Leaving town, we walk along a very busy road that crosses the Juniata River via a bridge. We miss the blaze for the pedestrian bridge and get on the wrong side of the bridge. We walk on the narrow shoulder into oncoming traffic, hugging the cement wall of the bridge whenever traffic comes whizzing by. Thankfully the walk across the Susquehanna River is short, and we are quickly back on the trail and climbing up the ridge, leaving the noise and hustle and bustle of civilization behind.
The hike up the ridge is relatively steep, and boy is it rocky in places. We keep wondering if this is the start of the infamous Pennsylvania rocks, but then the rocks end as quickly as they start. We meet a couple of gentlemen that are out clearing deadfall with a chainsaw. Kelly and I stop to chat briefly with them before we continue on our journey.
As we near the ridge the trail becomes extremely rocky and narrow with thick poison ivy lining both sides. The sun is bright overhead and with the heat, I am scanning the rocks constantly for rattlesnakes, since this is the kind of weather that brings them out on the rocks. At one point we have to climb up and down some boulders and I throw my poles about 15 feet to the ground on the other side of the rocks so that I can use my hands to grip rocks on the way down.
There are some gorgeous views to be had from the top of the ridge. Looking through the trees to the north, the town of Duncannon is visible far below across the wide confluence of the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers. The views are just as spectacular to the south, where the Susquehanna winds around bends and into the horizon.
Water is hard to come by on this ridge, so when we reach the next shelter area with a spring, we stop for an extended break. The water source is a way down the hill, so we take turns going down to collect water so one of us can remain at the shelter with our packs. Each of us takes about 15 minutes walking down the hill, filtering water, and then hiking back up.
We are back on the trail after about 45 minutes. The day is getting uncomfortably warm. Our packs are weighed down with all the water we are carrying because the only other water source on the ridge is another 8 miles up the trail, and that spring is even farther downhill than this one. We will probably dry camp on the ridge tonight and our next opportunity to get water will be tomorrow morning.
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| The Juniata River (background) and Susquehanna in the foreground |
We reach we reach a small footbridge over a road crossing and next to the trail is a large box with gallon jugs of water and a plastic container filled with snacks. The top of the snack container says this trail magic is courtesy of Rooster and Riblet. We check out the snacks and it is full of really good, yummy options: beef sticks, cheese and peanut butter crackers, and gummy bears. I grab some cheese and crackers, and Kelly grabs a couple snacks.
We sit on some large rocks next to the parking lot to you enjoy our snacks and take a break. We look at the map, but we are not really sure where we're going to stay tonight. There is a shelter coming up, but further on is a view with some tent sites. We decide we're just going to go to the shelter and see how we feel to determine whether we're going to stay there for the night or continue on.
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| Trail Magic! |
We reach the shelter around 5 P.M. It is right off the trail, so we drop our packs to check out the situation. We look at each other and I think we both know that we are done for the day. There are not many tent sites next to the shelter, and there are already several people setting up tents so we go ahead and snag a couple sites behind the shelter that will be perfect for my hammock and Kelly's tent. We set up and then go to the front of the shelter to say hello to the occupants.
Daddy Long Legs is here, as is a woman with a girl of about 10 years. The child is really adorable, and she asks us what our names are and starts animatedly telling us about her hike. Her trail name is Sweet Pea and the young woman she's hiking with isn't her mother but her grandmother! They started from Pen Mar and they're doing about 10 miles per day. I am so impressed. I can't imagine ever taking one of my 10-year-olds out backpacking, carrying a pack and hiking 10 miles a day, and still having enough energy to bounce around the shelter.
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We eat dinner on the porch of the gorgeous Peter's Mountain Shelter. It is a true two-level palace, with enough room for 15 or 20 people inside. I don't recall any bigger shelter on the trail thus far. A picnic table is inside the front of the shelter, and a lovely little porch is under cover.
I show Sweet Pea a couple of easy to identify wild edible plants that are scattered in front of the shelter, and then I go to bed.
Today's Stats: 11.2 miles, 1,837 feet gain, 1, 024 feet loss
Trail Stats: 1161 miles, 245K feet gain, 251K feet loss
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