As some of you know I have left the Appalachian Trail at Duncannon, Pa., after having some trouble with my knees and having to get back to work anyway. I had a few pictures left on my digital camera and I felt I should share them, as well as what I plan to do on the Trail next.
While I was in Duncannon I actually met Bilge Rat, the occasional hiker and merchant mariner whose favorite thing to do is to play pranks on other hikers. He was responsible for a fake electrical outlet and telephone booth in shelters in North Carolina. And, as it turned out, I hadn’t seen the last of his pranks.
On the afternoon of July 11th I actually left Duncannon to head up Peters Mountain, and after having lunch at the truckstop I went 2.9 miles or so out of town, across the Susquehanna River on the Clarks Ferry Bridge, and up the very rocky mountain to Clarks Ferry Shelter. My knees didn’t like this stumbling over rocks very much, and to this day they still bother me from time to time.
When I finally got up to the top of the ridgeline, I saw this water spigot, installed courtesy of Bilge Rat.
The next morning I made the mistake of turning on my phone before I packed up to hike out. There were four messages, all work-related. And that’s when I knew the hike was over.
So that Monday morning I returned across the bridge to the Park and Ride lot where a Harrisburg city bus stops, caught the bus into Pennsylvania’s state capital, and then a Greyhound bus home.
The Appalachian Trail, though I didn’t hike the whole thing, or even as much of it as I would have been satisfied with, has been an amazing experience. Even aside from the various injuries, the nature of my work simply won’t permit me to complete a thru-hike at this time, and probably not at any time in the near future. I do plan to get out to the Trail for section hikes as often as I can, though, hopefully beginning with several weekend hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire through the end of September. Some time in my life, though, when I don’t have to work constantly, I’m going to have to return and try it again.
you’re more responsable than most.i enjoyed reading and seeing yer adventure.you can only ush yer body so much before it ll quit on you.hope to see you out there on the trail one day.
It’s a bummer, of course, that at a point in your life when you want to enjoy a few months of leisure, you still have to commit to earning money to sustain your lifestyle. But since you’ve already taken a couple months off and enjoyed part of the hike, it seems likely you’ll make it happen again. I hope so.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hampton_(disambiguation)
Tell me that 15 years ago you thought you would go down in history for writing words instead of code.
Have been section hiking for 20 years…from Springer to Duncannon and am about to add another 84 miles next month continuing north. Onward and upward! Hope you’ll get back on the trail soon.