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Journal
| About Downunda | Trail
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14th June 2002 From:
Boiling Springs PA I awoke about 5:00 A.M. and lay in bed until about 7:30 A.M., when the rain eased. I got dressed in my wet clothes (at least it wasn't cold), packed up my wet tent, and headed into town. I first went to the ATC office and who should wander up, but 'Réal'. This guy has the touch of gold - while we camped out in the rain, he stayed in the town in a lady's house. It seems he didn't want to camp out, so he asked a couple of kids in town if there was anywhere to stay and they told him of a house nearby where hikers stay. Apparently, this lady used to have a notice on the board at the ATC Center, but they made her take it down. Now people only hear about this place by work-of-mouth. So, 'Réal' did his laundry, had a shower, and kept his gear dry, while we battled the elements. It started raining again, so I went to the local café with a few of the others for a quick breakfast. Unfortunately, they didn't do much more than bagels or croissants. While I did that, 'Réal' went to the house to get his pack. The rain had set in again and I had thoughts of going back to the house with 'Réal' to watch movies all day, but 'Réal' had decided to move on, so off we went in the rain. The trail went through farmland between corn and other crops. It was easy hiking, but as we were walking through grassland, our feet soon got soaked and we could feel blisters coming on. There was a highway crossing eight miles from Boiling Springs that had restaurants and motels, so we decided to get a room and share the cost so we could dry our gear. We checked into the Super 8 and I had a shower and changed into my dry set of clothes. One of my middle toes is really sore and I'm not sure what the problem is. It seems to have a callous on it but it feels like a blister. Maybe I can get something to shrink it next time I get to a pharmacy. I must be starting to lose it, as the so-called "bruise" on my ankle that I spotted yesterday must be a stain from the leather on my boots, as I discovered an identical mark on both ankles! We spread all of our gear around the room; my tent pieces over two armchairs, and put the A/C on full heat. I lay down on my bed, 'Réal' on his - he was driving the TV. I awoke about two hours later in a bath of sweat. 'Réal' had a damp facecloth and was cooling himself down with it. I accused him of trying to cook me alive, as I haven't been so hot in such a while. This guy is evil! Common sense prevailed and we opened the door of the room and turned the A/C off, however, our boots are still soaking even though everything else has dried. We had a good dinner at the 24-Hour Diner across the road. Our intention is to leave around 5:00 A.M. as we want to reach Duncannon mid-afternoon (18 miles) so we can get our photos processed at a one-hour store, hit the supermarket, then move on to the campground where they charge hikers $3.50. That's all for now, goodnight all.
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