(this daily journal was kept and rewritten by my sister Laurie and presented to me as a gift - I now rewrite it here for you)
Broke camp at 8:35. Crossed Clark's Creek and started up a mountain. We met 2 snake hunters abd were relieved that they hadn't found any. After talking a while, we hiked on and reached the summit of Stoney Mountain. We met 2 guys at Yellow Spring site. They were on an overnight. Talked for a while. Don set a good pace but I had trouble keeping up. Stopped to talk to a birdwatcher. Passed old mining sites and came to Rausch Creek. After putting on bathing suits we sat in the middle of the stream and bathed. Reached Rausch Gap Shelter at 3:30. What a gorgeous place. It has everything imaginable from a patio to piped in water. An old time hiker named Warren Thompson was there. We invited him to eat with us. We still had an overload of food. Ed and Flo Bausch came in to camp soon after. This was a really nice day. Lots of nice people around. Enjoyable evening.
(Laurie forgot to mention the outhouse with the translucent roof which felt like you were in an odd spaceship)
Friday, June 28, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
June 21 1973 - spring near Clark's Vally - 14 miles
(this daily journal was kept and rewritten by my sister Laurie and presented to me as a gift - I now rewrite it here for you)
I am awake and it's still raining. Don and Jay are still sleeping since there is a slim chance of getting decent mileage today. The trail is extremely slippery. (end for now). Back again at 8:20pm. It stopped raining at 12 noon so we picked up and left at 12:30. Nice trails and views for the first 8 miles to Shaffer Shelter. Didn't stay there because the spring was brutal to get to. Ate and moved on. Tried to reach old Clark Valley Shelter that had been torn destroyed. Those last 6.2 miles seemed like forever. Finally found a spring at 7:30. Exhausted and bitchy, we crashed on the side of a mountain. I didn't feel like moving. We put up the tent about a foot from the spring. The ground was damp and slanted but it didn't matter at that time. If we slid out of the tent door we wouldn't know the difference. Had instant breakfast for supper. Don and Jay had Kwik Lunches. Went to sleep at 8:30.
I am awake and it's still raining. Don and Jay are still sleeping since there is a slim chance of getting decent mileage today. The trail is extremely slippery. (end for now). Back again at 8:20pm. It stopped raining at 12 noon so we picked up and left at 12:30. Nice trails and views for the first 8 miles to Shaffer Shelter. Didn't stay there because the spring was brutal to get to. Ate and moved on. Tried to reach old Clark Valley Shelter that had been torn destroyed. Those last 6.2 miles seemed like forever. Finally found a spring at 7:30. Exhausted and bitchy, we crashed on the side of a mountain. I didn't feel like moving. We put up the tent about a foot from the spring. The ground was damp and slanted but it didn't matter at that time. If we slid out of the tent door we wouldn't know the difference. Had instant breakfast for supper. Don and Jay had Kwik Lunches. Went to sleep at 8:30.
June 21 1973 - Susquahanna lean-to - 6 miles
(this daily journal was kept and rewritten by my sister Laurie and presented to me as a gift - I now rewrite it here for you)
Up at 7:20 and walked down to the spring to wash. Feeling extremely grubby and tired. Broke camp late - 10am and headed for Duncannon. Made the first climb ok - very surprised. Proceeded along the ridge to Hawk's Rock - a beautiful view even though the fog was quite heavy. We didn't realize how high we were. Made the first steep climb down over a remarkable rock slide and descended mountain into town. Ate lunch at Sparkle Restaurant, got some postcards, sent some extra weight home, and called home. Jay got some foam padding for his pack and Don's hip belt. After getting much accomplished, we left town (2pm) and crossed the Susquahanna River. Rested on far side of Clark's Ferry Bridge and then attempted a .4m climb at 80 degree angle that would make a mountain goat squelch. Just made it to the lean-to when a thunderstorm started. Decided to spend the night there. No floor. Had chicken tetrazinni, sang and Don played guitar. Asleep at 10.
Up at 7:20 and walked down to the spring to wash. Feeling extremely grubby and tired. Broke camp late - 10am and headed for Duncannon. Made the first climb ok - very surprised. Proceeded along the ridge to Hawk's Rock - a beautiful view even though the fog was quite heavy. We didn't realize how high we were. Made the first steep climb down over a remarkable rock slide and descended mountain into town. Ate lunch at Sparkle Restaurant, got some postcards, sent some extra weight home, and called home. Jay got some foam padding for his pack and Don's hip belt. After getting much accomplished, we left town (2pm) and crossed the Susquahanna River. Rested on far side of Clark's Ferry Bridge and then attempted a .4m climb at 80 degree angle that would make a mountain goat squelch. Just made it to the lean-to when a thunderstorm started. Decided to spend the night there. No floor. Had chicken tetrazinni, sang and Don played guitar. Asleep at 10.
June 20 1973 - Thelma Marks Shelter - 7 miles
(this daily journal was kept and rewritten by my sister Laurie and presented to me as a gift - I now rewrite it here for you)
Woke at 4:30 but we didn't get up until 7:00. The morning was warn and foggy. It took us a while to break camp, as we aren't exactly experts on this procedure. Started to hike at 9:00 after a breakfast of instant cream of wheat that settled like lead. Walked down the mountain, streets, etc. and proceeded to climb again. this seemed like a terrible climb and I was very, to say the least. Never thought I'd make the top but I did. the shelter was 0.1 m(iles) r(ight) of trail and 70 degrees down. The spring was another 200 yds down the mountain. We arrived at 2pm, rested; then the four of us (Dave was there too) pitched in and made a big meal. Group effort to wash dishes since we massacred the biscuits and burned the pan. I fell asleep at 9pm - dead tired.
Woke at 4:30 but we didn't get up until 7:00. The morning was warn and foggy. It took us a while to break camp, as we aren't exactly experts on this procedure. Started to hike at 9:00 after a breakfast of instant cream of wheat that settled like lead. Walked down the mountain, streets, etc. and proceeded to climb again. this seemed like a terrible climb and I was very, to say the least. Never thought I'd make the top but I did. the shelter was 0.1 m(iles) r(ight) of trail and 70 degrees down. The spring was another 200 yds down the mountain. We arrived at 2pm, rested; then the four of us (Dave was there too) pitched in and made a big meal. Group effort to wash dishes since we massacred the biscuits and burned the pan. I fell asleep at 9pm - dead tired.
June 19, 1973 - Camp Darlington Shelter - 1st day - 8 miles
(40 years ago today, my sister Laurie, family friend Jay B., and me and my guitar, started a 4+ week hike along the Appalachian Trail, from PA to the CT/MA border. People have certain "benchmark" events in life, and this was definitely one for each of us - much of which I have crystal clear memories of after all this time. This daily journal was kept and rewritten by my sister Laurie and presented to me as a gift - I now rewrite it here for you)
Up very early - 5:30am. Jay and his cousin Denise were coming to pick us up. We left at 6:10am and drove down to where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Penn Turnpike. Got our gear on and started hiking at 2:00pm. The first 6.3 miles were tar and dirt road - a wilderness path? Finally hit a smaller trail going up Blue Mountain. Thought we'd never make the top but we finally stumbled into Darlington Camp around 5:20pm. Six guys were already in the shelter so we set up the tent. We weren't very hungry between the excitement of actually being on the trail, and the exhaustion from not being in shape. Met a kid named Dave. Had a singalong. In bed - 10:00pm
(we surely thought we were gonna die on our first day out. Road walking, then missed a turn into the woods which we found as it came out further up the road. Apparently we missed some really good poison ivy patches. Despite our "training" we were NOT prepared for this level of exertion.)
Up very early - 5:30am. Jay and his cousin Denise were coming to pick us up. We left at 6:10am and drove down to where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Penn Turnpike. Got our gear on and started hiking at 2:00pm. The first 6.3 miles were tar and dirt road - a wilderness path? Finally hit a smaller trail going up Blue Mountain. Thought we'd never make the top but we finally stumbled into Darlington Camp around 5:20pm. Six guys were already in the shelter so we set up the tent. We weren't very hungry between the excitement of actually being on the trail, and the exhaustion from not being in shape. Met a kid named Dave. Had a singalong. In bed - 10:00pm
(we surely thought we were gonna die on our first day out. Road walking, then missed a turn into the woods which we found as it came out further up the road. Apparently we missed some really good poison ivy patches. Despite our "training" we were NOT prepared for this level of exertion.)
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