Hamburg, PA

Writing from the comfort of my own bed, in my own house and it feels awesome. Got off near Hamburg in Port Clinton yesterday, I'm guessing for about 5 days but we'll see how that works out. Since my last post (which was only put up yesterday) in Harper's Ferry I've walked about 200 miles and took 10 days. Pennsylvania has only recently lived up to its rocky reputation, most of it has been fairly easy terrain with a few rocks scattered here and there, like most of the trail. I have heard from several southbound section hikers that the rest of PA (which is about 75 more miles) gets considerably more rocky so I guess that's where Rockslyvania really begins. The 40 miles of Maryland were no problem other than the fact The Blair Witch Factor (which is set in Maryland by the AT) keep playing in my head. My first day out of the Harper's Ferry Hostel I stopped to eat dinner at a shelter and decided to push 8 more miles to the next, ended up making a wrong turn and finally arrived at the shelter around 10 pm with my headlamp almost completely dead. Took a few shorter days because of rain which in return made the trail one long stream. Got to Pine Grove Furnace General Store where the infamous Half-Gallon Challenge is supposed to go down but alas...it was closed despite what our guides said. We were told about another General Store 7 miles away which also sold massive amounts of ice cream and completed the tradition there, without getting a cool little half-gallon challenge spoon. Passed through Boiling Springs which seemed like a very cool, relaxed town followed by a few farm fields which were a nice change of pace. Made it to Duncannon at the end of a 30 mile day which is not exactly what I was looking forward to. The town is just a typical out-of-luck depressing mountain town. Stayed at The Doyle which despite all the rumors wasn't half bad, especially for $25. Took a bunch of shorter days out of Duncannon which were nice for a change. Made it to Port Clinton 4 days after Duncannon finishing on a 31 mile day (would have been around 25 but I somehow got turned around and 3 miles going the opposite direction. Glad to be home and recharge my body for the rest of my hike. While I'm home I'm debating on buying a new pack as my current one just has too much volume which effects how weight is distributed quite a lot. Turns out I did not measure my torso length properly so instead of a 24" my torso its actually 20". My current hip belt is also become too big, not hugging my hips very tight anymore. I'm also contemplating going cookless, I found that while sometimes its nice to eat a hot meal I'm fine with just eating wraps and granola bars until I get to town. Only 970 more miles to go!