Here is a photo I forced Seth to take of me. It’s so beautiful! Oh, the flower is pretty good too I guess.
Reluctantly I unzipped my sleeping bag around 7:00 am after a poor night’s sleep. The ground was comfortable, and it wasn’t too hot or cold, but for some reason, I had tossed and turned all night long. I ate a couple of pop tarts as I took down my tent and packed up my gear. I had broken camp so many times, I could do it in just a couple of minutes.
We were all a little sluggish in the morning, and battling the Pennsylvania rocks did not help one bit. The first part of the day was mostly a tedious scramble over massive boulders. By the afernoon the trail seemed to develop a split personality. We would be hike a mile over giant, slippery, jagged rocks, and the next mile or two would be the widest, flattest trail I had ever seen. Some parts of looked like they had been mowed. I asked Seth, “Who do you think mows this? Mos Def?” He stared at me with deep disappointment. By the early afternoon, I could feel the t-band in my right knee popping a little, but I was not too worried about it. I tried stretching whenever I could, but it just felt like a problem that had to work itself out of the course of the hike.
Another issue that plagued us that day was the lack of water. Barring a few exceptions, for the first 1,200 miles of the trail, we would come a across a steam, river, or spring every few hours. Between the space water and rocks, I was starting to understand why so many thru-hikers complained about Pennsylvania. I was so desperate for hydration, at one point I ventured down a super steep cliff to see if I could find, what my trail guide described as, an “unreliable, seasonal spring.” My heart sank when I found that it was bone dry. Eventually we happened upon murky, trickling steam. I filled up all of my bottles, treated the water, and then sat in the mud, chugging it down for the next ten minutes.In spite of the challenges, we all had a good time hiking together. We told stories, joked and enjoyed each other’s company.
The sun started to go down as we reached a wide, paved road. A few hundred yards away there was a bustling restaurant in sight of the trail. We all stood there looking at it for a few minutes, trying to decide if we should get some dinner or hike the remaining 2 miles to the campsite. Knowing we weould be in a town the next night, we decided to just press on to the campsite. I felt like a badass denying convenient “town food” in favor of a ramen in the woods. That’s why I was out there after all.
The sun had completely set when we found the short side trail that led down to the New Tripoli Campsite. At the campsite, there was a large fire pit, a stream and a couple of flat campsites. I set up my tent on a flat spot closer to the firepit, while Freight Train and Seth set up in a spot next to the stream. Once my tent was set up, I started a fire in the firepit and we all gathered around to cook our dinners. We were the only three people at the campsite. Unlike down South, there were very few thru-hikers on that section of trail. I was always surprised when we arrived at a shelter or campsite and another hiker was already there. For dinner, I had a delicious, spicy korean ramen. With MSG pumping through my bloodstream, I called Courtney from my tent. I always felt a little more empowered for the next day if I talked to Courtney before bed. We had another great conversation.
The night was cool, and as I started to fall asleep, a huge thunderstorm roared through the forest. The rain was heavy, but I slept great! My Eureka Backcountry tent was indestructible. Another 22 miles in the books.
Smooth's Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike 