June 21-23 in PA

June 21, 2005 | Day 86 | Miles: 12.2 | Total Miles: 1107.9
End: The Stones', Boiling Springs, PA
Danielle:
Sunny and warm
How is it that we're relaxing and staying with people we hadn't met before 3pm today? Wonderful coincidence. While we were at Glen Group, we worked on a project for Ski NH, an organization representing NH ski areas. One of our contacts was Karl Stone. Great guy. When we told everyone we were hiking the AT, Karl said we had to call his parents in Boiling Springs, and stay with them. Sure, we said... But then we were almost there and we talked to Karl again and then took him up on his offer, and called his parents. Only managed to leave messages, but it worked out! We met up with them in town, they took us home, we showered, did laundry, chatted, had dinner and are staying the night. Wonderful people and so nice of them to do this for us. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Stone!
As for the trail, it was a relatively easy 12m day into town, with the last 2m consisting of wandering around the boundaries of corn and wheat fields. Whatever it takes to get the trail through... But boy was it warm out there in the sun! Pretty though. More of the same in store tomorrow, so lots of sunscreen for us :-)

Ryan:
sunny, hot
rock factor - 6
hospitality at its finest. that's really all i have to say about today, besides a huge thank you to the stones, ray and gay, for feeding us and putting us up for the night. the stones are parents of our friend, karl, whom we know through work, and they just happen to live in boiling springs...more importantly, they just happen to be home today to be a fantastic stop on our journey. thanks doesn't really say enough. we walked through a bunch of cornfields today, and we're expecting more of the same for tomorrow. time for some extra sunscreen. speaking of sunscreen, today, being the summer solstice, is traditionally hike naked day on the at. i did participate in this tradition. i refuse to say for how long, but i did hike naked...let's just say i don't have any new tanlines.

June 22, 2005 | Day 87 | Miles: 21.6 | Total Miles: 1129.5
End: Cove Mountain Shelter
Danielle:
Sunny in the morning; afternoon thunderstorm with a huge downpour of rain, then clearing
Off to an early start this morning after bagels and fruit at the Stones. Yum. A big thank you again to them. Such wonderful hospitality!
The first 10m were practically flat, wandering the boundaries between fields and pastures, through narrow stretches of woods between the two, and a bit on the road. Pretty in spots with the wheat fields and huge, magenta thistle. After lunch, the trail got a bit more undulating with some lovely rocks, oh yes, and then a thunderstorm rolled through and it downpoured on us as we trudged up a mountain. Lovely. We got soaked. Plus, poor Ryan's knee was really hurting him at that point so that sucked. He was really struggling, which is always horrible to see. I felt so helpless. He seems to be doing OK now, but we need to do some serious stretching on it and keep our fingers crossed that it is feeling better tomorrow. We at least had clean and dry clothes to change into when we finally got to the shelter, and spirits are a little higher. We are still in our hiker void, with no thru-hikers around. It's us, Fatigue and a couple out for the night. Pretty quiet. On to Duncannon and the Doyle, an old hotel that is legendary among hikers for its bar and cheap rooms--plus, even better, only a 4-mile day!

Ryan:
three h's, pm thunderstorm...very soggy
rock factor - am, 1; pm, 5
our longest day, yet, and 90% of it was great. we walked through a ton of fields...flat, easy, and nice for a change. pennsylvania isn't exactly about hiking, really it's more like walking. but, it is rocky in the hills. and the rockiness leads to uneven footing. uneven footing leads to lateral movement which makes my knee hurt. that brings us to the last 10%. my left i-t band is really tight making my knee hurt a great deal. frankly, i'm a little worried about it. i've had a ton of aches and pains, but nothing this painful in a spot that i already know might be a problem. so, extra stretching tonight, and luckily we just have 4 miles into town tomorrow...where i'll be stretching even more. if that doesn't work, i'll be looking for vicodin.
today's song - jeese's girl, rick springfield. (remind me to tell you about jesse.)

June 23, 2005 | Day 88 | Miles: 4 | Total Miles: 1133.5
End: The Doyle, Duncannon, PA
Sunny and warm
Danielle:
The rain yesterday really cooled things off a bit and provided us with an unhazy, clear vista of Duncannon and the PA farmlands as we headed down into town this morning, which was nice. The Doyle is an interesting place; it might be historic, but it sure is rundown, although friendly and definitely has character. We are in the "honeymoon suite," which cost us all of $26 with tax. Lovely yellow drapes and green painted walls with a shared bath. Worth the $26 and not much more, but a fun spot for the night. We've managed to get clean, eat, do laundry, get groceries, make some phone calls and relax a bit. Down to the bar for dinner and beer this evening, and then sleep! :-)

Ryan:
sunny, hot
rock factor - 4
short day into town to stay at the "historic" doyle hotel. really, the doyle is indescribable. but, when i say "historic", i really mean "old and falling apart." that being said, it's awesome. the perfect place for grubby, stinky hikers to spend the night. in fact, this old hotel built around 1900 is basically for hikers and hikers only. although, i'm sure the bar scene will be interesting tonight, and there's no way i'm going to miss it. no knee pain today, but then again we only did 4. but, i'm feeling cautiously optimistic. jessie has moved on with pacman...remind me to tell you about jessie.