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Day 2 Saturday May 24, 2014 Darlington Shelter to Duncannon, PA (Staying at the Stardust Motel) I fell today. Yes, a sacrifice to the trail gods was necessary before the descent into Duncannon. As usual for me it was on the least rocky section of trail…I loosen my focus for 2 seconds…skinned my right knee […]
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Day 1 Friday May 23, 2014 Trindle Road to Darlington Shelter (Staying in shelter) This day! Wow! Easiest hiking I have ever done on the AT if you exclude the part just before Darlington Shelter. Google and I left Trindle Road at about 10 am this morning and got to Darlington about 4:30 pm. The […]
Officially planning for a backpack in May! As I sort through my books…and I got a new one (insert happy squeaky voice)…I am sort of talking through the backpack. The dogs are giving me the “oh god, again?” look and the cats are quite distracted as they have found the corner of my books are quite fun to rip apart. Oh well, shoo cats, I have work to do. 🙂
So I think I will try to do 70 miles in 6 days…hahahahahaaaa….chortle, guffaw and all that nonsense. What am I thinking? I prefer 8 mile days…But I am sticking to this plan for the moment. I mean I have 5 whole months to prepare…
The elevation profiles are from my new book (yes, squeaky happy voice again 🙂 ) The ALDHA AT Thru-Hiker’s Companion. Still love AWOL’s book, but the elevation profiles are a bit more detailed in the ALDHA book. Either book is a super resource to have when planning. I take the official AT maps on the backpack.
Anyway, here’s the plan:
During the Trail Dame Camp Out: Section between PA94 Mt. Holly Springs and Pine Grove Furnace SP ~10.5 miles
The following week I will return to the area to backpack ~70 mile section.
Day 1: PA94 Mt Holly Springs, PA (1104.3) to Backpackers campsite (1112.5) 8.2 miles
Day 2: Backpackers campsite to Darlington Shelter (1127.2) 14.7 miles No camping allowed in between!!
Day 3: Darlington Shelter to Duncannon, PA. (1138.5) 11.3 miles Stay in hotel. Resupply as needed.
Day 4: Duncannon, PA to Peters Mountain Shelter (1149.8) 11.3 miles
Day 5: Peters Mountain Shelter to Yellow Springs Trail (Clearing with trail register, camping) (1163.3) 13.5 miles
Day 6: Yellow Springs campsite to Swatara Gap, PA 72 Lickdale, PA (1174) 10.7 miles
So here’s to planning on a frigid winter day! Now I am going to sit back, have another cup of Peppermint tea and figure out how I am going to day hike all of Shenandoah National Park during 2014! Hike on! 😀
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10/20/13 Crampton Gap (Gathland State Park) to the ATC in Harper’s Ferry The last section of our backpack started with the “bed & breakfast” treatment at Dirigo and Python’s house in WVA! Coffee of our choice and a leisurely wake up time! Soon we were on our way back to Crampton Gap. The mosh pit […]
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October 19, 2013 Pine Knob Shelter to Crampton Gap Shelter…then to Dirigo & Python’s basement in WVA…but I am getting ahead of myself… From my sleeping bag it seemed like dawn was going to happen at any moment. The forest was actually light enough to see through the trees. V. had just returned to the […]
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10/18/2013 Ensign Cowall Shelter to Pine Knob Shelter It rained off and on all night! So happy I was in the shelter as I kept hearing acorns and small limbs hit the roof of the shelter. The front that had moved in left us with a chilly, damp morning. This was the kind of morning […]
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10/17/2013 PenMar to Ensign Cowall Shelter (10 miles) This was a tough 10 miles! No surprises there…lots of rocks and then there was the climb up Quirauk Mountain to High Rock. Boomerang, Google, V. and myself started off from PenMar at about 10:15. We trekked north about a quarter of a mile to the Mason-Dixon […]
Tomorrow is a training hike. Not even remotely prepared for this! I have been taking care of a litter of feral kittens…from bottle feeding to socializing. As I write I hear the patter of little kitten feet in the room above me. They are about seven weeks old now and will be ready for adoption through the Animal Welfare League of Frederick in a few weeks…but I digress. 🙂
Back to the training hike. I ran around tonight just gathering my back packing gear. Where did I put the pack again? Oh Little Caesar moved it into the storage room. I have all my gear stored in the pack for easy access. Carried it downstairs to organize. Sleeping pad…check, tent…check, first aid kit…check, new pillow (in my best happy squeeky voice 😀 )…check, sleeping bag…uh…sleeping bag…WHERE IS MY SLEEPING BAG??? My stuff sack is here, but where is the bag? Crap! Okay…calm…maintain…Little Caesar in her gestapo cleaning mode probably put it up in the storage room… Went back to the storage room. God, it’s hot in here tonight…oh there it is…whew! relief…exhale!
Okay so in the pack so far is:
Sleeping Bag
Sleeping pad/pillow
tent, first aid, hygeine, compass, pocket knife, bandana (1), fuel, water filter, stove, cookware/bowl, headlamp, pack cover, rain poncho, and bear vault w/o food
Tomorrow I will add water and some clothes for weight.
Doing a 5.5 mile loop up and down a mountain. Should be humbling! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Girl Gone Hiking 