Some part of me always seems to want to pick up where I last left off. Hiking is no different. After the trek from Duncannon to Boiling Springs to start the year the next logical thing to do would be pick up right where I left off. Starting in Boiling Springs right at the ATC and head south towards Pine Grove Furnace and the AT Museum.
As I arrived at the ATC headquarters beside Children’s Lake it was great to see that I was not the only one intending to hike today. Even with the wind and cold, and snow a group of about 7 people were also gearing up across the parking lot. Then it hit me, they were boy scouts. My heart sank. Let me be honest. I think in practice that boy scout are a great thing, and they do many wonderful things for children, society and the outdoors. However, I feel the same way about Boy Scouts as I do Nuclear Power Plants, not in my back yard. I want to enjoy peace and quiet while hiking. Most(not all) of my Boy Scout encounters are filled with noisy awkward young men and older men with more patience than myself. Kudos to all of them though, seriously! I was more than relieve when they exited the parking lot heading North knowing my route would be to the South.
I walked passed the lake to a rather confusing lack of signage to the opposite side of the Yellow Breeches heading towards the mountains. It’s always nice to look ahead across a snow covered and wind filled field knowing you’ll be spending the night on top of the distant mountain, sort of. Better keep moving. Half way across the field I thought to myself how I wish I had some of those fancy waterproof boot gaiters those boy scouts were wearing, instead of my trail runners and moderately wet pants, well played scouts well played.
I came across my first thru hiker for the year headed NOBO to Canada. He had cut his thru hike short at Harpers Ferry last year. For a thru hiker a few things struck me as odd. His full mismatched army issue Gore-Tex pants, and coat, paracord belt and super sweet Hyperlite Mountain Gear pack, worth about twice as much as the rest of his belongings, including the sleeping bag in a garbage bag tied to the top.
I made it to the shelter long before dark after showing a group of hikers how to cross the stream we came to at the same time. I did ask one of them to bite the bullet and carry us all across, he declined. I went for it and made it across dry, laughing as the first one in got a wet foot after explaining which way to go. With a belly full of hot food listened to the sound of dirt bikes racing through the woods off in the distance. As night fell dirt bikes turned into tuba practice. Yes tuba practice. There is no animal known to inhabit north American that can carry a tune like a big brass tuba that I know of, so a tuba it was.
Before I could make it out of Dodge a volunteer for the Maryland Hikers Club showered up carrying saw dust for the privy and to check on everything with the shelter, 3 of which he was checking on today. They do a great service, always off them hot coffee.
I finished off the hike to Pine Grove Furnace moving a little slower than usual due to ice from people traffic but I made it none the less. I ended up talking to a hiker called Earth Tone, he runs the AT Museum and invited me in to talk about hiking. I had seen several shelter logs he singed into and it’s always nice to put a face to a trail name. I told him he would see me again, he will.
The general store wasn’t open so the Half Gallon Challenge will have to wait until 2016. As a Tonkin, I fear no ice cream.
