really slowed us down. We stopped at the south bank of the Lehigh River and got an Uber ride into Palmerton. Our options for lodging in Palmerton were somewhat limited. We had to choose between the Sunny Rest Resort, a clothing-optional retreat for vacationers who aren’t afraid of a little sunburn in some sensitive places, or the bunk room at Bert’s Steakhouse. Opting on the side of modesty, and since we were traveling with a 14-year-old, we decided to stay at Bert’s.

When we went into the restaurant to check in, we didn’t know what to expect. The guy behind the counter checked our reservation and said, “Go down to the end of the street and turn right in the alley. From there, meet me behind the building.” We didn’t know if we were getting a room or getting mugged. Thankfully, it was the former.

The layout of the hostel wasn’t the most convenient, but it was cozy. Laundry was included in the stay. The washer/dryer did double duty for the hikers and for the restaurant upstairs and was located in the basement of the restaurant (with a 5’5” clearance to the floor joists above.) The bathroom was a few doors away from the door of the hostel, just beside the back door of the restaurant. These minor issues aside, there were comfortable chairs and a multitude of DVDs to choose from. Gavin had never seen Forest Gump, so we put that on. We warned him that there was sadness in the movie, and he did a great job with it until the final scene. I think he really enjoyed it. For the first time in a while, I let Gavin have the bottom bunk and I took the top. Thankfully I didn’t break my neck climbing up and down in the night to get up and walk the few doors down to the bathroom.

Our hike on Thursday was incredibly short, at only 4.8 miles, but more about that later. First, let’s talk about the first mile or two. Have I mentioned that Pennsylvania is an incredibly rocky state? I’m sure there is some geologic reason for it, but the rocks really outdid themselves today. We started at the Lehigh Gap parking area and began to climb. Usually saying began to climb means that we were going uphill, and we were. About 1,000’ in the first mile. This time, though, we really had to climb. There were several places where the trail and rocks were so steep that we had to hand our poles ahead and use our hands and some ingenuity to ascend the rocky trail. I have to say, though, that compared to the ankle-breaking rocks we have traversed for the previous several days, this was actually quite fun. Once we climbed up the steep rock face out of Lehigh Gap, we began boulder-hopping, while still continuing uphill. It was a really big day for the rocks. Actually, the trail in this first mile was so challenging that there was a blue-blazed side trail to avoid this section. In retrospect, I’m glad we challenged and conquered the rocks, but there were several times that morning that I questioned that decision.

Once we got to the top, we walked for several miles along an old road. It was smooth and grassy, and we had incredible views down to the town of Palmerton below. Even though we were looking down at the town, they were some of the best we have had in quite a while. One feature of the town that was particularly striking was the American Zinc Recycling plant. It is a really old-looking facility that from above was quite impressive.

Palmerton was the home to a large zinc smelting operation that for years pumped heavy metals into the air. As a result, much of the mountain ridge near the town was defoliated and the soil contaminated. It is now a Superfund Site. I believe that the road walk along the ridge is an AT reroute that bypasses some areas where they are doing reforestation. Whatever the reason, the road walk was much appreciated after the arduous climb that brought us there.

Along the sides of the road were tons of blackberry bushes. Every so often, we stopped when we found some with larger berries. Just before the trail left the road and continued upward, there were tons of bushes weighed down with ripe fruit. Angel and I picked from the ones beside the trail, but Gavin ventured off the trail to get to the bushes with even larger berries. Having eaten our fill, Angel, Bullfrog, and I walked on up the trail, but Gavin wanted to stay a minute or two more.

It wasn’t long before we heard Gavin holler. We didn’t know what had happened. The thoughts that went through my head included venomous snake in the bushes, a large bees nest, or losing his balance and falling into the briars. We hurriedly made our way back to him and found him mostly upside down in a broken tree. It turns out that he had stepped into the crotch of the small tree to climb out of the bushes, and after grabbing it to lift himself, the branch snapped and twisted, pinning his ankle between two branches. In an “I’m glad he is not seriously hurt” way, I really wish we’d snapped a photo of him upside down in the tree. Needless to say, he was scared to death, and it took several minutes after we extracted him for him to settle down.

The trees bruised his ankle pretty good, but going back the way we came, down the 1,000’ rock climb, wasn’t an option. We had no choice other than to move forward and hope his ankle worked itself out.

Before long we reached Little Gap Rd. Gavin got there before us, but he was still nursing an ankle that was obviously giving him quite a bit of pain. We decided that it would be best to call a ride and go back to the hostel so that we could ice it and assess whether he needed an X-ray. Thankfully, it was only bruised and didn’t require a trip to the doctor. To test it out, we headed out to a great little pub called Joey B’s for dinner, with the promise of Dunkin Donuts afterward. Gavin was able to make the trip without a limp, so we were set to hike again the next day.

Thursday afternoon we talked with the owner of the buildings that housed the restaurant and some stores and arranged for her to take us back to the trail Friday morning. She was also willing to take our packs to a hotel in Wind Gap, PA, which would be our next stop. She was a really interesting person to talk with. She had worked for more than twenty years at the Pentagon with Top Secret clearance. After retirement, she moved to Palmerton and purchased the property that housed the restaurant and a Carhart/Red Wing store. After breakfast at Bert’s, we were off, back to the trail for a 15.4 mile day.

The hike was essentially flat for the whole day, but we still had rocks to contend with. I know I seem to be hung up on rocks, but they were the story of Pennsylvania. We had a mix of larger rocks and the smaller ankle-breakers, with some sections of smooth trail thrown in just to tease us. I hiked by myself for much of the afternoon. It is a toss-up as to who is the faster hiker, Gavin or me, but Angel and Bullfrog will both admit that we’re both much faster than they are. That is okay, because they have more stamina for hiking longer days than we do. We’d rather hike and be done early, while they walk at a more comfortable pace and don’t mind hiking later into the day.

On this day, I was faster than Gavin and arrived at the road crossing to the hotel about 20 minutes ahead of him. We were probably 45-60 minutes ahead of Angel and Bullfrog, but we decided to wait on them rather than hiking on up to the hotel. When they arrived, we walked the 0.2 to the Gateway Hotel. What a place. From the outside, it appeared to be falling in, and I’m pretty sure that there were some permanent residents, but Allyson, the manager, was great. She got us settled in and told us that Domino’s would deliver if we ordered via the phone app, but that they wouldn’t if we ordered by phone. After showers, and with dicey cell reception, we finally got pizzas ordered. Gavin and I each ordered a large pizza, with the idea of eating half for supper and half for breakfast. After eating, we turned in for a good night’s sleep.

On Saturday, we had planned to hike 15.5 miles to Delaware Water Gap. It was another day with packs and rocks, so it was going to be a long slog. After an initial uphill, the bulk of the day was reasonably flat, but the trail more than made up for it with ankle-breaking rocks. I’ve used this term a few times, without explaining it. Imagine a dump truck offloading load after load of rip-rap on the trail. Then imagine it being spread out to just about cover the surface. After that, think what it would be like if another truck dumped enough dirt on the rocks to half-cover them and hold them solidly in place in case you kicked them hard with the toe of your shoes. There are few places to plant your feet solidly on the ground, or even on a flat rocky surface. These are the infamous ankle-breakers of Pennsylvania, and they struck again on Saturday.

About three miles into the hike, Gavin, who oddly, was hiking behind us, turned his ankle again. It was the same one that was attacked by the tree a couple of days before. He called us and we waited for him to arrive so we could evaluate. We didn’t have much of a choice other than to go forward, so we did. After the pain subsided, he got out front and put some distance between him and us. I actually hiked ahead of Angel and Bullfrog so that I could keep an eye on him, but he dusted me, sore ankle and all. By the time I reached the first road crossing about five miles up, he had already arranged for a man who was parked there to shuttle us into town. I told him we’d need to wait to see if Angel and Bullfrog wanted to continue hiking, or whether they wanted to end the day early. When they arrived, they chose to hike onward, which was fine. I explained to Gavin that if we went on to town, we’d lose a planned zero day, and he was fine with that. With some reluctance, we took the ride he had arranged into town.

I admire Gavin’s independence and ingenuity. One day soon, though, we do have to talk a bit about asking for a ride from a stranger without another adult present. It turns out that our ride, Tim, had been camping in the woods near the parking area. For a while. It seems that his wife had enough of his drinking and kicked him out of the house until he could get the problem under control. Along the trip he detailed his 21-day program, his nightly AA meetings, and his frustration that his 14-year-old daughter seemed to be calling the shots. With all his issues, he still seemed to be a pretty good guy, and he got us safely into town. The trip definitely wasn’t up to Uber or Lyft standards, but he got the job done and deposited us at the hotel for the night. He was even kind enough, bless his heart, to give Gavin a couple of bottle rockets which he fired off behind the hotel. As luck would have it, there was a fireworks store right beside the hotel. We went in to look around, but we didn’t buy anything.

Check-in at the hotel was an adventure. Somehow, even though I had booked online, our reservation was cancelled and the hotel was short on rooms. With a little finagling they were able to reinstate the reservation and we had rooms for the night. As a side note, the hotel is managed by and staffed by two gentlemen from Statesville, one of whom used to work at Domino’s in Taylorsville. Small world.

One of the reasons Angel and Bullfrog wanted to continue hiking was that the PA/NJ state line was at the end of their hike. Though Bullfrog didn’t go all the way to the line painted on the Delaware River Toll Bridge, Angel did, because she wanted to be done with Pennsylvania. I had planned to do the same myself, but Gavin and I would have to wait one more day.

On Sunday morning I woke up to get breakfast at the hotel. This was the first “nicer” motel that we’d stayed in that didn’t have a complimentary breakfast. I didn’t take my wallet, and the guy who was managing the food said not to worry about it. After coffee, yogurt, and toast, I went to wake Gavin and to get an Uber back to the trailhead. 

We knew that since we were only carrying water that we’d be able to make a pretty decent pace. We were able to keep up a 2.5-3 mph pace despite the rocky terrain and completed our seven miles in just over two and a half hours. We met quite a few day hikers along the trail and we stopped to talk with many of them. We also had some incredible views of the Delaware River below us. At the Lookout Rock overlook we had a day hiker take a picture of the two of us that is probably the best photo of us together on the trail to date.

Rocks aside, after a couple of hours we made our descent into Delaware Water Gap. Once into town, we continued down the road and made our way across the Delaware River Toll Bridge in search of the PA/NJ state line. It was an incredibly long bridge, but eventually we made it, and Gavin commemorate the occasion by kissing the New Jersey side. Then we backtracked the bridge into town and stopped for ice cream, a well-deserved treat.

It wasn’t a long walk back to the hotel, but we texted Angel and Bullfrog to meet us at the local outfitter’s shop. Both of us needed new shoes, and fortunately, they had some in our sizes. I also picked up a new pair of gaiters to keep pebbles, leaves, and dirt out of my shoes. From there, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed R & R. After a shower and some rest, Bullfrog and I headed out to a local restaurant for supper. Neither Gavin nor Angel wanted to leave the hotel room, and I can’t say that I can blame them. Afterward, we all settled in for a good sleep with the hope that New Jersey would be kinder to our feet.

Monday morning we left Delaware Water Gap with our packs heading for the Rattlesnake Spring campsite about 13.5 miles away. The first part of the trail was backtracking through town and halfway across the bridge, and then we headed into New Jersey. The problem with leaving an area called something Gap is, the only way out of a gap is up. Thankfully, our 1,100’ climb was spread out over several miles, so it wasn’t as bad of a climb out of town as some we have done. Not quite five miles into our hike we passed the 1,300 mile mark on the trail. Each time we pass such a milestone we stop and take a photo and reflect on our accomplishments. Without trying to sound egotistical, we were all pretty impressed to have made it so far on our journey.

A mile or so later on, we passed Sunfish Pond, a 44-acre glacial lake that, according to Wikipedia, is the southernmost glacial lake along the Appalachian Trail. It was truly beautiful, though signs nearby said that due to its acidic composition, only a few species of fish can live in it. We enjoyed the beauty of the lake, but the trail around it would have made Pennsylvania jealous. We had passed several SOBO thru-hikers in the days before who said that we’d have about half a day of rocks into New Jersey until the trail smoothed out. They were wrong.

Once we reached the ridge, we had views off and on for the whole day. In one area we were looking down on the Yards Creek Reservoir that had four small, square ponds cut in nearby. I’m not sure what they were all about, but it was interesting to look at. We also had quite a bit of hiking over some rocky ridges, but thankfully, the rocks were mostly flat and reminded me of hiking at Rocky Face.

About three miles before we reached the campsite, Angel and Bullfrog pulled off onto a side trail down to the Mohican Outdoor Center. Angel had a package sent there so they went down to pick it up. Gavin and I continued on, with him out front as usual. After the short descent to Rattlesnake Spring, I looked around and thought to myself, “Where’s the water?” The only thing I saw was a muddy trail and a bit of a ditch with running water beside the trail. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to make potable water from that, but I figured I’d sort it out later so I continued on to the campsite. 

Gavin was already there, as were about 15 other youth his age who were on a 10-day Outward Bound trip. They had already claimed some of the larger camping areas with their community tarps, but there was plenty of room for our crew to pitch our tents. Talking with one of the Outward Bound leaders was more confusing, because he talked about a water source that wasn’t on our map. He also said that there was another group scheduled to arrive at the same camping area shortly. At that point, I said a silent prayer that those groups would settle down earlier in the evening than my scouts usually do and that I’d be able to get to sleep before midnight. After pitching my tent, I went back up the trail to investigate the spring that at least one hiker I passed said was a good one.

I walked just a few feet beyond where the AT turned into the path to the campsite and found Rattlesnake Spring. It was indeed a good water source, though it needed the help of a rhododendron leaf to make a place to easily fill my water bladders. While I was there, Angel and Bullfrog walked up from the Outdoor Center. I really expected that they’d be at least 45-60 minutes behind us, but they didn’t dally after retrieving their package. We had left them a good spot to tent and they settled in for the evening.

Just after eating some supper I realized how much I had been spoiled by slackpacking and staying near shelters with bear boxes and bear poles. This would be the first night in I don’t know how long that we’d actually have to hang our food. Bullfrog and I both went out to find good tree limbs and got our lines up and over. It wasn’t until a little later on, when we actually went to hang our food that our recent inexperience showed itself. My branch was too flimsy to hold my bag and Gavin’s. I pulled my line down and searched for another, more substantial limb. It was a difficult search, but eventually I found one, even though it wasn’t high enough to do a traditional hang. I made it work and got our food off the ground at a distance I considered “safe” from bears and headed back to the campsite. Bullfrog went to hang his bags and was gone for quite a while. Eventually I heard a huge crash from the woods behind my tent and I went to explore. It seems that the first branch he chose had rough bark and the friction was too much for him to be able to hoist his food bags. He had rehung his line over another limb, but when he started pulling it up, it broke off. It was a huge limb, and is what made the crashing sound I heard, but apparently it was dead as a rock and rotting to boot. Eventually we got his bag hung and hoped that it was high enough. We all retired to our tents, and thankfully, the teenagers settled around 9:15 so we were able to sleep well.

On Tuesday morning Angel and Bullfrog left about an hour before us heading to Culver’s Gap and Branchville, NJ. Gavin and I can’t help that they’re morning people and we aren’t, but they will tell you that he and I are faster hikers than they are. The plan was for us to catch up with them later in the day, and we did. One of the first things we encountered on our trip was a beaver pond. It was interesting to see their lodge and to think that small mammals had a large part in the creation of this beautiful pond. We skirted around the dam and the pond, and thankfully, this time it didn’t involve wading through knee-deep muck.

The hiking for the day was a mix of small ups and downs, with tons of rocks. Mistakenly, we thought we had left those behind in Pennsylvania. Like the day before, we had quite a view while we were hiking along the open ridgeline. One really curious thing we saw was a huge, car-sized rock with the number 55 painted on it. We have no idea why, or who bothered to come deep into the woods with a can of spray paint, but we were sure there was some reason. We also passed an interesting stream that had grasses growing in it. It was neat how the current of the stream had laid the grass over and it was just billowing in the water with the current.

We eventually caught up with, and overtook, Angel and Bullfrog. Our hike was 14.5 miles and when Gavin and I reached the road crossing at Culver’s Gap, we waited on our friends. While there, we both felt that our feet were more sore than they had been on any other day. Fact is, mine hurt so badly that I was almost brought to tears. Once we were all together again, we hiked up the roadway to Gyp’s Tavern to have some food and get a ride to the hotel. I have to say a few things about Gyp’s. First, the hamburger was phenomenal. Second, the fries were even better. They were thin fries kind of like McDonald’s, but crispier. They also came with blue cheese dressing. Unfortunately, the burger only came with a half order, so I ordered more. After talking with the shuttle driver, we realized we were going to be there for a while longer so I asked the waitress how much they are and she said $3. Duh. I had another basket of fries and another pint while we waited on our ride.

We were taken to the hotel by Brian. He is a local Uber/Lyft/independent shuttle driver. He used to be a phlebotomist, but the lab where he worked closed so he has since been driving people full time. He was definitely in it for the experience. When we got in the car, he had a basket of fruit, granola bars, and water, complementary with the ride. Along the way, he pointed out many historic buildings and mountains. He also explained that he was organizing rides for about 30 people to go to a concert at the site of the original Woodstock festival. He was providing tailgating and drinks, and had three large vans commissioned for the event. He was earning $80 per person. I got the idea in a very short time that he was definitely a wheeler and dealer, and that he really has the whole idea of shuttling people around down pat.

When we arrived at the hotel in Vernon, NJ, we stepped into the office to check in. Unbeknownst to us, the New Jersey State Fair was going on nearby, so they were almost full. Thankfully, the lady at the hotel, who was hilarious, was able to get us into rooms for two nights. We headed to our respective rooms, showered, and went to eat at the Italian restaurant next door. That place was the real deal. They had pizzas, pasta, and stromboli, and it was great. After having a big lunch at Gyp’s, I still had room for more so I tried their meat stromboli. With all our physical needs met, we went back to our rooms for the night.

We had planned a zero day for Wednesday so that our feet and legs could rest up a bit. The highlight of the day was spending about an hour on the phone with AppleCare trying to sort out the issues with my watch. After trying every trick the agent had in her bag, she decided that it probably qualified for a replacement, and since I had AppleCare Plus, it would be no charge. She asked me where to send the new watch, and I had no idea. She suggested that I check my trail guide and that she’d call me back in a few minutes. Shortly, she called me back and we agreed to have the watch sent to Vernon, NJ, which looked to be two hiking days ahead of us. With that plan made, Angel, Bullfrog, and I went back out for an Italian lunch. We might have gone somewhere else, but that was the only restaurant nearby.

We all spent the afternoon resting and relaxing. It was good to give my feet a break. When supper time came, it was back for more Italian. This time order was for fettuccine alfredo, and it was good. Just after we ordered, Gavin called me in a panic. I quickly hurried back over to the hotel and tried to calm him. I think he was overcome with what has been nipping away at both of us- we were very tired and had been away from our loved ones for a long time. He and I walked back to the restaurant, and afterward, we went back to the hotel to talk. We talked with each other, with Beth, and also with Angel and Bullfrog about what it might look like for us to leave the trail for the summer. We each decided to be prayerful about it and to sleep on it.

We had scheduled for Brian to come pick us all up on Thursday morning and drop us back on trail. After getting up and talking with Gavin and Beth some more, he and I made the decision. It was time to go home. Thankfully, our driver was behind his schedule because another hiker wasn’t ready to be picked up at the time he had arranged, so we had a bit of extra time to spend with Angel and Bullfrog before they got back on the trail. We wished them well and promised to keep in touch, which I’m sure we will do. When the driver arrived, we gave hugs all around and bade them farewell for now. As they drove away, Gavin both went back into the hotel room in tears.

It would have been nice if we could have just rented a car and left for home that day, but unfortunately, I had to be in Vernon on Friday to get my new watch. I checked with the hotel office and we were able to keep our room for another night. I called ahead to reserve a room in Vernon and then spent quite a bit of time on the internet and on the phone trying to arrange a car rental. Though Enterprise had been our choice so far along the trail, I learned that Hertz was more cost-effective for a one-way rental because they didn’t charge a drop fee. Unfortunately, the agent told us that the Hertz dealerships in Hickory and Statesville were unwilling to accept a one-way vehicle. I understand the concept of fleet management, but really, I just wanted to go home. After messing around with the Enterprise app with no luck, I called them. The agent there also had a difficult time finding an agency in New Jersey that would allow a one-way. Finally he hit on a franchise in Milford, PA, that would let us rent there and drop the car in Hickory. Problem solved, but it was a bit more expensive than I would have liked. After settling the hotel and car rental, I texted Brian back one more time to see if he could drive us to the Enterprise agency in Milford. He was willing to pick us up around 10:00 the next morning. Finally, all the ducks were in a row, so I could spend the afternoon resting and reflecting on the trip.

Friday morning came, and so did Brian. He dropped us off at the Enterprise agency, and even went in to put in a good word for us. We collected our car, a Ford Fusion, and set off to our hotel in Vernon. We arrived there just after lunch and our room wasn’t ready yet. I had expected that, so Gavin and I went to a nearby Subway for lunch. That afternoon we drove a few miles back to High Point State Park. Had we stayed on the trail, we’d have passed by this landmark in the next day or two. High Point is the tallest mountain in New Jersey and there is a huge obelisk on top. We drove up to the monument and decided that we didn’t really want to climb to the top of it. We had great views from the ground anyway. There was also a lake in the state park with a beach and swimming. I thought Gavin might want to give that a go, so we stopped by there on the way down the mountain. As we approached the lake, Gavin saw a couple of boys fishing, so he left me with his stuff and went to talk with them. I rested in the grass for a little while and we decided to head back to the hotel. The room was ready and my watch had been delivered, so we went upstairs to relax a bit before supper.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I walked down to a gas station and deli nearby, only to find that they had already closed the food counter. Thankfully they had a few cold sandwiches in the cooler, so I got one of those, some chips, and some soda for the both of us. As I sat in the hotel room that evening the reality of ending our trip and going home began to set in. It was both sad and exciting. While I was certainly tired, I was disappointed that we didn’t make it to Maine in one go. In my heart, though, I knew we had made the right decision for the two of us.

I had hoped to arise at 6:00 on Saturday, eat the hotel breakfast, and get on the road. Unfortunately, it was more like 7:00 or 7:30 before I finally woke up. We packed our bags and were loaded up and heading out around 9:30. That would put us home somewhere between 6:00-7:00. Unfortunately, our peaceful trip home was disturbed after about 30 minutes of driving. We were headed down a county highway when, out of nowhere, a deer ran straight into the rear passenger door of our car. Glass went everywhere. Needless to say, Gavin was really freaked out. Truthfully, I was too, but I played it cool. About a mile up the road there was a diner and convenience store, so I pulled in. I went inside to get the address of the place and I called 911 to have them send an officer out to do a police report. While I was waiting, I eventually got a human on the phone at Enterprise who told me to call back after the police officer had come and gone. The state trooper who came to do the accident report was a good guy, and he was done in about 30 minutes. I decided that the best thing for us to do was to drive back to Milford where we got the vehicle and to interact with Enterprise face to face rather than on a phone by a busy highway. We got there a little after 11:00 and I explained the situation to the agent. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any vehicles at her disposal, so she set about trying to find another office nearby that did. Finally, she told me that there was a vehicle available in Vernon, NJ, which we passed on our way back to Milford. It was about 30 minutes away and they were due to close in about 30 minutes. No pressure.

We arrived in Vernon with a minute to spare and they had two vehicles available. We got to choose between an F-250 Super Duty truck and a foreign sedan. Gavin insisted that we take the truck because it looked (and drove like) a limousine. I might add that it also drank like a fish. When I finally had to stop to fill it up, I put 42 gallons in it. The traffic on the way home was actually pretty light and we had 65-70 mph speed limits most of the way once we eventually got off the country roads and onto a highway. We arrived safely at home at about 11:15 Saturday night.

Note: As of this posting, Gavin and I have decided to end our trip early and come home. We’ve been out for almost six months and have covered 1323.8 miles into New Jersey. We have 868.2 miles remaining, and we figure that will take another couple of months at our current pace. We are sad to leave the trail with miles left to go, but we believe that this is the best decision for us right now. We do plan to go back out in the next summer or two to complete our journey all the way to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. I will have one more day-to-day post coming out later this week, and I also have a reflection post which will be online soon.

On Wednesday, July 17 we left the Pine Grove Furnace State Park en route to Mt. Holly Springs, about 10.5 miles up the trail. Angel and Bullfrog set out fairly early and I didn’t hear my alarm go off, so Gavin and I didn’t leave the campsite until 9:30 or so. As we left the state park, we walked around the lake there and then up a dirt road that paralleled a stream for a distance. The sunlight was phenomenal the way it streaked through the lifting fog and hit the green ferns on the forest floor. It was one of the most beautiful “sunlight” days we have encountered on the trail.

We were able to slackpack again today. Shepherd, the trail missionary we met the day before, agreed to take our packs northward to the Holly Inn in Mt. Holly Springs. We caught up to Angel and Bullfrog later in the day. When we all got to the trailhead, we called Cindy, the owner of the inn, to shuttle us to the hotel. The Holly Inn is an older hotel, but it has been renovated and is well taken care of. Adjacent to the inn is a restaurant and tavern where we had an excellent supper. Mt. Holly is one of those towns I’d love to come back to and explore when I had a car at my disposal. Unfortunately, all we got to see of the town was the laundromat next door and the Family Dollar in the next building.

We woke Thursday morning and had breakfast in our rooms since there was no continental breakfast at the hotel. Thankfully, the Family Dollar had the huge iced honey buns and powdered donuts that we have long since deemed either too heavy or too messy to carry on the trail. We loaded our packs in the back of Cindy’s car to be dropped in Carlisle, PA. We got out at the trailhead for another day of slackpacking. By carrying only water and a few lunch items in our bags, we can travel faster and farther than we can when we carry our complete packs. This has been a special treat as we trek our way through Rocksylvania. Pennsylvania has the reputation for being the rockiest state along the trail, and to this point, it hasn’t done anything to make us think otherwise. We have had boulder scrambles, a few hand-over-hand climbs, and miles of our favorite kind of rocks: the sharp edged, pointy ankle-breakers. 

In order to make it to Carlisle, we passed through the town of Boiling Springs. In the center of the town is a large pond with geese and ducks galore. The town is also home to the Appalachian Trail Conference Mid-Atlantic office. We were fortunate to hit town at lunchtime, so we stopped at a local cafe and feasted. As a courtesy to the other diners, we decided to sit at an outside table under an umbrella. Just as we were finishing our meal it started raining. Though we could all have fit under the umbrella, we migrated to a canopy that was erected over a neighboring table and waited it out. Thankfully the rain didn’t last long and we were soon underway again.

We had quite a bit of walking through corn fields and pastures on our way to Carlisle. Much of the trail was just in the edge of the woods beside the fields so we could see “civilization” and still be in the shade. I marveled at the many farms, barns, and silos that we saw on Thursday.

Close to town the AT crosses over PA-11 on a bridge that is covered with chain link fencing. I didn’t realize it, but this part of town is a huge trucking area with terminals as far as the eye can see. We had to walk about 0.4 miles down the busy highway to get to the hotel and it made me quite nervous. When we arrived, our packs were stowed out of the way in the lobby. Check-in was a breeze, and there is an incredible restaurant right beside the hotel. It was sort of a cross between Burger Basket and Scotty’s, maybe a bit more on the Scotty’s side. The food was plentiful and excellent.  

Now the experienced pro at car rental, on Friday morning I called Enterprise to come to pick me up at the hotel. Bullfrog had a package shipped to Duncannon, PA that we needed to go pick up, and there were some other things that made renting a cheaper option than using Lyft or Uber. By midday, we had arrived at the post office in Duncannon. Even though we wouldn’t be hiking to this town until the next day, we did spend some time looking around. We visited the hiker lounge at Kind of Outdoorsy, a local outfitter. We met several hikers there whom we’d not yet crossed paths with. From there, we walked up to The Doyle, a 100-year-old hotel that has an AT reputation as being a major dive. A single bed, iron frame, light bulb hanging from the ceiling, with a common bathroom at the end of the hall kind of a place. We had no intention of lodging there, but they are equally renowned for having great cheeseburgers, so we decided to check it out. To our surprise, Pringles was at the bar having lunch, so we grabbed a table together and chatted for a bit. Both the food and the companionship were excellent. Pringles headed on up the trail, and we made our way back to Carlisle.

Carlisle, PA is home to the US Army War College, which is the home of the Army Heritage Museum. This side trip was the other reason we decided that a car rental would be more cost effective. We had a great time touring this mostly outdoors museum. They had tanks, guns, helicopters, and other items from wars predating the Civil War. The first exhibit showed how HESCO barriers (sort of a cross between a sand bag and the cages you put rocks in to stop erosion) are used to create defensive positions. My favorite exhibit was a huge area of reconstructed WWI trenches. We walked around in that area for quite a while. As we made our way around, we visited areas devoted to WWII, Korea, the Civil War, and Vietnam. There was an inside part to this museum as well which we found quite interesting. My favorite items were the helmet and binoculars used by Gen. Omar Bradley during WWII.

On Saturday morning, our goal was to make it to Duncannon, PA. The hotel in Carlisle offered us a shuttle back to the trailhead to save us the treacherous 0.4 mile walk down the major highway, which we accepted. We called Trail Angel Mary, a wonderful lady who was listed in our guide, to come get our packs and ferry them to Duncannon. She had planned to leave them at a church in town. 

Our trip for the day was 17.6 miles, and was generally pleasant, walking through both farmland and mountain tops. One highlight of the trip was the view down into the riverbed and valley from Hawk Rock. I remember it being a hot day, and we had to contend with quite a few bugs along the day. This was the first day where the mosquitos and gnats were terrifically annoying for me. As we were about to leave Hawk Rock, an older gentleman, probably in his 70’s hiked up the trail. He was wearing a fedora, a button-up long sleeved shirt, and khaki pants. It was odd that he wasn’t carrying any water and we offered him some of ours. He declined and explained that he lived just down the mountain by the river. He even pointed out his dock, which was partially obscured by the trees. He explained that he usually sits there and looks up at Hawk Rock, but decided it would be worth the trip to climb up and look back down. We bade him farewell and started our descent. The trail quickly became rocky to a point of annoyance. As we climbed down, I couldn’t help but wonder how he made it up, and worried that he didn’t have any water or climbing partners. I hope he made it back down safely.

When we reached the roadway at the bottom, we crossed a bridge over the river where the man lived and stopped at a gas station for drinks. They had a 3 for $4 deal on Gatorades, and I loaded up. I drank two in the store and saved one for Gavin, who was quite a bit ahead of us. It turns out that he had also stopped at the gas station, and having no money, they offered him some water to drink. I thought it was generous of them, and they were impressed that he had hiked so far ahead of us. We hiked the rest of the way into town and found him in the hiker lounge at Kind of Outdoorsy.

We rested and chatted in the lounge for a little while before deciding that we needed to get some food, so we walked back to The Doyle. I had another cheeseburger, which was wonderful, and we set about finding lodging for the night. We had no idea that the hotels in the area would be full, but after calling four or five, we realized that we were going to have to go back to Carlisle for the night. We called Trail Angel Mary and met her to get our packs, and then got an Uber back to Carlisle. It wasn’t exactly our original plan, but we made it work. Plus, it gave us the opportunity to go back to the Middlesex Diner for more meatloaf.

We decided to take a zero day in Duncannon on Sunday. The temperatures were supposed to be in the high 90’s and were expecting a surprise, so it made sense. We called Mary and she hauled us from Carlisle back to the Red Carpet Inn just outside of town. We settled in and walked about a half mile to Burger King for lunch. In the early afternoon, the surprise was upon us. Our friends, the Muscarellis, were heading to Philadelphia to visit family and had texted me about a meet-up. I didn’t tell Gavin, but Angel and Bullfrog knew they were coming. 

I cannot tell you how overjoyed Gavin was to see his friends. He, Corin, and Sophia went out into the yard of the hotel and threw his frisbee around while Ted, Jennifer, and I visited a bit. We decided that dinner was in order, so we unloaded the luggage from their van so they could haul the whole lot of us. It was only a mile or so to a great pizza place and we had a great time. We are truly blessed to have such great friends! 

On Monday, we had arranged for Mary to shuttle us to the trail for a SOBO slackpack back to the hotel. We covered 17.7 miles that day. As I’ve mentioned before, it has been a blessing to be able to slackpack so much of Pennsylvania. Because we are only carrying a few liters of water and some snacks, the rocky trail is much easier on our feet and knees, and we’re able to make bigger miles than if we were carrying full packs. It is also nice to know that you’re hiking to some indoor location, whether it is a hotel or a hostel.

As has become usual, Gavin hiked ahead of us quite a ways. We stopped at a shelter for a snack and visited with some other hikers who had hiked into the night and hadn’t gotten going for the day yet. They had a beautiful dog which Gavin adored. He really misses Joy. Since we were hiking south, we met quite a few hikers during the day. Some were new to us, and some were folks we’d met before. One lady whom we passed asked if one of us was Hawkeye’s dad. I said that I was, and she related that he was up the trail just a little way waiting on us because there was a rattlesnake on the trail and he didn’t want to walk past it. It wasn’t long before we did catch up with him, and the snake was still there. Moreover, it wasn’t happy. Anytime one of us walked near, it started rattling to let us know it was unhappy with our presence. Eventually, it had enough of us and it slithered off the trail. We passed by and went on our way.

As has become the case, the trail became very rocky when we reached the top of the ridgeline. It also began to drizzle, and then to rain. Thankfully, the storm passed quickly and with the warm temperatures, we dried out fairly quickly. On our way down into town we had great views of the Susquehanna River.

When we got to the roadway at the bottom, Gavin was waiting on us. A quick check of the map helped us reorient ourselves to determine which direction the trail went- across the river on a bridge. I’m not sure how long the bridge was, but it took us a while to cross. We stopped at a truck stop/Subway and called to the hotel for a ride back to our rooms. The gentleman on the phone who spoke broken English said that it would be $5 each way, which we thought meant that he would charge us once for picking us up, and once for taking us back to the trail. In fact, it turns out that one way was him leaving the hotel to come get us, and the other was him driving us back. At any rate, after a long day of hiking, $10 wasn’t too much to spend to ferry four smelly hikers to the comfort of a shower and a bed.

We had a second surprise at the hotel. Angel’s mom had posted a photo of a Southwestern Meatloaf that she had made and Bullfrog and I both had commented on it. Using her Pampered Chef connections, she arranged for a local agent to make the meal and deliver it to us. It was wonderful! She also brought boiled potatoes, green beans, and chocolate chip cookies. I wish I could remember her name to thank her publically, but at any rate, it was a rare treat to have a home-cooked meal.

Trail Angel Mary picked us up for the final time on Tuesday morning and put us back on the trail. This day was the first in a while that we had carried our full packs. The trail features for the day were water, mud, and more rocks. Though the terrain was mostly flat all day, the flat trail was ideal for holding water and mud. It seemed that every few hundred feet, we were dodging huge mud holes. Thankfully, most had solid ground around the sides, but that meant brushing against the laurel bushes and scratching our legs. There were also places where the sides of the puddles were steep enough that our feet would slip down into the mud anyway. We all agreed that the mud holes were the perfect places for all of the rocks we’d been tripping over, because they’d make great steps. Then we got our wish. The trail literally turned into a rock-laden stream for about 200’. It was such a great stream that we stopped for lunch and to refill our water before trudging on. I set out in front because I wanted to get on past the rocks and out of the water. I say, “in front,” but actually, Gavin left out several minutes before we did and he was long gone. 

It wasn’t long before we met back up. Gavin had stopped at a side path to the Rausch Gap Shelter. The trail had been following Rousch Creek for quite a ways, and this was the perfect place to stop, eat, and wait on Angel and Bullfrog. After they arrived and rested a few minutes, we were off together for our next adventure.

Just after the trail crossed over the creek on a bridge, we came to a decision point. The guide said that the trail ahead was now blocked by a beaver pond, and that we’d have to wade to get through. An alternative trail was marked and said to rejoin the AT in 1.3 miles. The problem is, we didn’t know which route would be longer. After discussing it for a few minutes, I suggested that we proceed on the trail and pull out our Crocs and sandals to cross the beaver dam if needed. They were. Gavin and I started walking across the top of the dam and were sinking ankle deep in the mud, leaves, and sticks. Then we were forced off the dam into the mud and muck below. In places, it was nearly knee deep. I almost fell once, and bent my trekking pole a bit trying to save myself. Just before emerging onto dryer, firmer ground, Gavin lost both Crocs in shin deep mud. They were rescued and we washed our feet off in the pond before putting our hiking shoes back on to head up the trail.

Thankfully, the rest of the day was pretty easy hiking. We did come across one thing in the woods that made us say, “Hummmm…” We were aware that search and rescue personnel were looking for a missing hiker and that there was a fugitive who was rumored to have taken to the trail to avoid capture. Both those folks ran through our minds when we passed a coat, a pair of pants, and boots, laid out beside the trail. The coat had its shoulders pinned in place by a couple of rocks. It was almost as if the clothing was on display. We decided that the clothing had been there for a while, because it was all heavy, winter wear, and that it probably didn’t belong to either of the folks where were being looked for.

The final part of our day included two difficult stream crossings. The first was about 20’ across first a 1” x 6” board which was wobbling precariously on top of some small fallen trees, and then across a slick, larger tree. The second crossing was a bit easier, but still involved some balancing. I remember thinking that it was odd that the trail maintainers hadn’t constructed a safer way across, especially since both were in easy walking distance from a road. I suppose that project must be down their list somewhere, along with digging some trenches to drain the mudholes we fought with earlier in the day. Once across the creeks, we came to the roadway which had been planted with beautiful purple coneflowers. Truly, they were gorgeous. We waited at the parking area by the trail and were eventually able to get an Uber to take us to our hotel.

Our day Wednesday started with a bit of problem-solving. We had arranged for a shuttle driver to pick us up, drop us off at the trailhead, and take our packs to our hotel in Pine Grove where we had reservations. I had called ahead the night before and made arrangements for our packs to be stored until we got there and the lady said, “No problem.” Our driver had a pick-up at the same hotel that morning, so he went in to double check, and this clerk told him that they had nowhere to put the packs. He called me, and then I called back to the hotel to see what was up. The lady explained that there was nowhere to put the packs, and I suggested the manager’s office, which the lady the night before had offered, and she said no. Then I asked about a side room, or perhaps the laundry room, and she was not budging. Finally I told her that we had reserved two rooms for three nights and asked if there was another hotel nearby. That is when she finally capitulated and said they’d find somewhere to store our packs. Problem solved.

The driver picked us up around 8:00 and we set out for the day. We had planned to hike only 11.4 miles that day, so we figured we’d be done in the early afternoon. We started our day by crossing over an old, retired iron bridge. The trail continued on the other side along an old roadway that had been converted into a well-used hiking trail. We did have a climb of about 1,000’ which was strenuous, but once we got to the top, we hiked the ridgeline for the rest of the day.

The day’s hike was punctuated by views, helicopters, and of course, rocks. When we stopped for lunch at the side trail to the William Penn Shelter, a couple of other hikers told us that the helicopters were out searching for a missing person. Law enforcement officers had even visited some nearby shelters the night before in hopes of finding the man. We never did find out whether they found him or not. We did learn, however, that the fugitive I mentioned above was found, deceased by his own hand, on the trail somewhere. I really believe that 2019 is an abnormal year for oddities on the trail.

When we got about a mile away from the end of our hike, we called our driver to give him an ETA for the trailhead. We continued on, ending our day in a rocky patch, which has become usual. When we got to the parking area, the shuttle driver was there, but Gavin was not. We were perplexed, because he knew where were ending up for the day. Bullfrog went down a path to the shelter and Angel walked on up trail, both searching for Gavin, while I tried to raise him on the phone. Eventually, he came back out of the woods with Angel not far behind. It turns out that he had been told there was trail magic about 0.5 on up the trail and he had gone to explore.

I didn’t mention above why we had rooms booked for three nights. Beth, Griffin, and Joy were due to arrive to visit for a few days. When we got to the hotel we found that our bags had been placed in a room, but upon checking in, and letting them know we had a dog coming, they had to change the rooms. Eventually we got everything sorted out and we headed into our rooms to shower. Beth and Griffin arrived in the late afternoon and it was great to see them. Our family drove to a nearby town for dinner and we came back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

Beth had agreed to slackpack us for the few days she was going to be there, so we headed back to the trail Thursday morning for a 9.3 mile hike. It was a short day for us, and a fairly uneventful hike. Needless to say, Gavin hiked quickly so that he could reunite with Beth, Griffin, and Joy at the road crossing. Angel, Bullfrog, and I arrived 20-30 minutes after him to find Beth and Griff and another couple had set up trail magic at the road crossing.

The night before we had visited Walmart and picked up trail magic supplies. Beth deferred to our judgment of what would be appropriate food and drink for the occasion. I suggested Gatorade, jugs of water to replenish supplies since this stretch of the trail is fairly dry, and fruit. One of my favorite treats is fruit, especially clementines. We got those, apples, and bananas. Needless to say, they were a hit. One hiker in particular ate two or three clementines and took as many with her. Fruit is a luxury item on the trail because of its weight. Hikers are also responsible for hiking out peelings or cores because those don’t belong on the trail. After returning to the hotel for showers, we all rode back to the nearby Golden Corral with the hope of doing more damage that I was able to at the one in Waynesboro, VA.

We got up earlyish on Friday and Beth drove us back to the trailhead. Our plan was to hike to Port Clinton, PA, 14.8 miles up the trail. Today’s hike was a combination of tree-riding, more mud and rocks, and stuffed animals. On the way to the trail, we passed the Vraj Hindu Temple, something we didn’t expect to see plopped down in the middle of Pennsylvania farmland. It was a gorgeous building where they hold daily services and also host youth camps during the summer. We slowed down to take pictures, but they were still a bit blurry. Once on trail, it was hiking as usual.

A couple of places we came across trees that had fallen across the trail. Angel climbed up on one of them and laid down on it, pretending to swim. A bit later on we passed a tree that came up about 3’, bent over, and then turned back upward. Needless to say, Bullfrog had to climb on and “ride” it like a carousel horse. The slickened bark made it evident that he wasn’t the first hiker to do so. We slogged around and sometimes through more mud holes on the trail, and of course there were more rocks to traverse. All in all, though, the hike was fairly easy. We did come across more clothes in the woods that gave us pause. This time, the shirt and pants were clipped onto a tree limb with a spring clamp. There was also a pair of worn out patent leather dress shoes hanging on another limb. It really made us wonder who had left them and why, because the shoes definitely weren’t hiking shoes. Maybe someone just left them there to confuse people.

The last mile or so of the hike was down a steep downhill with lots of loose dirt and rock. It was really treacherous and it slowed us quite a bit. At the bottom, we crossed through a rail yard and found Beth and Griffin set up once again offering goodies to hikers. There were a couple of folks there who had passed us earlier, and we knew of at least a few other folks who would be coming in behind us. We all visited and chatted for a while before heading for the next adventure of the day.

We were only a mile or two from the largest Cabela’s store in the country and it was fantastic. Though we didn’t need to buy anything much, it was fun looking around the store. They had an aquarium and more mounted animals than you could shake a gun at. The animals were grouped by type and habitat, including an African exhibit with lions and an elephant. Each of the specimens on display had been taken by hunters and represented prize varieties of each species. There was a whole room set aside for trophy deer. After the tour through Cabela’s, we took the whole crowd to Red Robin for lunch and headed back to the hotel for the evening.

Saturday was planned as a zero day, and a day of relocation. After having breakfast at the hotel, we loaded up in Beth’s van and drove back to Port Clinton. Just off the trail was an old hotel and tavern where we planned to stay the night. I’m not sure if Gavin realized how old the place was or not. It was the sort of place with 10-12 rooms upstairs with a bed in each with a common bathroom down the hall. Rather than central air, each room had its own window AC unit. There was an older TV in our room but no fridge. Despite the lack of the usual hotel conveniences, it was a good place to stay. We had a good supper in the restaurant downstairs and turned in for the night. At this stage of the game, we had just over 76 miles left in Pennsylvania, where we hoped to leave the rocky terrain behind.

As always, thanks for your interest in our trip and for the prayers and support you have provided. Please stay tuned for the last of the day-by-day post, coming later this week. I have also prepared a reflection post that will also be online this week. After having lived “homeless” for the past six months, Gavin and I are both excited to discover what our Next Steps will be.