Day 84 – 88: 0 miles hiked (trail mile 1104.8) 5th-9th zero
Since our Philadelphia chapter is a bit of a divergence from the main focus of this blog I’ve decided to condense it into one big summary:
Our first day in Philadelphia we walked to Dottie’s Donuts to pick up breakfast—have I mentioned donuts are my main craving on trail? We passed a Rite-Aid on the way there and decided to ask if they had any extra Covid-19 vaccines so we could go ahead and get our shots ahead of our scheduled time. They did, so we received our second-round Moderna vaccine and headed back to the apartment to await the side effects.
That evening, Mark and Andrea took us to an REI to resupply on some gear items and by the time we got back to the apartment that evening fevers had set in. I ran a 101.1 temperature before taking an ibuprofen while Chris never measured his but also felt feverish and uncomfortable. The next day we were completely wiped out and spent the day resting and napping.
The dogs thought it was just great having so many pack-nap opportunities as we recovered from the trail and our vaccines
By evening we felt a bit better and walked to Triangle Tavern with Andrea and Mark for some plant-based wings to celebrate. Across from the tavern is a grocery store with a big historical marker indicating that a prison used to sit where the grocery store now is. It is the location of HH Holmes’ execution. Philadelphia has so much history, it’s interesting to see how time seems to fold over itself here. The indications of the passage of time are everywhere and historical markers pepper the city in the most unexpected places.
I spent much of my time in Philadelphia completing the book I’ve carried this far, so I don’t have to pack it out again. It’s a good book—an autobiography by James Alder about his career as a tree-top wildlife photographer—but we’ve been carrying that thing since Georgia and I’m happy to finally shed the weight.
Philadelphia has mentally been our destination for so long that we need to shift our focus toward Maine now. We’re excited to see what the northeastern part of the States holds, and eager to hear the call of the loon when we reach the northernmost sections of the trail. Although Pine Grove Furnace SP was the halfway point in miles, it stands to reason that we are well past our halfway point in time. These days, we are doing such higher daily mileage on average that we should be well on track to meet our goal of finishing the trail by late July/early August.
Ranger is excited to try the famous Dodah’s Cheesecake with some craft beer!
Our time in Philadelphia was just perfect. We got to take Eppie on walks and snuggled with her every night. We also had a zoom call with my mom’s 4th grade class who has been following along with the blog; they asked us some great questions about the trail and told us about some of their own hiking plans for the upcoming summer break!
One morning, we had the best breakfast of the trail at Grindcore House, a heavy metal vegan coffee shop in south Philly. Andrea and Mark took us to explore Bartram Gardens, a botanical garden near the Schuylkill River. We ate a small picnic that Andrea had packed out with fresh strawberries, leftover baked goods from Grindcore, and some olives.
Andrea, Mark, Sticks, Ranger
Following snacks, we laid around and read books near a thriving community garden on the outskirts of Bartram Garden. I even fell asleep for a short spell. I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed. The trail has been incredible but “relaxing” is not a word I would use to describe it. Andrea and Mark have been such incredible hosts, too, providing the most wonderful space for recovering and resting.
On the way home we explored west Philly by car to marvel at the giant old houses that have been converted to apartments. That evening we watched a great documentary about the Dust Bowl by Ken Burns. Learning about how tough life used to be nearly a century ago makes the challenges of the trail seem trivial and reminds me just how resilient and adaptable we humans are.
Day 89: 2.8 miles hiked (trail mile 1107.6)
The following day we celebrated Andrea’s 29th birthday! I am in awe of my little sister: all that she has accomplished and the wonderful life she has built for herself in Philly. I woke up early to make a big breakfast for everyone to kickstart a full day of birthday activities. After breakfast we drove downtown to explore the Philadelphia Art Museum. The museum is massive, and Chris alone made it all the way to the third floor. The rest of us were tuckered out by then and went to lay in the grass in the sculpture garden. I will have to return to visit the third-floor Asian art exhibit, which contains whole buildings transported to Philadelphia and reconstructed inside the museum.
The Getaway, by Horace Pippin
We really loved this sculpture by Roxy Paine; it’s reminiscent of the fallen trees in the trail that are caught by other trees on their way down.
That evening we relaxed around the house and made a stir fry with chili crisp as a topping. Chili crisp has immediately become a favorite condiment and I suggest anyone who hasn’t tried it yet locate some immediately. It pairs well with just about any savory food!
A final element of birthday celebration: Cake!
Andrea and Mark dropped us back on trail at Pine Grove Furnace SP in the evening. Eppie rode along with, and we snuggled the whole ride out. It is so hard to leave that girl behind, but I know she is in the best hands.
Andrea and Mark wore our packs for about 100 yards before we said our goodbyes. We night-hiked out a little over two miles to an unofficial campsite just outside of the park bounds and fell asleep.
Back on trail!
Day 90: 16.4 miles hiked (trail mile 1124)
We slept without the rain fly and were awakened early by the sound of rain. Scrambling out of the tent, we broke down camp quickly and set off. It rained off and on all day. There were a few minor rock scrambles today, as the trail is becoming noticeably rockier as we move further north in Pennsylvania. Hikers call it “Rocksylvania” for the dense concentration of jagged rocks on trail that northern PA is known for. The worst is certainly yet to come.
We also started noticing cicadas and cicada shells everywhere for the first time today! We have been looking forward to observing the emergence of Brood X. Learn more about this natural phenomenon here: nps.gov/articles/000/cicadas-brood-x
Our first Brood X Cicada sighting!
We stopped at Alec Kennedy shelter at only 12 miles in, intending to call it a day. Once we had camp set up, we treated ourselves to a short nap but were jarred awake by the rising winds identifying a creaky widow-maker that we hadn’t noticed before that was positioned precariously near our tent. This was all the excuse we need to hike on to Boiling Springs, so we packed up camp and hustled the last four miles into town before dark.
Widow-makers are one of the most dangerous parts of camping that are often overlooked by new campers. We always thoroughly check each site before establishing camp to ensure that there aren’t any dead branches or trees directly over our site and pay special attention when a storm is brewing.
Boiling Springs turned out to be a quaint little town that centers around the AT and fly fishing. There were lots of people fishing on the river and lake. With the town’s history of iron forging there were many interesting old stone structures around town that are testaments to the town’s industrial history.
A fisherman cast his line in the town’s crystal-clear, spring-fed lake.
Geese and goslings on the trail as it passes through downtown Boiling Springs
Because of the camping restrictions for the next 14 miles due to private pastures and agricultural land we made a last-minute decision to stay at Lisa’s Hostel in town. Lisa’s husband picked us up at the trail head and helped us get settled into the converted shed/hostel. For $20 a person it will do the trick. The only other person in the bunk house is Chooch and his giant dog, Rebel, who has hiked with him all the way from Georgia. We are sleeping in super narrow bunk slots that are surprisingly cozy.
Day 91: 21.6 miles hiked (trail mile 1145.6)
Lisa dropped us off at the trail in downtown Boiling Springs with Chooch and Rebel the dog who joined us for coffee and juice before heading out.
Rebel, half Pitbull and half Australian Shepherd
The morning consisted of 14 miles of pasture-walking, which was a fun change from the normal wooded view. Near Carlisle we came across an injured orange tabby cat right on trail that had no use of its back legs. Fortunately, a section-hiker arrived right when we did and knew someone in the area that he called to come pick it up and try to get it some help.
A couple with this sweet Great Dane gave us some trail magic Gatorade as we braked for lunch at an old barn
Toward the end of the pasture section, we were wading through waist-high grasses and fearing the worst as far as ticks were concerned, although we needn’t have worried, neither of us had a single tick tonight!
At 5:30 we stopped at a quaint little tent site next to a steam and had dinner before tackling the last 3.5 miles to Cove Mountain Shelter. To our immense joy, the shelter had a bear box and some excellent campsites nearby. We met a flip-flopper named Bulldog, set up our tent, and called it a night.
Day 92: 15 miles hiked (trail mile 1160.6)
We left the shelter around 7:30 and hiked 3.5 miles into Duncannon. Duncannon instantly proved itself one of the most hiker-friendly towns we’ve traversed yet. The Sunoco had a great little selection and were super friendly, but we wanted to do a grocery store resupply, so walked a little over half a mile off trail to the Mutzabaugh Market via a well-marked road-path through a quiet neighborhood. At Mutzabaugh we did a resupply for 4 days. As we were finishing up, a store employee approached us to let us know if we ask at the register one of the store employees will drop us back on trail. While we were waiting for our ride, a local pulled up in her truck and told us to hop in, she’d take us right then and there. What a generous place!
Once on trail we hiked a short distance to The Doyle, a historic hostel and restaurant that Ranger stayed at on his first thruhike in 2005. The accommodations are bare bones but it’s an AT-famous spot for its hiker-friendly vibe, neat historic building, and shockingly low rates.
The Doyle
QB, the manager of the restaurant, lugged out some giant film photo albums from 2005-2007 when she learned that Ranger had first thruhiked back in ‘05. It turns out she took photos of many of the hikers that passed through in those years and although Ranger didn’t find his own photo, he found those of many of his thruhiking companions.
Ranger and QB with the album of 2005 thruhikers
After leaving the Doyle we completed a long and hot nearly 2 mile stretch through town and across the Susquehanna River, climbed over a parked train that was blocking the entrance to the trail, and hiked back into the mountains.
Train crossing!
When we reached the ridge, a storm hit fast and hard, dumping rain on us in sheets. Once the rain let up, we had a nice hike the rest of the way to Peter’s Mountain Shelter. Here we met a giant group of thruhikers, including Baked Potato, Moss Rock, Giggles, and Goose. They appear to be about 20 people strong and have apparently been just behind us since beginning the trail. We squeezed our tent into a pocket next to all the other tents and managed to get inside just before the rains began.
When the cicadas first emerge from their exoskeletons they are pasty white
Day 93: 17.8 miles hiked (trail mile 1178.4)
Today we lunched at a pretty campsite where we were able to take some time to dry out our rainfly from the night before. Although we used a chamois cloth to wipe it down (repeatedly wringing out the cloth) before packing it away, it was still drenched.
Later in the afternoon we saw a cluster of flowering pink lady slippers near a large mound if coal. We have been seeing signs indicating that old mining communities lived around these woods, so this must be a relic from that past.
Pink Lady Slippers
Abandoned mound of coal
We found a huge tenting site with lots of great flat spots at the turn-off for the shelter. That same giant group of thruhikers set up there, too, although we set up our tent on the edge of the campsite. Two thruhikers named Meta and Grasshopper set up their tent near ours and said hello as they bear-bagged off the same easy-access branch we did.
Tent city