Haunted overnighter on the PA Appalachia n Trail

“The hike will be on the weekend of the 29th and 30th of October. We will hike 18 miles from PA 33 to Water Gap, PA.

I will post more details shortly.

All are welcome to come along.

The first half is well known as the rockiest section of trail in Pennsylvania which is well known for its rocks. Mt. Minsi boasts some amazing views of the Water Gap.

Should be a lot of fun.”

“You're slippin' kid, it's only 18 miles!!”

“been there, done that, hated it”

“Well, I already hiked west from Wind Gap, so I need from Wind Gap to DWG. If all goes as planned, I will be finishing the AT in PA with this trip.”

“There isn’t a lot of negativity on the Appalachian Trail. Most thru-hikers are positive, confident, and friendly types or they wouldn’t have been drawn to this journey in the first place. So the rare instances of negativity stood out in sharp relief, and I learned something about the human condition from observing and reflecting on these.

When I arrived at the 501 shelter in central Pennsylvania on July 3, a big crowd of my young hiker friends had already assembled. We were sitting around two picnic tables talking and snacking when up walked Crash-Bang, a male thru-hiker around 30 years old I had run into a few times before. Crash-Bang got his trail name from the noisy way he walked through the woods, and he liked to sign the trail registers “C! B!” He had an abrasive manner of talking in our previous encounters, and I hoped he wouldn’t spoil the pleasant atmosphere.

Crash-Bang was looking at Mouse Bait, a woman in her mid-twenties in shorts with legs rather scratched up from the brush we had waded through that day. “Nice legs,” Crash Bang said sarcastically, and dead silence fell over the group. It hit me that sexually suggestive comments were very rarely heard on the trail, perhaps because the young women were in a vulnerable position far out in the woods and the men knew such comments could be frightening. Crash-Bang had broken an unspoken taboo. But I also realized that Crash-Bang was attempting to be friendly, to engage in conversation. Although it came out negative due to his unskillfulness, the impulse was positive. He wanted people to like him and relate to him, as we all do.

Unfortunately, he was again unskillful in trying to defuse the awkward situation, adding “Cuts and scratches really turn me on,” again with sarcasm. Mouse Bait’s reply was, “Where are you sleeping tonight? I want to make sure I’m far away.” There is no place far away in the same shelter but the point was made, and the awkward moment passed. Here I saw that Crash-Bang was caught in an unhappy cycle of unskillful attempts to be accepted, of rejection, and of repetition.”

“Interesting name, "Crash Bang". I searched on crash bang and the appalachian trail and journal and found this. No wonder he hated the PA journey! http://www.deepspring.org/library_newsletters/newsletter_V13_2_txt.htm#Appalachia-negativity”

“Did this hike in the spring. Ain't doing it again.

Hint 1: No water.

Hint 2: There's a road crossing about half a mile from the shelter . . . good place to geobeercache :)”

“Haven't decided yet on a trip for October. I may go up to Wolf Gap and Big Schloss one weekend.”

“Wolf Gap is nice!!”

“I'll be checking with you in a week or so for a few details"

I 've always wanted to do Delaware WG, but I need something close and moderate for a few friends who are not as into it as me(Yet)”

“Wolf Gap has nine sites and is free and no reservations.

It's a good idea to go Friday evening and grab a site.

Search mapquest for Wolf Gap, West Virginia.

Their map is good.

Big Schloss is a two-mile hike north and Tibbet Knob is 1.5 to the south.

Both are a bit over 3,000 feet with nice views.”

“hey Mountainpeak, this is not a fuego thread! Just thought I would let you know. This is a trip planning thread.”

“sorry, ens. it was kinda my fault. i didnt mean to hurt anyones special feelings with my sarcasm.

i have to admit, sometimes PA was alright. the half-gallon challenge was fun, the shelter right before the half-way point was really stylin'. i ate at a really good restaurant. the town of boiling springs was beautiful. but the rocks, man. THE ROCKS!”

“oh! and i saw a rattlesnake!”

“Oh my god, this is like the most evil section of trail in Pennsylvania! Have we run out of better trails to hike? I mean, even the Batona in South Jersey's gotta be better than this...

What gives?”

“ENS has a masochistic streak a mile wide. for some strange reason, that makes me want to hike with him some time”

“I gotta agree with ya, Crash!

He and Pennsy are a couple of real kooks.

I can understand Pennsy being kinda looned out......he's awfully old. ;^}”

“Completing the AT in PA...that's why! I can fully understand that. Congrats, ENS, that's a nice accomplishment.

I can't make it - car camping that weekend with the family.”

“yeah, this trip is really about completing the AT in PA. I am almost done. I still have a few sections to do yet.”

“Which sections do you have left besides that one?”

“I still have to do from Bernhissel Bridge south to Shippensburg Rd.”

“That's a much less hostile area! I might be inclined to join you there . . . feeling better?”

“Come on techntrek, the rocks are callin'!!!

Yo EarthNsky, did you get my e-mail???

West Virginia is calling............

Oh yeah......way to go on nearly whoopin' the Pennsylvania AT!!!

I have done all of none of it.
last edited: 9/19/05 12:22:24 PM”

“Believe me, it caught my eye, then I remembered we were doing the trick-or-treat campout in PA with the kids...”

“Yeah Big Daddy, that's important stuff.”

“Mark, I can't get into that trip you posted.”

“He and Pennsy are a couple of real kooks.

I can understand Pennsy being kinda looned out......he's awfully old. ;^}”
MarkO

I'll confess to being a loon and a kook, but old fart hippy MarkO will ALWAYS be older than me.

back on topic.... I HATE THIS SECTION! I HATE THIS SECTION! I HATE THIS SECTION!
but if it's ENS's Pa finale, I'm sure I'll suffer it one more time.

ps.... did I mention that I HATE THIS SECTION?”

“I get the feeling that Pennsy really enjoys this section. I don't know why, its just a feeling.


Great, now I have "More Than a Feeling" (Boston) in my head. Had that on vinyl back in the day.”

“I need another month of knee rest, and sure as heck not gonna do this right after my rest. Got to do something easy [well easier] for a couple of month.

hey Pennsy...do you have paypal??
last edited: 9/19/05 2:49:52 PM”

“from raven of 2004's trailjournal:

However, the rocks. The ridges are composed of a resistant sandstone/conglomerate which breaks into rectangular blocks of all sizes. This region was just south of the southernmost extent of the last ice sheet, a region of frequent freezing and thawing which shattered the protruding rock beds into countless pieces. These are the famous rocks of Pennsylvania. In some streches the trail was mostly dirt with a few rocks sticking up, no problem. In other places I walked over boulder fields which are tiresome but usually not long. But in most places the trail was some dirt with rock corners and blocks sticking up at all angles, making any kind of normal walking impossible.

I progressed something like this. Take a step, turn ankle on little pyramid of rock sticking up. Catch myself with my pole, but the pole gets jammed between two rocks and almost rips my arm out of the socket. Stop and turn around to dislodge pole. Take another few steps, then turn the other ankle. Collapse that leg to avoid injury, stumble forward and catch myself with the other leg. Take a step, catch my boot toe on a rock, trip forward, catch myself with my trekking pole. Etc., etc. Imagine walking this way for a mile. Now imagine 200 miles. Some people were able to march through this terrain with some speed, but for me it was drunken sailor's walk.”

“PA is not that bad. I do a lot of hiking on the AT in PA and I can't stand those little pointy rocks he describes, but sometimes the big ones are fun to scramble on. My biggest complaint with the AT in PA is that the mountains are wimps and the rise just a 1000 above the valley below.

Still, when gas prices are $3.00 a gallon, it is a trail that I can get to in less than an hour in many places and not use up a lot of gas.”

“btw, congrats in advance for completing the PA AT”

“I still have a few sections to go in south central PA (from Shippensburg Road to the Scott Farm Trail Works Center on Bernhisel Bridge Rd). I think I have about 50 miles to do yet. I want to finish the PA AT in DWG, so this gives me much incentive to hurry up. Thanks though.”

“I'm in.”

“except for the rocks (but that's a BIG except), it's not a difficult section. The only climb is at the beginning in Wind Gap. Once you get north of the Kirkridge Shelter, it's not as bad, and you finally get some nice views. Mt Minsi is a great vista. The worse part is the 8-9 miles from Wind Gap to 191.

Gem - I gather the bag is working out well for you? Paypal? Hmmmm, I used to use it but it's probably under my old email address and I bet the credit card expired. I'll have to look into it.”

“yeah, i know this section is evil, but knowing me, i'll probably end up going anyway. see ya there!”

“awesome. I think it will be a fun hike and I will be done with PA if all goes as planned.”

“I hear that the Kirkridge Shelter is not very nice, so we should hike past there. We should do a brunt of the hiking Saturday. 12-13 miles on Saturday and then leave 5 miles on Sunday.”

“I camped at Nelson's view, just past the shelter. Its where the Hang gliders jump off. It has a great view and you can still get water up near the shelter. I highly recomend it.”

“hmm, that sounds like a good idea.”

“no can do sorry
that is our Halloween party that weekend!”

“I was just looking at the map and this section is only 15.5 miles. So this will be a nice change of pace.”

“mapes, your Halloween party is sure to be a blast!!


Pennsy, did I hear somewhere that you hate this section??
last edited: 9/20/05 8:53:42 PM”

“funny how nasty rumors get started. ;o)”

“"I was just looking at the map and this section is only 15.5 miles. So this will be a nice change of pace."

Yeah, its not a 45-mile 14-hour death march!”

“If it ain't a deathmarch........it's crap!!!!”

“Maybe he had to cut back. Only about 12 hours of daylight at the end of October.”

“nah, I only need from Wind Gap to Water Gap to officially "chalk up another one".
last edited: 9/21/05 8:19:41 PM”

“I heard that they are extending daylight savings time into November. Is this true? If so, should give us an extra hour of daylight. However, the mileage is minimal on this trip, so daylight or lack thereof shouldn't be an issue.”

“I think that the DST extension actually begins in 2007.”