AT, finally!

[Leo L.]

So it happened, that for family reason we (my wife and me) had a few days in the States, some days in Connecticut, some more in PA.
On the road travel from Pittsburgh (where my older daughter is living) to Philadelphia (where we had to catch our plane back home) we were supposed to cross the AT.
Therefore, we planned a stopover near Harrisburg, and went for a search of the AT.

We finally found a parking lot where the AT is crossing the Sherwood Drive, little north of Middlesex (40.274209578254606, -77.09938929983218).
Got out of the car and did a mile down until Scott Farm, and back.
We were excited to finally get the boots on the Holy Grail of Hiking, what the AT definitely is.
My wife especially liked the easy grade and clear path, and asked if we could not do the whole AT neyt year?
Unfortunately, I had to tell her that we by good fortune had set foot on the only longish flat stretch of the whole AT, and most of the trail would be a pretty rough up&down (which she doesnt like at all).

We finished the day with a very good and reasonable priced dinner at The Pub in Duncannon, after having had a look at The Doyle (which was closed, unfortunately).
We really aprecciated to finally, after having read numerous books and trail reports, plus as many years reading here in WB, to finally see the AT in real life.
Hopefully to see more of it in the following years!

BTW, we did see just one single (female) hiker passing by The Pub.

[Daybreak]

You were near the north end of the Cumberland Valley. Google those coordinates and zoom out some you will see Darlington Shelter to the north. Did you see any "illegal" campsites? That thread also made me think of the Doyle. Is it closed for good, for the season, being renovated? The Doyle is on the AT as it runs through Duncannon. Did you see the blazes. You may also have hiked a few feet there..

[LoneStranger]

You are a section hiker now!

That means if you come back to hike the whole thing next year you can skip that mile if you want

[Dan Roper]

Hey, Leo, congratulations!

I remember my first mile on the AT so well. I grew up in Miami, Florida, which is almost as far from the AT as is Austria. Finally, in the early 1990s, my wife and I camped with friends by the Nantahala River in Wesser, NC. She and I hiked a mile south on the AT to Rufus Morgan Shelter, then back. That's not, exactly, a memorable stretch. But the first mile is always special!

[Odd Man Out]

You were near the north end of the Cumberland Valley. Google those coordinates and zoom out some you will see Darlington Shelter to the north. Did you see any "illegal" campsites? That thread also made me think of the Doyle. Is it closed for good, for the season, being renovated? The Doyle is on the AT as it runs through Duncannon. Did you see the blazes. You may also have hiked a few feet there..

I have inadvertently found myself on the trail. I did a thru hike of Main St in Hanover. It's a rough section. Very hard getting past the ice cream shop and bookstore.

[Daybreak]

I have inadvertently found myself on the trail. I did a thru hike of Main St in Hanover. It's a rough section. Very hard getting past the ice cream shop and bookstore.

Rough indeed, I received a free Ben and Jerry's Blue Blaze milkshake it was a moment.

[chknfngrs]

Nicely done!! Very happy indeed that you found the trail, and yes I indeed you are now a section hiker!

[Leo L.]

You were near the north end of the Cumberland Valley. Google those coordinates and zoom out some you will see Darlington Shelter to the north. Did you see any "illegal" campsites? That thread also made me think of the Doyle. Is it closed for good, for the season, being renovated? The Doyle is on the AT as it runs through Duncannon. Did you see the blazes. You may also have hiked a few feet there..

We did see some spots that clearly have been used as campsites recently, not exactly "stealth" as they were within view of the trail.
No idea if those sites were illegal or lawful.
We did see blazes, nice white ones. Lots of them.

The guy at The Pub told us (as I asked him specifically for The Doyle) that its restaurant/bar is closed for the moment, as there are very few hikers underway.
As far as I understood, the hostel part of it is open (and passing by, we saw light inside - so it clearly didn't look like abandoned or out of business).
Similar apperance was on the Kind of Outdoorsy shop&hostel.

We didn't make it as far as the Darlingto Shelter, just wanted to have a quick glance at the AT (and heavy rainclouds were looming above)

[Leo L.]

@all:
Thanks for the kind words and nice greetings, much apprecciated!

Sectionhiker Leo

[jomo1983]

now that you're a section hiker, the most urgent need (aside from planning your next section hike) is for you to discover your hiker name. Only brigands and scofflaws don't have hiker names. May I be so bold as to suggest "Sherwood"

[Leo L.]

now that you're a section hiker, the most urgent need (aside from planning your next section hike) is for you to discover your hiker name. Only brigands and scofflaws don't have hiker names. May I be so bold as to suggest "Sherwood"

Haha, that would sound nice!
But during my many travels&hikes in the Middle East deserts, by a local Scheikh I already got assigned a trailname: "Nimur".
This means "Lion", or "Mountain Lion" (the latter is the more appropriate translation, as in the give area, in the past Mountain Lions had been the only big predator. But they got extinguished for good (or bad) since decades.

The guy assigning me this nick clearly meant it with 20% respect and 80% sarcasm, as in this year I had been hiking pretty slow, not knowing that cancer was already trying to eat me up from inside.

All the best!
Leo AKA Nimur.

[Gambit McCrae]

Your story brought me back to the first time I laid eyes on a white blaze after dreaming and reading, Congrats and thanks for sharing

[LittleRock]

Glad you had a nice trip and hope y'all (that's how we say "you all" in the SE US) come back for more hiking!