Journals

According to Pittsburgh:

JULY 3, 1997 - THURSDAY
   we had two wonderful days off. TIMMY has been given a clean bill of health, SUNSHINE and i had a tremendous time at the amusement park, and GILAMAN and PANTHER FAN had a great time doing laundry and grocery shopping...
   we left my parents home in NEW ALEXANDRIA PA at 7am and arrived at WHISKEY SPRING ROAD at 10:30am. SUNSHINE and i hiked out from there. TIMMY and PETER PAN were to arrive at WHISKEY SPRING ROAD sometime in the morning for TIMMY to begin her hike. we did not know if she was ahead of us or not...
   the day was HOT and HUMID. we were hiking relatively short miles, but it seemed like a million miles! we were all ready for the hike to end, and happily headed for the SUPER 8 MOTEL on US 11. we all took showers then headed for HOSSs RESTAURANT (highly recommended)...

JULY 4, 1997 - FRIDAY
   we all ate at BOBs BIG BOY RESTAURANT (typical), then hiked out from US 11. less humidity, more miles. i have now hiked two full mileage days, and have had no enjoyment. i am wearing the knee braces and having no more knee pain, but something is getting in the way of any enjoyment...
   i ran into a person, named ALGOOD, and his dog, named ERWIN, that i had met on the trail last year. I had met him at the WAWAYANDA shelter in NEW YORK. he was hiking, at that time, with two young ladies, named INTERPLANET JANET and MARMONT, whom i met at TRAIL DAYS in DAMASCUS VA...
   we ended the hike at DUNCANNON PA. SUNSHINE did not have a good day, and was glad it was over. there were few options for a place to stay. the DOYLE HOTEL had vacancies, but it was not our kind of place (bar, smoke, country music, shared bathrooms, dirty), the campground was charging three days minimum, and the truck stop motel was full. we ended up travelling a bit, and staying at another SUPER 8 MOTEL. we took showers, then had supper at PIZZA HUT...

JULY 5, 1997 - SATURDAY
   we dropped SUNSHINE and TIMMY in DUNCANNON, then headed to the truck stop for breakfast (blah). we then headed for the PA 225 road crossing where i started my hike. it was an easy ridgeline walk for most of the distance, then a quick descent to CLARKS VALLEY (PA 325). i had met PETER PAN on the trail, he was doing a day-hike, and borrowed his keys. the van had not arrived when i did, so i sat in PETER PANs vehicle and listened to talk radio. GILAMAN and PANTHER FAN arrived, then PETER PAN...
   PETER PAN, PANTHER FAN, and i headed out in PETER PANs vehicle. our destination was the 501 SHELTER to pick up HOOPS and M&M. we had made arrangements, while at PINE GROVE FURNACE STATE PARK, to go to the JULY 5th FIREWORKS in HERSHEY PA. HOOPS and M&M were there, so we loaded them and their packs, and headed back to CLARKS VALLEY. we had a PASTA group meal, then everyone set up camp 100 yards or so north of the parking lot, just off of the trail...
   PANTHER FAN, HOOPS, M&M, and i headed to HERSHEY PA for the FIREWORKS. we parked along the road near the stadium and waited (we were a couple hours early). FRANKIE AVALON and FABIAN were the entertainment for the evening, and were inside the stadium. there were FIREWORKS eventually, they were a disappointment, but we kept each other entertained!!!

JULY 6, 1997 - SUNDAY
   after breakfast, the ladies hiked out from CLARKS VALLEY (PA 325). PETER PAN headed out, and the rest of us took HOOPS and M&M to PA 501, to begin their hike. we guys then headed for a sit down breakfast, after which we secured a campsite at the LICKDALE campground, just a mile or so from where SUNSHINE and TIMMY were to finish their hike, which was at SWATARA GAP (near PA 72)...
   it was not easy to find the location of the end of the hike. the maps, guidebooks, and databook were not very helpful. we first were at an A.T. parking lot at the intersection of PA 443 and PA 72. SUNSHINE showed up there and thought her hike was over, as we, PANTHER FAN and i, did. TIMMY arrived and decided that this was not the end of the hike, that there must be another mile to go. the ladies continued hiking, and we took the van down the road in search of another road crossing. i had been in the area on my hike last year, and was beginning to remember something about an old IRON BRIDGE. we turned off of PA 72, and over a bridge, then onto a backcountry paved road. this took us to the IRON BRIDGE. after the bridge, the A.T. continued back along the road, that we just came on, for 0.3 miles, heading into the woods underneath I-81. this is were the ladies eventually ended their hike...
   we all headed for the campground (PETER PAN and GILAMAN were there), took showers, ate supper, got ice-cream from the campstore, and argued with the guy in the next campsite about his radio being so loud...

JULY 7, 1997 - MONDAY
   after breaking down camp and eating breakfast, we ran the ladies to the beginning of their hike at SWATARA GAP, near PA 72. PETER PAN headed for home (north carolina) and the rest of us headed for JONESTOWN PA to do laundry. after that, we headed for PA 501 so that i could begin my hike...
   i had hiked this portion of the trail last year, and was expecting some familiarity. the famous PENNSYLVANIA ROCKS (jagged, triangular rocks, with sharp pointed edges, that litter the trail) were in abundance! shortly into the hike was an undocumented trail relocation. i remembered the trail as a ravine, of sorts, that held water on wet days (it had been like hiking in a stream), and assumed that the relo was an effort to avoid this. the relo, as i discovered, also added mileage to the hike. this can be disheartening to hikers that carefully plan mileages, as we do. the ladies already were doing a 19.9 mile day, which is very significant, and the unplanned, and undocumented, additional mileage would undoubtedly piss them off...
   the van was waiting at PA 183 when i arrived. we then headed for the APPALACHIAN campground to secure a campsite. GILAMAN and i then headed back to PA 183 to wait for the ladies. they had questions about the relo when they arrived, indicating that it seemed to add mileage to the trip. [ TO THE MAINTAINING ORGANIZATION: IT IS A SERIOUS OVERSITE TO ADD MILEAGE TO A HIKE, AND THEN TO NOT DOCUMENT IT. A SIGN ON THE TRAIL INDICATING THE ADDITIONAL MILEAGE WOULD HAVE SUFFICED FOR THE TIME BEING ] we headed for the campground, took showers, ate supper, then went to DAIRY QUEEN for ice cream...

JULY 8, 1997 - TUESDAY
we dropped the ladies off at PA 183 after eating breakfast nad breaking camp. i did not hike today. PANTHER FAN, GILAMAN, and i checked out the road crossings for the next few days, and determined that we would be staying at the PAVILION in PORT CLINTON PA tonight and at a campground tommorrow. the PAVILION apparently is community property, and hikers are permitted to stay the night under cover, or camp outside...
the ladies ended their hike at the POST OFFICE in PORT CLINTON, and we took them the half mile to the PAVILION. a number of hikers were there, including: SPICE BOY, WATER GIRL, SPICE, FRODO, SNACKS, PITTER, BALTIMORE JACK, and a few others. PITTER was the highlight of the evening, she shaved her head!!!

JULY 9, 1997 - WEDNESDAY
   the ladies hiked out from PORT CLINTON after breakfast. i, again, did not hike. PANTHER FAN, GILAMAN, and i checked on a few more future road crossings, and have a good idea where we will be staying for the next many nights. we headed for the CHRISTMAS PINES campground and secured a campsite...
   SUNSHINE had arrived at HAWK MOUNTAIN ROAD before PANTHER FAN and i showed up. she had walked down the road to the ECKVILLE shelter (an old barn, or garage, behind a house), looking for a cold soda. there was a refrigerator on the porch of the house with drinks and snacks. we picked SUNSHINE up at the house, and all indulged in SODAS and SNACKS...
   TIMMY arrived at the road crossing a short time later, and we all headed for the campground. the rains came as we drove, and continued intermittantly for the rest of the evening. showers, supper, and ICE CREAM ended the day...

JULY 10, 1998 - THURSDAY
   we ate breakfast, broke camp, and drove to HAWK MOUNTAIN ROAD, where the ladies began their hike. i stayed with the van, as the guys ran some errands, so that i could make some calls. we then drove to LEHIGH GAP (PA 873) where i started my hike south...
   it was a glorious weather day, clear and not too much humidity. i ran into many thru-hikers: CHESSMASTER, DR. D, CHARLIE (retired full bird colonel), AQUAHOLIC, LAND SHARK, PAKABEAR, BEAR, SPICE, ZOOMAN, CHICKENMAN, SPARROWHAWK, plus more. i took a few long breaks, reading shelter registers, or my latest SCI-FI novel. the trail was mostly LITTLE POINTY ROCKS, with some LARGE POINTY BOULDERS thrown in...
   we all ended our hikes at BAKE OVEN KNOB ROAD. i was the last to arrive, and as i did, everyone started dancing to music from the radio in the van. since i have been out here on the trail, music has become an irritant to me, and i feign great hatred for it in a very mellodramatic manner at times. it is in response to this peculiar dislike of music that had them dancing. in other words, THEY WERE COLLECTIVELY ABUSING ME IN A NON-VERBAL MANNER! payback can be a bitch though...
   a friend of SUNSHINEs, named TOM, arrived. he will be hiking with us for a few days. we ate SALAD and CORN ON THE COB for supper. there has been some talk about shaving our heads...

JULY 11, 1997 - FRIDAY
   apparently there were some locals shooting off fireworks in the adjacent parking lot over night. TIMMY and i did not hear a thing, but the rest did...
   after breakfast, SUNSHINE and TOM, then TIMMY began their hikes from BAKE OVEN KNOB ROAD. i stayed with the van. we drove into NEW JERSEY to scope out the accomodations for when we cross the border. while in JERSEY, we put a CARE PACKAGE together for HOOPS and M&M, and left it on the trail near the MILLBROOK-BLAIRSTOWN road crossing. they have been such good friends, and have been a pleasure to be around. we may not be seeing them again since they are a couple of days ahead, so the package was just to say HELLO and GOODBYE...
   back into PA, the guys dropped me at SMITH GAP ROAD to begin my southbound hike. i ran into a few of the people that i had seen yesterday, plus BALTIMORE JACK and his traveling companion. this section of trail is very easy. it is level, and the rocks are not too bad. near LITTLE GAP, the destination for all of our hikes, the trail descends over some large boulders. rock hopping was in order...
   i was the last one to arrive, there was no dancing, and everyone still had their hair...

JULY 12, 1997 - SATURDAY
SUNSHINE and TIMMY hiked out from LITTLE GAP after breakfast. i stayed with the van as we guys ran errands all day. the ladies ended their hike at WIND GAP (PA 33/115). we then travelled south along the DELAWARE RIVER to the home of a friend of SUNSHINEs...
we all took showers, then i headed for STROUDSBURG PA to see a DRUM & BUGLE CORPS competition at the high school stadium. anyone familiar with DRUM CORPS, please e-mail me, and we can chat...

JULY 13, 1997 - SUNDAY
   this was to be a day off for us, but we decided to split the hike slated for MONDAY into two parts. we had a PANCAKE breakfast at SUNSHINEs friends home, then headed out. todays hike was WIND GAP to FOX GAP (PA 191). we had been warned about how difficult this hike was to be, but it was a piece of cake...
   after the hike, we travelled a very short distance to the home of a cousin of SUNSHINEs. a family gathering was planned, and SUNSHINE was really looking forward to it. we were all welcomed warmly, then took showers before the festivities began. a friend of TIMMYs showed up. GILAMAN, PANTHER FAN and i headed out to see a movie...
   SUNSHINEs family is very musical, and were JAMMIN' when we returned. the JAMS continued into the night...

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