Hot and Buggy

I am now in Duncannon, PA 1,132 miles from Springer. I am relaxing in the Doyle Hotel with a bunch of other thru hikers. I do not think that there are any non hikers staying here. I am starting this post before I go resupply, and will continue when I got back. I have just had a bit of a snack. If I go to the grocery store hungry then I will end up with way too much food leaving town. However I will still eat all of the food before I get to the next resupply anyway. Having too much food is rarely a problem. I am just thinking about what foods I can eat cold. Probably instant mashed potatoes. The last couple of days have been so hot that I have not always wanted to eat a hot meal. The heat has also forced a bit of a schedule change and we have woken up at 4am several times to be at the trail at 5am. This way when can get 6 hours of hiking in before it gets too hot. Then we take a long break and start hiking again between f and 6:30. On the hot days 6:30 - 8 is an ideal time to hike. the day is cooling off and you still have enough light to see. The angle of light at this time also makes everything look better. We are also excited to be in a hotel with laundry today because it has been about 12 days since our last laundry. We have rinsed off our shirts and underwear and socks, but that is not as good as real laundry. One day I spent five minutes rinsing our my socks and they still did not rinse clean. So I am now wearing cleans clothes and very happy for it.
We spent most of the day chilling in the AC at the library and Wal-Mart before leaving Waynesboro. We finally hit the trail around 6:30 as it was getting cool again. We hiked for about an hour and a half and came to a shelter with nice camping by a stream. We set up our tents and then went bathing. Four grown men naked in a stream, glorious. We got up early and were on the trail the next day around 6am. We hiked about 13 miles by 11am to a campground with a swimming pool. We beat the heat of the day by running in and out of the pool. We were there long enough that even with copious amounts of sun screen I reached by sun tolerance. But I did not get burned, only close. Then after dinner we went on to the next shelter, again leaving around 6pm. We continued our early starts with a 4am wake. This had us starting with our head lamps. I was not a fan with the rocks on the trail and started out slow. However we were able to get 15 miles in by 11am. This time Peacock and I stopped for an extended nap while Shadow and Daddy-O continued on to the Pine Grove Furnace State Park and the half way point. We were tired enough that even with the heat we slept for about 4 hours.
At the park there is a general store with the Half Gallon Challenge. All thru hikers are invited to try and eat a half gallon of ice cream. The speed record was broken earlier that day. Someone microwaved the ice cream and then drank it in 2 minutes and 37 seconds. I took a more respectable 55 minutes to eat my half gallon. I am now a member of the half gallon club. It was not as hard as the Wendy's challenge.
The following day another 4am wake up and 5 am start. This put us into the town of Boiling Springs 19 miles away around 2pm. We had planned to resupply here, but had not eaten enough food, so we decided to wait until Duncannon which was another 25 miles down the trail. Boiling Springs was disappointing, no good places to camp in town, or any cheap hostels. We ended up waiting out a rainstorm in the Tavern, the only place in town that served beer. And it was expensive beer too. Then back to a campground next to the railroad tracks. That was a nice wake up call several times during the night.
The 2 miles into Boiling Springs also started about 20 miles of road and field walking. I am not a big fan of either. Too much sun, and not all the fields have a clear path. So I am walking through Alfalfa up to my shoulders. Whatever I have brushing the grass, then breaks out in red spots. So I am walking in my pants and occasionally long sleeves during the 90+ degree heat, and I still need to take benadryl at night to reduce my reactions. Then when we get into the woods and on the ridges we are starting to run into the famed rocks of Pennsylvania. So far I am not happy with this state. the one redeeming quality was a couple of mulberry trees that were starting to bear fruit. I am happy about starting to get into fresh fruit season.
Yesterday we started from Boiling Springs and did 14 miles to the first shelter. The water source was listed as seasonal, and it was coming out at the rate of a leaky faucet, so Daddy-O, Peacock and I decided to go on another 7 to the next shelter. That 7 was much harder than the first 14. We reached the turnoff and debated going on another 4 into town. But the economics of it kept us in the shelter. We slept in and then cruised into town at 9:30 and in for a good breakfast.
On top of the heat the last couple of days, it has also been buggy. So my legs are a combination of cuts, poison ivy, bug bites and pimples from breaking out over not having washed my clothes for 12 days. All in all I was very happy to take an easy day today. The current goal is to have a bunch of beer and sleep in tomorrow. At least the weather is starting to get better. It should not be as hot for the next couple of days. On to Port Clinton.