Swatara Gap (Pa) Trip Report and pics

“A bobo, a bozo, a couple of New Yawkers and some dorks hit the Rocksylvania Pennsylvania AT this past weekend.

Cap'n Bobo, Adventurist, Wolfman's Brother, his friend Mike, and myself started above Strausstown at rt 183 and headed south on the AT towards Swatara Gap for 2 days of fun.

We probably could have called it the "Blister Hike" or the "I'm Washed Out" hike. It was a beautiful day Sat; sunny, temps in the 50's and a light breeze which felt great. With all the rain lately and the warm temps, the snow was completely gone. There were some wet spots, but being that this section of the AT stays on top of a ridge, it was mostly dry.

Of course, there were the famous PA rocks but compared to other sections I've been on, I found it fairly tame. Plus, the trail stayed up on the ridge, and with the exception of the descent into Swatara Gap Sunday afternoon, the hike was relatively flat.

We managed 13.4 miles on Saturday, and even though the trail was "tame," there were some casualties. Adventurist did a long hike the previous day and his feet were hurting. He switched to his hiking sandals to relieve his aching toes, but that brought on some nasty blisters.

Wolfy brought along his friend Mike who hasn't done much hiking recently, and you could tell his feet were hurting big time. I give him a lot of credit for sticking it out, and not once did I hear him complain (ok, maybe a whimper or 2).

Bobo also had a nasty blister or 2, and I even managed to capture the surgery on film. Yeech!! Myself, even though I have been hiking all winter, this was the first time since autumn that my feet were not on snow, and they felt it.

But, we still enjoyed a great day of hiking, with perfect weather, great views and many laughs. I think everybody had a good laugh at yours truly for being the only one to head down the famous "Shower Steps," 500 rock steps down the mountain into no where. There was supposed to be a spring at the bottom and some kind of view, but all I saw was a plaque. I think it was dedicated to all the morons who walked down those steps.

Since this is dragging on like all my trip reports, I'll skip to the campsite and let the others talk about the shoeless hikes and Mister Washed Out.

Bobo and myself were ahead of the others when we approached the campsites. We knew in advance that the Shelter would be on the left side of the trail and designated campsites on the right. The campsites were jam packed with scouts, and Bobo and I assumed the shelter would be taken. Bobo asked if we should wait for the others before walking down to check out the shelter. I said no because they know it's on the left, and there is also a sign saying it's .1 mile away.

So, we walk down to the shelter and to our delighted surprise, no one was there. Wahoo! We take off our packs, check the place out and sit down for a minute. I decided to walk up the path to meet the others. I get to the trail and don't see them anywhere. Hmmmmm.. so I ask the scouts if they saw 3 guys. Oh yeah, they say... they walked by and kept going some time ago. WTF!!

Soooo, I start to walk down the trail to catch up to them, but shoot, that could take forever, so I took off in a run. Yeah, I felt like doing that after a long day on the trail. I catch up to them after about a half mile, saying something like "hey dorks, we're back there." El Dorko himself (Mr Adventurist) claimed the sign was misleading, but did read the .1 mile part. Ummmm, didn't you get suspicious after one half of a friggin mile?????

Oh well, all was quickly forgiven (I think) and we enjoyed a nice night at the shelter. The shelter was pretty cool too, with the second floor loft that had windows.

Sunday was another beautiful day, and Dare decided to get up early and join us for the day. I guess he got tired of staying home and crying about AmyG being away for so long. heh heh

The pace for the 9 miles was a bit slower than Saturday as sore feet were plentiful. It was a slow descent into Swatara Gap, and we eventually got to the parking area on 443 around 2:30. We shuttled the vehicles and headed to Cracker Barrel for some great food.

A good time was had by all, and I was very pleased to have these guys join me. I expected this to be a solo hike. Suckers! ;o)

Anywho, click here to see some trip pics.”

“Cool trip Pennsy, I hiked there as a kid in scouts many years ago.”

“Pennsy, nice pics ...great views. Excellent weather. Looks like youans had fun. That shelter is quite extravagant, and that Waterville Bridge is truly a work of art, eh?

Thanks.

I've done some day hikes on the AT out of Swatara SP in both directions ...nice area of the state.”

“man I am jealous!! (not of the blisters tho) Cool pics”

“Cool pics and trip report, Pennsy! Wow, it's so wierd seeing no snow up there, but I bet it's a welcome change. Glad you guys had a great time! :-)”

“One part that seemed to be missing in Pennsy's post....He has seemed to picked up Artex's slack on this one. Believe me, I made sure I stayed in front of him on this hike. I'm also curios to see if they had to amputate John's feet. Man, they were tore up. It was cool to meet wolfman's brother and his friend Matt. It was a great dayhike for me.

I hiked in that morning about 2 miles to the shelter to meet up with the group. That shelter was awesome. Wish I would have come that night. I met the group and as usually, Pennsy was messing with his camera and Bobo was handing me some Wild Turkey...lol. So long as those two things happen, all is well with the universe. I was amazed to see all of the blisters. They were displayed like proud battle scars. It ended up being a great dayhike for me, but I wish I could have made it the night before. It sounded and looked like the others really pushed themselves. Yes, I was jealous of their blisters.

Anyway, I got to break in my new boots and happy to say they worked out well. And I have to admit, I have driven by that area many times and never realize it was the AT. Thanks guys for talking me into it.”

“Great pictures!

I like the views and the bridge!

8)”

“Blisters are the least of my problem!

My toes are what started it all.

My one toe is sooo freak'n swollen! The nail got pushed back so many times that I have a bliser on my cuticle. There is a great deal of pressure behind my one nail and the Mrs. keeps telling me to go to the Dr.

I'm just going to take it easy this week.

They better heal before OLP!!!

Damn't I am all Washed Out! I need some pizza.”

“the waterville bridge used to cross pine creek at... waterville. it was taken apart and moved down to swatara.”

“Adventurist, is the pressure pushing the nail up away from the nail bed? If so I bet that hurts. If the pressure gets too bad you will have to releive it. I am no doctor but I have had to do this a few times. This might wound like it will hurt but when the pressure goes away it will feel great. Here is how to do it, get a small diameter wire, paperclip, etc, something without a sharp point. Heat it up with a lighter until it is red hot and burn a small hole in the nail. I am not kidding, that is what the Dr. had me do to a fingernail. He did it in his office with a caterizer, looked like a small soldering gun. When the pressure released I swear it was better than sex.

Good luck, get better for the OLP.”

“Wow!
What a buncha dorks!

I believe I went to Swatara when I was a Boy Scout in the '60s.

There might have been a Camp Swatara......

Where at is this place?”

“Yes....my nail is lifted up!

This morning the swelling was down big time... Still there is sharp pain! It actually feels better with socks on...

As soon as I take my socks off the blood starts flowing to "THE TOE"...”

“Are you going to post a picture for us?”

“Both of my big toes have lost nails and are now half-nailed.

Its as though they are customized for hiking.....no more lifting nails from downhill pounding.”

“great trip. tougher than I thought. I apologize for not being in better spirits but I started coming down with something Fri. nite and was kind of hurting most of the trip. Yesterday, i didn't go to work as I was completely "WASHED OUT"(fever and all). It was good to meet Dare and Bobo. Dare kept up with Pensy which was pretty damn impressive and Bobo was a hiking machine. This guy carries a camera, cd player, and a grocery store on his back (oysters and lox to boot), not to mention the Turkey. I'm glad adventurist made it as he had done a 10 miler on Fri. Hope to see you guys again soon.”

“Poke a hole in that blister Adventurist, then your toenail will fall off.

You guys are killing me with these trip reports and pictures! I can't believe all your snow is gone.”

“Yeah come on burn a hole through the toe nail... it will feel better”

“Maybe I should post the daily toe photo?

Also I can have a live broadcast of the drilling of the toe?

By the way...I think Pennsy cheated on those 500 steps by using his "special" chili powers..

Could you guys believe all those shockwaves we felt? At first we thought it was thunder...

Also poor Mr. Washout.

It wasn't bad enough that the guys was "washed out" but you guys didn't stick around to see Pennsy fart and make the guy fall to the ground.”

“That enough chili for you guys!”

“yeah post a picture!
If it's a blister that's causing the problem, just prick it (the blister) with a pin - no doc, no burning a hole in the nail (eeeeewww!!!)

I've hiked with some of these guys and didn't witness any of these megafarts...are you guys holding back on me, lol??? Hiked with a guy once who we gave the trail name of "methane man" to...
:)”

“Believe it or not, Adventurist was the first to show up at the Moonshine Road parking area, followed by Myself and then Pennsy Hiker (who would have been first, but took an unscheduled drive to Indiantown Gap!). We left vehicles at Moonshine Rd. and the three of us took Adventurist's car to the beginning of the hike at Rte. 183. The front passenger wheel of Mr. A's car had a really neat bubble in the sidewall, so we decided that it would be best if the Bobo sat as far away from that tire as possible. At the trailhead, we met up with Wolfman's Brother (Wolfie took his name from a Phish song, so he is really not a brother of the Wolfman!) and Wolfman's Brother's friend, Mike (very cool dudes!). On Saturday we hiked along the crest of Blue Mountain and the initial going was wet and sloppy, with the trail being a stream, or was the stream being a trail?

It was perfect hiking weather, cool and alittle windy, and sunny and very clear. My AT map is 13 years old and there were a lot of discrepancies with my old map and Pennsy's newer map, which had the gang wondering if the maps were in the right hands!

Hertline campsite had some nice tent platforms (unheard of in PA) and water was cascading via many small waterfalls due to the snow melt. We didn't get a chance to check out the dam below (more on the dam later). On to Shikellamy lookout (great farmland and long distance views), Pilger Ruh area (Pilgrim's Rest), and a lunch break at the Kessel, where we met up with some Trail Maintainers who told us that the Kimmel trail (loop trail around the Kessel and back up to the AT) was closed, because a new landowner developed a bug up his butt and closed off the south portion of the Kimmel trail. They also told us that the new landowner had also been putting up bogus blue trail markers to mislead hikers – what a jerk! The gang decided to descend and check out the shower steps, but only Pennsy went the distance (fool!). While I was hanging at the view eating lunch, a guy and two kids came walking out of nowhere. They were not wearing any shirts and the two kids were not wearing ANY SHOES! I've met some strange people on the AT!!! Mr. A, Wolfie, and Mike joined me for lunch and the shoeless sun worshippers told us they were going for a swim at the dam??? and then they asked Adventurist if he ever hike naked! Like I said… strange…

Next, we passed the infamous 501 shelter. The shelter is right NEXT to the road and there were enough cars parked there to know that we should keep moving. We ran into another wierdo who was looking quite, uhm, wasted? and all he could say was "I'm Washed Out, man… I'm washed out". He was just laying by the side of the trail. When we asked if he needed help, he just muttered something about he just needed to get back to the shelter and order a pizza! Pennsy noticed that they guy had the exact same pack that Pennsy was supposed to have received from Moosejaw, and Pennsy wanted to take it off the guy, but we held him back. We then checked out the Kimmel and Fisher lookouts and crossed Rte 645. After a full day of hiking, we arrived at the pallacious William Penn Shelter, where Pennsy ran down the trail for a half-mile to catch the others. We phoned Dare, who was busy having a party with some girls from Erv's, and talked Dare into coming to meet us at the shelter on Sunday morning and to bring scrapple and eggs… He didn't. Wolfie was bummed because he was looking forward to tasting some scrapple.

Sunday we were off for another 10+ miles on Blue Mtn, with one nice view at an abandoned power line. I gotta say the rocks did a number on my feet and I am on the mend. Adventurist and Mike were also hurtin' puppies, and Wolfie was nursing a flu and having some problems with his knees. Pennsy was "the man" on this trip, if his feet were hurting him, you couldn't tell because he was motoring on the trail. We are still mad at Dare for not bringing the scrapple and dancing girls up to the shelter, but he is a cool dude, so all is forgiven.

Adventurist – take care of "THE TOE"! Thanks to all for a great weekend. I'll post trip pix soon. See y'all on the Old Loggers Path!”

“phone and cd player?!”

“Good trip reports guys. I can sympathize with the blisters.I got me a doozy ridge hiking this past weekend.Take care of em. :~ )”

“Thanks, trekkngirl! Those PA rocks will get you when you're not looking!

Yes twiggy, Pennsy has to carry a phone for work. I carried along my MP3 player for alittle tuneage. I was having a fun time psyching out Wolfy, by pulling stuff out of my pack like smoked oysters, chicken and asparagus in a blue cheese sause, and bountiful Wild Turkey and Iced Tea. I think Wolfy saw enough, when I broke out the smoked salmon, creamed cheese, and bagels for breakfast! And I packed light that weekend!”

“Capn Bobo what are you going to do bring a pack animal on the OLP? You know it is 2 nights?”

“I AM the pack animal!”

“Hey Adventurist,

Why dont you heat up a paper clip and poke it into your head. I will let the pressure out and maybe you can think straight....lol.

I tried to get the ERV's girls up there, but they heard about everyone eating chili.”

“that salmon must have been really good b/c it was the only thing Bobo didn't offer me. And thanks for nothing for the oysters...I woke up in the middle of the night and found myself dry humping my backpack. that SOB.”

“That wasn't your backpack you were dry humping, I think it was Adventurist! He didn't mention THOSE blisters!”

“Glad you guys had fun. Looks like a good group of guys and a lot of fun (barring the feet thing). I love that Bridge, too...”

“Yet another good reason for a solo tent...”

“It was definitely my backpack. My backpack fights back!”

“One of those morons was me!







Sheesh, why da very noive uv dat guy!”

“Gee fellow moron, thanks for letting me know that there was "nothing to see here. Move along now." ;o)

Man, you guys exaggerate. Artex is in a class by himself and I will never attain that high a status in fartdom. You see, Artex is seldom heard, but his presence is always... well, present, if you know what I mean. My minor bursts were just for show.

Also, Dare was setting the pace on Sunday, not me. For some reason he insisted on being in front of me, not behind me. I can't imagine why??

Great trip report Bobo! For the record before we start receiving angry letters, the washed out dude had a buddy we passed on the trail, so we didn't leave him there for dead. I'm still not sure if he was stoned, drunk, dehydrated or all of the above. I sure liked his pack though, and mine came in yesterday. :o)”

“lol...Pennsy. Umm maybe because I want to live to see my 30th B-Day?”

“So adverturist how is the TOE?”

“Pennsy - BTW, nice pictures! I thought you had another picture of the blister operation? I'd hope that fellow TTers wouldn't think we would abandon someone who was "washed out" on the trail.

... waiting for the daily "Toe" update!”

“DORKS!!!

What is Swatara? Sounds like Daktari or sumthin! lol”

“If that ain't just like a tree pi$$ing on a dog, an Iowan making fun of a Pennsylvania place name!”

“LOL! So what can I call her, a dork-ette?

So, let's hear a TOE update. How's everybody doing?

Bobo - yeah, I did take a pic of your blister doing the Old Faithful thing, but it did not come out.”

“Here are more trip pix from the Swatara Gap Trip.

Imagine! Pennsy Hiker in front of the camera!

DORK ALERT!”

“The link doesn't work.”

“hmmmm... It's working for me...”

“The message I get is..


"You do not appear to be the owner...."”

“you are correct stumprider, try this one!!!

SECOND DORK ALERT!!”

“nicely taken pics! especially the one of pennsy's sandwich.”

“TUNA FISH SANDWICH!”

“Good advertisement for the Army too....lol”

“where's that confounded bridge?”

“Geez, a guy can't even eat a sandwich in peace.

Hey Bobo - great pics! Too many of me though. No wonder I prefer to remain BEHIND the camera. I finally got to your photo albums page. I'm looking forward to checking them out this weekend.”