“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt
June 7, 2022
AT miles: 11.5
Ascent: 1656’
Descent: 1006’
Weather: cloudy and cool (low 70’s)
Sightings: a rabbit and a chipmunk
High points: the fun conversation with Sparkplug from the Ozarks
Maybe all the rocks on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania are what is left after a toddler belonging to a race of giants had a temper tantrum and tossed his rock blocks along the length of the AT!
Today I am slackpacking — since I will return to the Blue Mountain Shanty in the evening, I will hike all day with only a day pack. Hiking with just a day pack is almost like floating!
Apparently this area is on a hawk migration route, and people come in the spring and fall to do migratory bird counts!
The trail started nice and gentle and I strolled along quite happily.
After only about a half a mile the rocks began to appear, and soon I was rock stepping and rock jumping and rock hopping and rock climbing. The entire trail was gray granite! I did stop for a minute to admire the beautiful view from Dan’s Pulpit.
The rock hopping is pretty intense, and I am so glad that I am doing this section with just a day pack. Slackpacking is awesome!
When I wasn’t clambering up or clambering down rock jumbles I was jumping boulder to boulder.
At lunch I met Sparkplug, a talkative woman from the Ozarks. We hiked the remaining four easy miles together, talking and laughing nonstop. I may never see her again, but we had a really fun conversation.
Lynn gave me a lift back to Blue Mountain Shanty, where I showered and ate and ate and talked and went out to dinner at a local pub.
Tomorrow I will be Slackpacking again — yay!
Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods!