Day 1 Slack Pack #1 Pennsylvania: Easy Rider

All I wanted was to be free. And so it was, it turned out to be… Ballard from Easy Rider

(November 13) What are the sayings? If a horse throws you off, go back to the bastard. If you fall, get up and finish the race. Never quit on a bad day. Depression is an obstacle that must be overcome. We had some free time and Nightingale suggested I hike a few more days on the AT before the end of the year. Since I only manage to cover about 10 miles a day, I thought I would pack up the 16 mile stretch from Boiling Springs to Darlington Shelter, since camping is not allowed in the Cumberland Valley. And add the last leg to Duncannon, PA. The plan was for Nightingale to drop off and pick up at the end of each day for three days and spend the nights in a hotel. The first day was from Boiling Springs to US Rte. 11Carlisle; for 8 miles. I packed my backpack with the 10 essentials, a couple extra layers of warmth, some beef jerky, and Clif bars. And my MSR stove for some hot cappuccinos for midday breaks. Total weight 16 pounds. Less than my usual backpack, which weighs 20 pounds because I decided to leave behind the poleless tent I usually carry on day hikes. There are so many road junctions in the Cumberland Valley that I calculated it would be highly unlikely that I would have to spend a convenient night in the “wilderness.” Nightingale was just a few miles away in a hotel in Carlisle. Boiling Springs is about a two-hour drive from our home on the Chesapeake Bay. Nightingale was driving and Waze gave her a route that took us through Baltimore and through our old college town of Westminster, MD. Past Westminster, the route took us along MD State Route 97 to US Route. 15. Since my family lived in PA while I was in college in MD, this was the route I took dozens of times to get home during breaks. I probably hadn’t been on this path since I was in college over 40 years ago. It was a nice trip down memory lane for both of us.

Soon we were on Pennsylvania back country roads heading to Boiling Springs and I was ready to hike at 08:30 a.m. The sun was shining, but it was cool and breezy, about 46 degrees. So today I had a couple of layers under my raincoat working as a windbreaker. Plus, my raincoat is red, a plus during the current hunting season in Pennsylvania. For those familiar with this area, you will probably remember it as relatively flat across agricultural fields and along hedgerows separating agricultural fields. I found some ubiquitous fence styles and even a few other day hikers, which seemed unusual for this area and a weekday. Unlike the AT in Northern Virginia and my usual hiking trails in Maryland, where the forests are predominantly mixed oaks, the trees here along the fields were splendid yellow and red maples. The oaks were already bare of leaves and now carpeted the path.

The hike was easy. I was experiencing just a little bit of back pain, but no hip pain. I paused to take many photographs of the farmland, corn fields and already harvested hay. Otherwise there are no natural sights or views in this area. Luckily, I found a nice pile of rocks, probably part of an old stone fence for my lunch break, including a nice flat rock to place my stove on. The sun, the ability to move at a proper pace, and the cappuccino put me in a great mood. I had until 5 in the afternoon to finish the day’s backpack, sunset time. I called Nightingale to tell her I would finish early, well before sunset. I made the 8 miles to the pedestrian bridge over US Rte. 11 on the outskirts of Carlisle around 2 pm Clearly, hikers have descended the roadside embankments, probably to take advantage of the motels and a couple of restaurants within walking distance of the trail. However, these are mostly trucker motels and not where Nightingale chose to stay. So, I had a short walk to a nearby parking lot; Surprisingly, we both arrived at the same time. I quickly shed my sweaty layers and we headed to a Fairfield Inn on the other side of Carlisle. Of course, a hot shower, a quick rest, and then out to dinner at a place called Hoss’s Steakhouse. This is actually a public address system that was quite popular with my parents decades ago. A good piece of meat, baked potatoes and a salad bar are always a good option for a hiker. Back to the hotel, a couple of Culture Beers from Beer Farm in Maryland that we brought and an early night. I could get really used to slackpacking!

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