| Pictures | Email Journal | Contact Me |
Dear family and friends,
I reached the town of Delaware Water Gap PA yesterday, next to the bridge to
leads to New Jersey. Pennsylvania held many delights. Not long after my last
email we entered the Cumberland Valley. Twenty years ago or so this was a 20
mile road walk in the hot sun, considered one of the least appealing sections
of the trail. Now, due to the tireless work of the Appalachian Trail conference
and local hiking clubs, the trail has been rerouted through small woodlands,
along hedgerows, through farm fields and beside small streams. It felt like
walking through the Shire, perhaps.
The town of Boiling Spring PA is a delightful historic village with a duck pond,
gazebo, many flower beds, and old stone buildings along a main street. Walked
4 miles and arrived the morning of 6/29 to spend a relaxing day there until
my old leather hiking boots arrived at the post office at 3PM. Then headed out
for another 14 miles through field and forest as the sun lowered, the fireflies
came out, and the wind wispered through the trees. Wouldn't have been surprised
to see elves or hobbits passing through the woods.
Then up on a ridge for the evening's campsite, with city lights twinkling in
the valley below. This ridge was the first of a long line of ridges which the
Trail follows north and east across PA.
The next town we came to was Duncannon, once called "The Jewel of the Susquehanna"
but a little run down today. We stayed at The Doyle, an old 4 story hotel in
poor repair but famous in trail circles for its bar and inexpensive draft beer
and originally built by Anheuser-Bush around 1900. A large group of thru-hikers
I had met earlier on the trail congregated here, and I had the pleasure of walking
with many of these people through the rest of PA.
The next town was Port Clinton, nicknamed Billville. My high school friend Laura
and her daughter Joanna drove up from their home in Delaware to spend a few
hours with me there, which I enjoyed very much. At 16 Joanna is a year older
than Laura and I when we met, which really gives a sense of time passing. We
had lunch and stopped by the Cabellas superstore in nearby Hamburg, a 250,000
sq. ft. Taj Mahal of hunting and fishing.
The section from Port Clinton to the Delaware Water Gap is the most scenic in
PA. At one notable overlook we could see the Blue Mtn. and Kittatinny Ridge
curving 60 miles east to the DWG. Great caves to explore there also.
However, the rocks. The ridges are composed of a resistant sandstone/conglomerate
which breaks into rectangular blocks of all sizes. This region was just south
of the southernmost extent of the last ice sheet, a region of frequent freezing
and thawing which shattered the protruding rock beds into countless pieces.
These are the famous rocks of Pennsylvania. In some streches the trail was mostly
dirt with a few rocks sticking up, no problem. In other places I walked over
boulder fields which are tiresome but usually not long. But in most places the
trail was some dirt with rock corners and blocks sticking up at all angles,
making any kind of normal walking impossible.
I progressed something like this. Take a step, turn ankle on little pyramid
of rock sticking up. Catch myself with my pole, but the pole gets jammed between
two rocks and almost rips my arm out of the socket. Stop and turn around to
dislodge pole. Take another few steps, then turn the other ankle. Collapse that
leg to avoid injury, stumble forward and catch myself with the other leg. Take
a step, catch my boot toe on a rock, trip forward, catch myself with my trekking
pole. Etc., etc. Imagine walking this way for a mile. Now imagine 200 miles.
Some people were able to march through this terrain with some speed, but for
me it was drunken sailor's walk.
Fortunately my old leather boots were a godsend. Actually a wife-send, but close
enough ;-) Despite the rocks the bruises on my feet have actually been healing.
The stiff soles protect the bottoms of my feet and the ankle high leather uppers
helped protect against twisted and bruised ankles. Can't imagine walking through
this stuff with running shoes but some people did it. By the time we reached
Delaware Water Gap yesterday we were all feeling pretty beat up and ready to
bid PA goodbye. Casualties in the last couple of weeks in my group include two
broken trekking poles and one bashed ankle. I got by with a sore knee and a
blister.
Taking a zero day here in the Delaware Water Gap, then on to NJ.
Best wishes to you all,
Raven