#21 Duncannon to Hamburg

7/10: Sleep in time! We left for breakfast at 9 to go to Denny’s with SJ (Hawk’s dad) and his friend Richard. Hawk and Survivor both got pancakes with eggs and hash browns and turkey bacon and it was delicious! Then we all saw the movie Yesterday and it was really funny. When we were in DC, Survivor got an X-Ray and found out that she has a small fracture in her collarbone. The next section of the trail had boulder climbs, so we skipped ahead so that Survivor didn’t have to put weight on her arm and shoulder to climb. So SJ and Richard drove us up to a parking lot where we said our goodbyes and headed back on the trail. There was some trail magic there, but we didn’t feel right taking it since we were just in town for so long, plus we were full from breakfast. We found out as we hiked though, that it’s not only rain that makes us go faster, it’s also bugs. They were swarming around our heads and buzzing in our ears for the whole hike. Apparently the trail magic was root beer floats, and we cursed ourselves for not taking it when we had the chance, because we could’ve used them. It was warm, rocky, and we were hauling extra water because we knew we were going to camp without it, but we still cruised the 6.7 miles to a campsite. Hawk started a fire to keep the bugs away, and we ate couscous and then watched the sunset from our tent in between the trees.

7/11: It looked like it was going to rain for sure in the morning. It was cloudy, windy, and humid. We packed up slowly and hit the trail around 7:30. As we walked, we kept expecting rain, but it never came. It was rocky again, but the elevation changes weren’t too bad. We had a big downhill to a gap where we ate a few raspberries, and then went up again. It was a long climb, but not steep, so we were fine. There were plenty of mud pits to navigate around and rocks to hobble over. We took some good breaks along the way because we were making good time. Near a stream, we saw some rodendendrum with flowers in bloom, so that was pretty cool.

We got to the shelter a little after 3 and then it started to rain, so we hung out and ate lots of snacks. Other hikers trickled in and we chatted until we settled down for the night and went to sleep.

7/12: We hit the trail early and took a detour around a giant beaver dam on some forest roads. The ground was flat, so it was a nice change of pace. Once we got back on the trail, there were a bunch of plants encroaching on the trail, so our shoes and socks got wet anyway. It was super buggy out and we tried to keep moving so the bugs weren’t as bad. Suddenly, we heard some noises in the woods and Survivor pointed out a large black thing running away from us. A bear! It was probably trying to get away from the bugs too. We also saw two orange salamanders and that was super cool. We crossed into a state park and took a break by a stream where we filtered water and rested for a bit. Then as we were leaving the state park to go up a big mountain, we ran into some volunteers for the state park who handed out cold water, and that was greatly appreciated. The climb was steep and we chugged up it the best we could. At the top there was a viewpoint and there were a lot of turkey vultures gliding around, so that was cool to see.

Then there were a few rock fields and we took it slow so we didn’t fall or step on a snake. Then it flattened out and we cruised the last two miles to our campsite by a shelter where we pitched a tent. It was a great site, but there were flies everywhere! We made a fire to keep them at bay, but it didn’t work that well, so we ended up eating dinner in the tent, protected by the mesh. Then we went to sleep with the fireflies :)

7/13: It was another muggy morning. We started hiking and after about a mile away from our campsite, we both needed to use a privy. The next shelter was about 2.7 miles away, so we figured if we hiked quick, we could make it. Well we hiked as quick as we could over what can only be described as intermittent asteroid fields. We balanced around the rocks until two guys coming the other direction mentioned that there was trail magic at the next road before the shelter. In the name of food, we went in the woods so we could stop and enjoy the trail magic. When we got to the road, there was a tent and two guys cooking eggs, sausage, and heating water for coffee. We ate eggs and a bunch of mini donuts before heading back on trail from a delicious second breakfast. About 3 miles away, Hawk realized that she left her phone at the trail magic and started to walk back, but one of our hiker friends (Giggles) brought it with her, so Hawk was spared an extra 4 miles. We passed mile 1,200 today!

We took pictures with a group of friends and then hiked to a water source to filter more water. The rocks had been hard to navigate and Survivor’s shoulder was really hurting from all the extra movement, so we decided to stop a little early at a campsite about 9 miles from where we started. And to protect her shoulder from further harm, we’re going to skip 15 miles into town tomorrow because the terrain is tough to get through healthy, much less injured. The campsite was super pretty and we found a nice little flat spot to pitch the tent. We ate tortillas with cheese and turkey pepperoni for a snack and shared a box of couscous for dinner. The frogs sang from all the nearby creeks as we went to sleep for the night.

We only had a .3 mile walk to the road where we got a shuttle into town, and we met up with Otter and Sunshine again! It’s so nice to see our friends! Survivor has to get off trail, but we’re enjoying our zero days together. I’m going to miss her a lot as I hike- she has supported me and helped keep me on track (literally I would accidentally wander off the trail sometimes). Even though she isn’t finishing her thru hike this year, it is an incredible accomplishment to hike 1,200 miles and I am so, so proud of her. I hope she has fun hanging out with her nephew back in Michigan and her family’s 4 dogs. Good luck Survivor!

I have less than 1,000 miles until I summit Katahdin, which is mind bending. And, I’ll have Otter and Sunshine to hike with, so that’s exciting! On to the next section of the trail and even though I’m going to miss Survivor a lot, I’m going to do my best to crush these last 1,000 miles.

Happy trails!