Friday, 6/26

AT Miles = 16.5 / 1229.8
Other Miles = 0.4 / 43.8
Total Miles = 16.9 / 1273.6

I HATE PA ROCKS!

There, I got that out of the way. There was absolutely nothing even remotely enjoyable, interesting, or fulfilling about today. There was just mile after mile after mile of rocks.

By the time I got here this afternoon I was cursing the state of Pennsylvania, the AT in Pennsylvania, and evryone in any way connected to the trail.

My feet look okay, but they hurt like hell. I think if I stayed home and just hit my feet with a hammer for 8 or 10 hours a day, that would be nearly, but not quite, as bad as hiking, stumbling, and twisting over the PA rocks.

Of course, anyone crazy enough to spend their days injuring themselves with a hammer would be whisked away to a hospital for evaluation, but for some reason people call it a vacation when you do it outside in the heat and humidity with gnats and mosquitoes and brattlesnakes all around you. Where's the logic in that?

If you haven't figured it out yet, I am just a wee bit disillusioned with the trail today. I want to get the hell out of Pennsylvania. Three more days of flaggelating my feet on the rocks, and I will be in New Jersey, more than ready to take a zero day and hopefully regain my enthusiasm for the trail.

It is amazing how long it takes to get anywhere with these damn rocks. I didn't get in until 4:00 this afternoon, and it was only a 16.5 mile day. I plan to cover a similar distance tomorrow and Sunday, then on Monday I have to cover 20+ miles to get to Delaware W@ater Gap, then go to the post office to collect my bounce box and my food drop, then continue another 1.2 miles across the bridge to the DWG Visitors Center on the NJ side. Paul, I am going to do my best to get there by 4:30, but it is going to be a long, difficult day and I can't promise.
—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com