Duncannon

Today was a little better for Hansel.  The heat persisted, as did the grassy fields, but there was a trip into town that broke up the day a bit.  In the morning, Hansel awoke and quickly hiked into the town of Duncannon with two fellow thru-hikers Pajamas and Budd Heavy.  Today's field walk was not quite as fun.  Because it was hot, Hansel hiked without his shirt on.  And because the grass was tall, it was constantly hitting Hansels bare belly.  The pollin was especially bad today, which was a little bit of an issue considering Hansel has a fairly significant grass allergy.  When he was younger, he used to get an asthmatic reaction and had to use an inhaler in order to breath.  When Hansel arrived in Duncannon today, he had rashes all over his abdomen where the grass had hit him and his eyes were nearly swollen shut.

Their first stop was the Doyle Hotel.  This is a very famous spot for thru-hikers.  It is over 100 years old and apparently it was "super glamorous" in its day; however... in the words of Hansel, the place has "gone to crap."  You lay in bed, and you gaze up at the ceiling, and you think to yourself, "How did that stain get up there?"  The place was pretty gross, BUT it is incredibly hiker-friendly and they have great food and great beer!  Hansel had a delicious barbecue pork sandwich, half an order of buffalo chicken wings, fries, and a strawberry shake that he took on his way out.  Silver Fox got the most enormous banana split anyone had ever seen.  It was delicious going down, but it then took him about 3 hours to hike 4 miles to camp because his belly hurt so badly.

One thing that Hansel decided not to accomplish while in town was showering.  Although it would have been extremely nice to wash all the grass pollen off of himself, the cost of showering was a bit steep.  Paying $7.50 at the hotel was just not happening.  The good news is, the shelter where Hansel and Silver Fox stayed that night had a very good water source.  They decided to work out a little guard buddy system.  Silver Fox took the first watch while Hansel went down for a creek bath and then they traded posts.  Cheep, effective, and au natural!

Happy Trails!

Hans Solo

"Sunday was the toughest day ever," Hansel recounted after hiking 26 miles.  The day was characterized by hiking through fields, something that a thru-hiker typically does not experience very often.  The grass was uncut and it was up to his waist.  The fields were also extremely muddy and it didn't help that the temperature was about 95 degrees and since trees were scarce in the open fields, he was in the sun all day long.

Luckily, Hansel met up with Silver Fox at Boiling Springs partway through the day.  "He is the reason I made it today."  Between the moral lift that Silver Fox provided and very special energy goo that he gave Hansel, they were able to make it last 18 miles to their camp.  Mentally, the Trail has been really difficult for Hansel.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this without [Gretel]," he confessed.  Not only was Gretel their chef and navigator, she also contributed to the overal moral of the Trail experience.  When you get to camp at the end of the day, it's nice to have someone to share your experiences with.  Someone to talk to.  Someone to pump you up about hitting the trail again the following morning.  And when Hansel was feeling down, Gretel was there to help build him up again.  Arriving at a shelter only to cook for himself and maybe exchange a few words with strangers was just not as thrilling as Gretel's company.  But, Silver Fox has definitely made the days better and Hansel has appreciated his companionship greatly.

Happy trails, and keep your chin up!

Silver Fox