Mile 1,129.0
Elevation 490 feet
Miles Hiked 20.0
This is going to be a long day. I got up at 6:00 AM and started packing my backpack. I tried to do it quietly since the other hikers were still asleep. There will be no breakfast this morning. The water source at the James Fry Shelter is dry, and I’m out of water. I have twenty miles to go today, and based on what the SOBO hikers at the shelter told me, there are a lot of steep climbs and descents with rock and boulder scrambles mixed in.
I was on the trail by 7:00 AM. The first order of business was to get water about a quarter of a mile down the trail. Once completed, I headed for the climbs.
None of the climbs were that high. The highest was about 400 feet. However, they had boulders, and they could not be hurried over. Still, I made good time and cleared the last rock scramble just after noon.
Then the trail took an interesting turn. It headed out of the woods and across farmland. The change in scenery was nice. It’s kind of cool to be walking next to corn stalks that are taller than I am. The downside, though, was the loss of tree cover. It was hot – at least in the high 80’s. I must have walked a couple of miles in those open fields before reaching the town of Boiling Springs, Pa.
I had a resupply shipment waiting for me at the post office, so I grabbed that first, and then headed for a convenience store down the street. I bought two 32 oz Gatorades and a sandwich and chowed down. I ran out of water before I got to Boiling Springs and rather than replenish the water, I decided to use the second Gatorade to get me through the rest of the day. I still had eight miles to go and it was nearly 3:00 PM.
After getting my supply package, I realized I had too much Oatmeal (breakfast). That stuff is heavy. So, I stopped at the Boiling Springs regional Appalachian Trail Conservancy office and put most of the Oatmeal I just received in the hiker box. Maybe someone else can use it.
The rest of the trail to the Day’s Inn was pretty flat and alternated from tree shelter in the woods to open pastures and farmland. It was perfect for moving fast, and the last eight miles of my twenty mile day went fast. I reached a trail jump off point a little after 6:00 PM and walked on the side of a busy highway about .4 mile to the Days Inn. I was done!
I ordered a pizza for delivery to my motel room and then took a long shower. Tomorrow is a zero day (no hiking). It will be a busy time for me. I’ll do wash and clean all my gear. I saw the next week’s weather report and it’s good and bad. Good because there will be no rain or really cold temperatures. Bad because temperatures are forecast to be in the upper 80’s for most of the next week. Ugh!
