Day 1
I took a Lyft from the Harrisburg airport up to Duncannon to pick up my box at the post office and begin my trek. After the long overnight flight I was beat, but enjoyed chatting with my driver and answering his questions about the trail. He then told me that he was going to pick up a couple of hikers several miles down the trail from Duncannon at Miller Gap road. He offered to drop me there after I retrieved my stove and canister at the PO. I don’t like to skip miles but with the weather coming in I wanted to get to the shelter as soon as possible. And I’m glad I did. After my quick hike up the snow started and did not stop. After a hot meal I settled into my cozy sleeping bag and had a fitful night’s rest. I woke up in the middle of the night and heated up two liters of water to put in my water bottles, inside my sleeping bag. I put my waterproof socks on them. So nice!
Day 2
I stayed warm and dozed off for several hours and woke up to the wind. I heated up a bagel over my stove and make a trail mocha (hot chocolate and Starbucks Via coffee), all in my sleeping bag.
I took my still warm waterproof socks off my water bottles and got dressed. Quickly. These were a last minute purchase and I was curious to see how they would hold up after a day of breaking fresh trail. I was not disappointed! When I got to my motel 4 hours later, after plowing through 7 inches of snow, my wool socks that I wore under the waterproof ones were bone dry. I had warm, dry socks all morning and it was glorious! Glorious! These babies have now become my #1 favorite piece of gear. After my rain gaiters and rain mitts, of course. Being dry is so important in this kind of weather.
I wasn’t planning on getting a motel but the lack of sleep for two nights in a row and the weather made the decision an easy one. I have plenty of trail food to eat and the snow is supposed to cease this evening. It’lol be a nice 8 mile hike down to Boiling Springs tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll be able to slowly build up to bigger mileage days. But for now I am content plowing through this gorgeous winter wonderland and having the trail to myself. It’s luxurious and I feel like I have my own little world.
A Tent in the Whirl of the Universe 