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VOLUME 1 PAGE 2
Friday, September 15th, I walked two miles around Reedy Road in the
morning and eight miles along the Tulpehocken Creek in the afternoon, hoping it
would be a break-in for my trip to Virginia the next day. I found
you never get in as much "break in" as you need. The future line
up was: Jarman Gap, elevation 2200 to Wildcat Summit 3000, Blackrock Gap,
2300 to Trayfoot Mountain 2900 and Brown Gap 2600 to Ivy Creek 2900, and this
was the easy part.
I review my notes and find the following: for and arriving in Virginia,
rain and fog. I could not have been the driver in the fog on the Sky Line
Parkway. Fortunately Bill has two eyes and at mile post 16.7 he
found the gate to Rusty's "Hard Times Hollow", With such weather
we decided not to hit the trail and ended up staying two nights. So we got
plenty of Rusty's stories which have been repeated many times. We made our
own breakfast but had pancakes the second morning before taking off on the
trail.
The following notes might seem confusing unless you have backpacked with a
pickup truck and a moped hanging on the front end bumper: 18th McCormick
Gap 920 AM, Bear Mountain 1010 AM, Beagle Gap 1045 AM Jarman Gap 145 PM, sleep in the truck to keep the tent dry, 19th
Wildcat Ridge 8 AM (Bear 15 ft. away) 931 AM, Sawmill Gap1045 AM, back to Jarman
Gap 1215 PM, Wildcat Gap 1230 PM, leave Riprap 1240 PM, back to Wildcat 245 PM,
20th Black Rock Gap 750 AM, back to Riprap 1030 AM, Black Rock Trailhead 1100AM, Black Rock Gap 1245 PM,
Doyle Gap to Lofty Mountain Camp 500 PM, 21st Brown Gap (bear on road) 730 AM,
back from Dundo 835 AM, 930 Doyles River to Brown Gap to Camp Store to Ivy Creek
.
On the 18th we registered at McCormick Gap and put in three short sections,
sleeping in the truck that night and 19th signed in at Lofty Mountain
Camp, hiked Wildcat Ridge (down hill) to Sawmill Gap and really got a thrill
when a bear slid down a tree fifteen feet away and scooted away in the brush.
Bill estimated him at 150 lbs. Shuttling back and forth with the moped, I
never was sure if I was hiking north or south but I was sweating and knew
I was going up hill on Bear Den Mountain, then put on a jacket while having a
snack, sitting on reclaimed tractor seats, courtesy of some trail maintainer in
the past. Near Black Rock met a young girl thru hiker (they're all younger
than us), who we had met before in Maine. Got the usual hug from a hiker
(and a kiss on the cheek for grandpa). We left the trail once to check
Black Rock Hut which had a privy (lime type) and a unique "Bear pole"
for hanging food about ten feet in the air. "Wingfoot" claims
there is a secret to hanging your food in less than ten minutes. We slept
good at Lofty Mountain Camp, and took advantage of one shower. (one dollar for
five minutes).
We took off early Friday 22nd stopping at Boiling Springs and Carlisle on
the way. Each taking a shower at Sinking Spring and sleeping at the
Arboretum so we would be on time for the "PIG ROAST" courtesy of Dave
Coul.
Two helpings please, (8<0)#
Photos (click to enlarge):
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