I woke up, crawled out of my sleeping bag and climbed down from my bunk. It had stopped raining, but we opted to cook breakfast inside. It was too wet to eat outside. After breakfast and coffee, we packed up and got ready to hit the trail. Uber-Bot and WAN-Man were ready to go, but I still needed water. I told them to go ahead, I’d catch up. It only took me a minute or two to fill up my Nalgene bottles.
There are two trails leaving the 501 Shelter. The one we came in on, which is blazed blue. Or a red blazed one that comes out a little further to the north. I didn’t know which one they had taken, but I decided that if they took the Red Blaze I’d never catch up if I took the Blue Blaze, and if they took the Blue Blaze I might be able to cut them off at the pass using the Red Blaze.
I headed off following the Red Blazes, until that trail dead ended on another trail. I looked both ways, but I didn’t see any blazes. I was unsure of which way to go. I backtracked, but the red blazes had definitely led to this spot. It didn’t look like the AT, it was overgrown and unblazed. Of course, the trail the day before had been rather overgrown also. If it was the AT, I’d need to turn left. So I made a left and started walking. I still didn’t see any blazes. After a while, the trail dead ended at another intersection.
This must be the AT, I thought. I turned left and started walking. But there were no blazes, no signs, no hints of any sort. So I turned around and headed the other direction in search of a clue. But there was nothing, do I turned around again and started walking. I walked until I was about ready to start backtracking again, but in the distance I saw a white sign. I walked to it and looked at it. It had symbols indicating Horses and Bikes and at the very bottom in small print, it said ATC. If this wasn’t the trail it must surely lead to it. I walked on until once again the trail dead ended on to another trail. This time when I peered down the trail I saw a familiar white blaze on a tree.
After wandering around for a half hour or so, I had finally found the trail. I started walking and tried to set an aggressive pace. I was way behind the other two now. The pace did not last long however, as the trail was replaced with boulders. I had to step from one to the next as I attempted to follow the blazes. It didn’t take long before I was thoroughly defeated.
The Appalachian Trail runs from Maine to Georgia. It was formed, in part, to connect existing trails that ran through the great Mountain Ranges of Tennessee, Virginia and New England. There are interesting mountains in Pennsylvania, but there are located to the North and West of the AT. The goal of the Trail in Pennsylvania is to go East. While we think of the East Coast in terms of North and South, you have to remember that Boston is hundreds of miles east of Washington, DC. So the Trail goes East over the rocky ridges of Pennsylvania.
As a result, the Trail through Pennsylvania is somewhat uninspiring. It runs over low rocky ridges, across farmland, and through a number of towns. There are very few spectacular views. The most remarkable thing about the Trail in Pennsylvania is, as a matter of fact, all of the rocks. Large Boulders you have climb over. Fields of boulders that you have to traverse, hopping from one rock to the next. Trail that has smaller rocks sticking up all over the place, just enough to make you have to watch your step to avoid rolling your ankle. Opinions about Pennsylvania may vary, but is generally agreed that Pennsylvania has more than its share of rocks.
As I walked over the rocks, I found myself going slower and slower. I kept thinking, around this next bend, I will find real trail again. But I didn’t, I found more rocks. I just stood there and stared. I did my my best to will teh rocks away, but it wasn’t enough. So pushed on to the next bend, once again hoping for an end to the rocks. And so it went for nearly a mile. To say I was moving slowly, would have been an understatement. I hadn’t walked more than two miles and I had already had enough. And then it started raining.
I kept walking. Because that is what you do. You either sit down on the trail in exasperation or you keep walking. And if you choose the latter, sooner or later you will still have to get up and walk anyway. The rain wasn’t more than a drizzle, and it let up after a bit.
Eventually I caught up with my friends. They were waiting for me at a campsite. I don’t know exactly how long they waited, but it was a long time. I cooked some ramen noodles for a lunch, and this seemed to give me a little energy. We set off again, and I did my best to keep up with them.
I did pretty good for several miles. But I ran out of steam. My friends walked out of site as I trudged along. I knew the shelter couldn’t be too far, but I was so beat, I couldn’t help but walk slow. I finally arrived at the shelter. The Uber-bot and I, opted to tent. The WAN-Man stayed in the shelter with two older section hikers.
I set up my tent. And cooked my dinner. I was exhausted. I went in to my tent, read for a few minutes, then went to sleep. I woke up to the sound of driving rain. I did a quick inspection of my tent and my gear, but everything seemed to be keeping dry. I closed my eyes and was out like a light.
Continued.