Duncannon!

Well readers....the internet was not available this morning for updates by Jack and Chris....so I have been asked to fill you in with details since Boiling Springs.

Our hikers got the opportunity to swim at Caledonia State Park swimming pool, a place my parents and I used to visit occasionally during summers long ago. While Jack, Chris, and Camel were at the park, Fungi went to the doctor for treatment of blood poisoning due to infected blisters. He got the medicine he needed and will be alright.

Jack reported meeting section hiker Manimal whose answer for everything was shouting, "hell, yeh!" They also met Lion King a famous trail filmmaker whose youtube video, "Walking with Freedom" I will hopefully insert into this blog.

----Jack mentioned he has heard talk of the trail presence of a thru-hiker (I won't mention his trail name.) who carries Magic the Gathering cards, thinks he is from Mars, and walks the trail with his hands posed like Doctor Spock. He thinks that when he gets to Mt. Katahdin that the mountaintop will have a portal that will open and take him back to Mars. He wears white dreadlocks and a black coat. This is actually a little frightening for a mother to hear. While this might be some sort of a trail joke, it also may appear that this man may be off medication and in need of help. If he does need help, I hope he gets it before he becomes a danger to himself or anyone else.-----

Our guys camped out in the backyard of the Garden House Bed & Breakfast and saw within the residence a huge map of the AT which many people had already signed...in fact someone had already signed it from our small community. So many, in fact, that Jack and Chris could not find room on the map to sign. While in Boiling Springs, they shared antipasto and two large meat pizzas with Camel and Fungi at Amelie's Pizza.

They have wound up hiking and sharing quarters with Camel and Fungi for the past two days. Last night they all stayed at the Doyle Hotel for $10 per person. Jack explained that due to their ages they were not able to play pool, etc. However, the dinner at the Doyle Hotel was good. Jack and Chris interestingly met two other thru-hikers that they had met earlier in their AT journey. The other two hikers were surprised to see Jack and Chris because they had hitchhiked for a portion of the time that Jack and Chris continued to peramble the trail. ...these other hikers did a "short-cut," you might say! Along with the two unnamed hitcher/hikers, Jack and Chris met thru-hiker Gorgonzola, a favorite smelly cheese of many.

Unfortunately this morning Camel and Fungi had to stay behind in Duncannon to wait for a package. Jack and Chris decided to plow forward with another day of trailing, still loving and enjoying every moment of this hike. As Jack shared by cell phone his surroundings this morning, he pointed out that along the trail they have noted and are enjoying ripening blueberries and blackberries. They also saw mulberries, but they were unsure as to whether they were poisonous or not, so they did not eat them. Jack recalled eating and picking berries with their deceased grandma in her backyard. It is stuff like this, enjoyed on the mountain, which helps brings the past right into the present.

Plan is to hike 29 miles today. Will post in a couple of days when confirmed.