Legs and Borders

Trail got a bit more rugged today but the weather held up really well. I've hiked out from the campsite at 6 AM with G. he was complaining about an ankle pain, his backpack got damaged yesterday as well. It took us just over an hour to reach Duncannon, town was all set up and ready for the Memorial Day. I went to 7-Eleven to get few snacks and G. went to the laundromat. I've met Packrunner and Freewill by the market having hotdogs for breakfast, they were planning to do their laundry as well and then do another big day, I didn't ask them how far they were going as I didn't want to turn our back and forth into some kind of competition. I haven't seen them for the rest of the day. I went by the laundromat where G. informed me that he decided to take a day off to recover and mend his backpack, we took few pictures together and said goodbye, it was nice to hike with him for a while. I've carried on and visited Subway for breakfast...

Another efficient day sponsored by Pennsylvania's easy terrain and good weather. I've walked down from the Rocky Ridge campsite in the morning straight to the town called Boiling Springs and had an amazing mexican skillet breakfast in Cafe 101. I've met few other thru hikers here, Freewill and Packrunner with whom I've stayed at Thru It All church two days ago and G. a very friendly guy from Georgia, he started hiking in February. Freewill and Packrunner were travelling at similar pace to me but they clearly were moving faster through Pennsylvania as I've seen them running past me few hours later! They've been hiking Appalachian Trail for the third time, absolute nutters in the best possible sense of the word of course! The trail was very flat and it was going through the farmlands it really reminded me of hiking through the English countryside. There was a farmhouse shop called Trail View Market along the way, where kids dres...

"When you write a book come back here and we'll add it to our library" Lady at the Appalachian Trail Museum The trail finally ticked over the halfway point today. After a quick breakfast and a coffee I've hiked out of Thru It All Ministries along the road and arrived at the AT around 6:30 AM Weather got finally better and the path was relatively easy which resulted in many day hikers along the way. At 11 AM I stumbled upon a trail magic, first in Pennsylvania run by Food Mama and Bonus an older couple living nearby, they've been doing it for 11 years! They even hosted people I've hiked with on PCT like Field Trip family in 2021. Bonus had an amazing memory for names and dates despite being a senior guy. His trail name origin was also quite interesting. He didn't know who his father was until he was 61, but by this time his father was already dead. One of his cousins revealed to him that he also has six brothers and sisters which he got to meet after all th...

First but unfortunately rainy day in Pennsylvania, I've opted to stay indoors for the night to dry everything up. I've started early to quickly reach the road leading to Walmart and resupply, I've also crossed the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania along the way! The plan worked out well, but the weather turned from bad to worse and by the time I arrived at the road I was soaked. Luckily a friendly truck driver picked me up five minutes later and delivered right outside the supermarket three miles down the road. I bought the stuff I needed, mainly ramen packets, tortillas, various snacks and my new favourite: boiled eggs! I've ate at Subway, repackaged everything and got back on the road with my thumb up ready to go back. Very quickly a lady visiting her grandchildren in a house nearby spotted me and offered me a ride. Ten minutes later I was back on the AT! I went past twin shelters for "snoring" and "non-snoring...

"What was the most difficult part of the Appalachian Trail for you so far? - Norovirus." Diva My second and last day in Maryland, tomorrow I'm walking into Pennsylvania. Bad weather is back on the menu. It was raining all day and it was fairly cold so I was snacking a lot to keep myself warm. At around 9 AM I've arrived at the Dahlgren Backpack Campground which had hot, free showers! I didn't take a shower though as it was cold and wet.. also I didn't have a towel I could dry myself with, sad times. I've met Danglish here, a local American coming back home to support his aging parents after 16 years spent working in Germany. He was hiking the 40 mile Maryland section of AT and meeting them tonight for dinner at Harper's Ferry which was his favourite town in US. The trail was quite rocky and was crossing many roads, I've seen few school groups hiking south, every time they would see me someone would sh...