Thursday Sept 16th, 2021, 1600-1845
Duncannon to Darlington Shelter, SOBO AT mm 1054.8
11.6 miles
2356 gain, 1476 loss
Again not a whole lot got accomplished this day but at least I walked out of town wearing my new shoes and socks. Actually, the socks were a pair I’d worn on another trail, mailed from home. But I was able to replace the Darn Tough socks worn on this trail at the outfitters, which then became my sleep socks. I mailed my extra stuff home and reused the flat rate box my shoes came in to stuff with excess food. The Post Office had a tote full of protein and granola bars donated to AT hikers by a local patron, so I also stuffed a bunch of those in the box. This I mailed ahead to Lexington VA, where my friend Open from the CDT lived. I planed to visit him in a few weeks.
Having lightened my load a bit and with new shoes, I felt eager to get to the halfway point of the AT and finish PA. I couldn’t bear to throw away my old shoes that had served me so well. After all, they were still in decent shape. So I washed them one last time and left them with some other shoes in the basement. Mystic Spiral had just taken a used pair from the selection to get him as far as the next town, so maybe there’s a chance someone could still use them.
Picky arrived just as I was heading out, so we had lunch at the Doyle. The food was so so and the ambiance even worse but the familiar company was good. Because of a long stretch of trail through farmland and private property coming up in about 15 miles, I’d planned a short day to a shelter…if one considers 12 miles short. I left town pretty late but walked fast, arriving just in time to collect some water and settle in for the night. I saw no one else on the trail and had the shelter to myself. The mosquitoes left me alone for once, so I was able to enjoy the night. It had been a little too hot during the day but the evening temps were very pleasant…no need for even a jacket. I was starting to get into the Goldie Locks days.
