This is the seventh of my series of 2025/2026 transcriptions of my journal from my 1976 Appalachian Trail Thru-hike. The journal was compiled from my original trip notes after my finish of the AT in August, and before my heading to college in September. An introduction to this trip is stored at: AT Intro. Photos are scans of my original prints. (My post 1976 comments are in parentheses.)
May
23, Duncannon, PA, 0 miles
I
learned a good lesson today, never take a day off by yourself. Without any
company, I quickly got bored. I wasn’t due to reach Port Clinton (From where I
would return home to RI for my high school graduation and a week with my family.)
until May 27, so if I had hiked any more from Duncannon, I just would have been
stuck in Port Clinton for an extra day. Since I hadn’t had a day off since
Pearisburg, this seemed the right way to spend my day. I spent most of my time
watching sports on TV and playing pool by myself at the fire station. I also did
my chores, washing clothes and buying groceries. Two of the firemen stopped by
during the day, but the station was otherwise deserted.
About
9 o’clock I got a huge surprise, who walks in but Eric Heinrich. I could hardly
believe it. His story was almost more surprising than his appearance. Eric had
teamed up with fast Dan Armstrong to hike through the Shenandoah. But soon they
both got mentally down and started to think about quitting. They had made good
mileage through the Shenandoah, but not the 25 miles per day that Eric had
planned for. When they reached Linden, VA they both decided to hitchhike to
Delaware Water Gap, PA where Dan had a supply package waiting. From the Water
Gap, Dan decided to quit, and Eric decided to hike south back to Linden. Eric
wanted to do the reverse route to meet all the hikers ahead of him that he and
I had chased all spring. Eric had met Ran on the trail and decided to pull a
marathon day to catch up and surprise me. Eric made the miles and I was
surprised.
Eric had decided to drop his 25 mile per day plan. In terms of miles covered I was a few days ahead of him, so I thought I might be able to catch back up with him, after my trip home. I had planned a short day the next day, so we went to bed after playing pool. I suspected Eric had been practicing, as he was still much better than I was.
May
24, Peters Mountain Shelter, 6.0 miles
This
was a day of indecision. I couldn’t decide whether to spend the entire day in
Duncannon with Eric and hike 25 miles the next day, or to leave and put in a
six miler. Eventually by putting my decision off as long as possible, I compromised
with a late start.
Meanwhile,
there was another reunion of sorts at the hostel. Two friends of Eric’s, Linc
and Cath, pulled in. They had started a southbound thru hike at Katahdin last
spring and were taking their time heading south. They had just finished their
winter break, and Eric had hiked past them while trying to catch up to me. Both
of them were really great. The firehouse wasn’t quite so dismal with other
people around. Linc, Cath, and Eric told me stories of the hikers they had met
the year before. Malcolm Gillis, and other 1975 thru-hiker, had sent Eric a
list of all the 1975 through hikers. This was the planning sheet for a reunion
which would eventually take place that July in Harpers Ferry.
Eventually,
I managed to get my pack ready to move along. I expected to see Eric somewhere
north of Delaware Water Gap, so off I went. I had heard that Duncannon was the
largest town that the AT went directly through. Somehow, it seemed even longer
as I headed out. I crossed the Susquehanna, and so was on my way back to the
mountains. I was planning to spend the night at Shaeffer Shelter but ended up
at Peters Mountain. Some guys at Shaeffer Shelter advised me to move along to
Peters. Neither shelter had water, and Shaeffer was a dump, while Peters
Mountain had a beautiful view and was practically brand new.
One of the guys at Shaffer was Rick and I ended up hiking with him to Port Clinton. Peters Mountain did not have a register, so I left one (I did not get this one back). As it turned out all the other shelters on the way to Port Clinton already had registers, so my register wasn’t filling any great need.
May
25, Rausch Gap Shelter, 19.4 miles
The
Rausch Gap Shelter is probably the nicest one along the trail. It is known by
several names including the Taj Mahal, and the Rausch Gap Hilton. Fortunately,
it hadn’t developed a wider reputation outside the AT community, and that’s
likely part of why it was such good shape. Even hearing of the shelter before
arriving, I was unprepared for what I saw.
The
shelter is built into a depression which helps to form the back wall. It has a
huge sleeping platform. The roof included a section of plastic which functions
as a skylight, bright enough for reading. The edge of the depression in front
of the shelter is formed by a stone wall. Water comes out of a pipe at one end
of the wall. There’s also a spout for washing dishes. Between the shelter and
the wall is a huge tree which supports a round table. Placed around the table
are a few chairs. The latrine even had two seats. I hope the shelter remains
little known and is able continue unspoiled.
Rausch
Gap was also the end of a long, boring day of hiking. It was more of the usual Pennsylvania
ridge walking with no views and a lot of rocks. It is primarily the trail north
of Duncannon that gives PA its reputation for turning feet into putty. One
fellow hiker didn’t mind the rocks. Two of the guys who had been staying at
Peters Mountain had a dog named Bubba who managed to cover about twice the
ground the hikers did.
One
thing I noticed on the trail was a birch tree. Living in New England I’m used
to seeing a lot of birches, but they are not common in the south or even MD or
VA. It’s funny how you don’t miss something until it is gone, as much as you do
when it is rare.
Through
hikers, in contrast, were becoming more common. The legendary hiking pair of
Rick Willard and Frank Jurkowski were just one day ahead of me. I hoped to meet
up with them by Port Clinton. Since my graduation break would start in Port
Clinton, I doubted I had a shot at seeing them further along the trail.
I was really looking forward to my break, not only to see everyone at home, but as a break from the trail. At Rausch Gap I discovered another need for a quick vacation. My 19 miles on the PA rocks had split open a seam on my right boot. My legs were also sore for the first time in a long while. The soreness I was likely to overcome, but the rip in my boot would only get worse.
May
26, Pine Grove, PA, 16.0 miles
Of
my 140 days on the trail, this day would be the example of the ups and downs of
thru-hiking. It rained all night and the morning sky was dark, cloudy, and
showed no signs of clearing up. My journal described it as “Blah and ick, in
general.”
A
new relocation made it easier to reach Krieslers Store, formerly Lausch’s, in a
little over an hour. We still had to wait 90 minutes for the store to open, but
the chance for some junk food was worth it. I also passed by the Mountain View
Hotel, which looked like a total dump. I was glad I hadn’t planned to end the
first half of my hike there.
Once
we passed Swatra Gap, the rain was coming down hard. The trail was extra rocky.
My feet started to hurt and I also got chilled. I had been planning to go all
the way to Herlien Campsite for the night, but as the day wore on a cold, wet
bivi seemed less and less inviting. Rick wasn’t enjoying himself either, so we
decided to hitchhike into Port Clinton from Rt 645.
From
the trail crossing it took an hour to get a ride to Pine Grove, PA. But getting
out of Pine Grove proved tougher. A man and his wife out looking for their dog
showed us a better was to get to Port Clinton, so we set ourselves at the
junction, trying to catch a ride either way. Lucky for us, the family returned,
dog and all, and offered to take us to town and as it was getting late enough
that they doubted we’d get a ride.
About
halfway to Port Clinton, they offered to let us spend the night at their home.
I could hardly believe it, it was so nice of them to take us in. We were wet,
cold, probably smelled, and they didn’t know either of us. Rev Evans was the Methodist minister in Pine Grove and his wife taught at the elementary school.
They also owned land that the AT passed over. I was glad to hear they were
enthusiastic about hikers and were against trail bikes. I told them a lot about
the AT Conference and tried to build up the reputation of hikers in general. If
every landowner along the trail was like the Evans the trail would be in safe
hands.
The Evans offered us their shower and dinner. Feeling a little guilty about imposing, Rick and I cooked over our stoves. We slept in the basement of their church. I could not thank them enough. I’d often heard of hikers being invited into private homes but had never thought that it would happen to me.
May
27, Port Clinton, PA Hostel, 22.2 miles
Rev.
Evans dropped Rick and I off on the trail at 8:30. People like the Evans are
one of the greatest attractions of the trail. It’s rare to meet others like
them. Anyone who hikes the trail without stopping to meet the locals misses one
of the best parts of the hike.
The
Evans family might have been nice to us, but their land was as rocky as the
rest of PA. The first four miles were tough going. After that the hiking was easier.
First, we passed by Pilger Rock Spring (Pilgrims Rest). Unfortunately, the
spring was polluted, maybe because there was easy road access to it. Herlton
Campsite wasn’t much, but at least it had good water. We had super views from
the Kestral. We also passed a marker for Fort Dietrick Snyder.
Rick at fort Dietrick Snyder.
The
last six miles leading to Neys Shelter was a long dirt road. I had expected to
make good time, but wasn’t prepared for what I saw. The road was perfectly
straight and flat for 6 miles. Rick and I got set for some fast walking. The
road reminded me of the track at school. We covered 6.1 miles in 1:45, a fast
pace for me with a full pack.
Neys
Shelter was well equipped. It had a swap shelf for unwanted goods, extra food,
a small cabinet with a register, a deck of cards, and some classic back issues
of Readers Digest. The register had an entry from Branley Owens Ga to Me ’69
only a few days before. Also, Rick Willard and Frank Jurkowski wrote that they
were planning to go beyond Port Clinton, so I would not likely catch up to
them.
The
guidebook indicted that the last seven miles to Port Clinton were rough. Since
I expected the worst, the trail turned out to be pretty nice. I was used to
spending my late afternoons at the shelters, and at least the last stretch was
a change of pace. The only rough part of the hike was the last mile of descent
down to Port Clinton. After asking directions, I was able to find my way to a pavilion
left open to hikers by a local church.
Rick
had stayed at Neys Shelter, so I expected to have the Pavilion to myself. But
there were four other hikers there. Rick Willard and Frank Jurkowski had
decided to spend the night in town, so I finally got to meet them. Toby and
Pete were two seniors from St. Georges, another prep school in RI, who had
picked the AT in PA as their senior project. They were glad to have the worst
part of the AT out of the way. Both groups were friendly and made me feel
welcome with a cold can of beer. Rick and Frank were two of the “early group”
of thru-hikers who were taking their time on the trail. Frank was a diabetic.
That made things tough for him on the trail, but he had only had to stop one
time.
This was a 22-mile day for me (with a long trip home to come), so I went to bed early.
May
28 through June 4, Off the trail and home for high school graduation
This
was my long-awaited graduation break. When my high school had given me permission
to take the trimester off there had been only one condition: that I would
return in June to graduate. My parents had already told me that I needed to
attend, so I didn’t have much choice.
But
now I was really looking forward to going home (even including summer camp, I’d
never been away from home for this long before). Pennsylvania is the low point
of the trail, and the hiking had gotten a bit boring. As I later found out,
lots of other hikers ended up taking breaks in PA. For the through hikers from
the northeast, this is the first time they’d gotten close enough to home to
make a visit practical.
I
had no trouble hitchhiking from Port Clinton to the airport in Reading (this
was long before the TSA era). I was glad to have showered only two days before,
or I likely would have gotten more stares than I did. It was a short flight to
Philly, another short flight to Providence, and then I was home.
I
had a few adjustments to make at home, the first was learning to sleep on a
soft bed. I soon adjusted and began sleeping well into the afternoon (as any
good teenager should). It was also nice to eat without having to carry my food
around with me all the time.
While
at home I did a major reorganization of my trip. I rearranged my food drops to
be 5-7 days apart so I wouldn’t have to carry so much food. I would also
receive smaller boxes containing only the freeze-dried dinners and other food
that I had already bought. I had learned that resupply via the local grocery
stores was the most efficient supply system. I also cleaned my pack, and got a
new pin to replace the one that had popped off in VA.
Cleaning
my sleeping bag was a fiasco. None of the laundromats in town would wash it.
One morning my mom stopped by my room while I was sleeping and told me she
planned to wash my bag. I grunted and rolled over. My mom put the bag in the
washing machine. (Down sleeping bags have sewn in compartments to distribute
the down throughout the bag and these baffles were easily torn out by clumps of
wet down being churned in the washer.) Fortunately, only 4-5 baffles ripped
out. Since the rest of my trip would be in mid-summer, I decided the bag would
be all right and it performed well the rest of the trip. (I’d continue to use
the same bag through grad school and until I moved to Montana where a steady
job allowed me to buy a new bag with artificial insulation).
Getting
new boots also proved a hassle. I could only find one decent pair and even
those were just slightly too snug. While trying to break them in, I decided that
they were too small. Because of a small scuff on one shoe the store would not
take them back. I ended up wearing my old ones for another 500 miles (into
Vermont?)
The
last disaster was my food packages. I had them all spread out on my bedroom
floor when some animal) came into the house and ripped open the packages. I
guess the culprit didn’t go for instant oatmeal or freeze-dried Cheese
Romanoff, but who does? I just had to rearrange my packages a little. (My Mom told
this story as the culprit being the neighbor’s dog, and that this incident
happened while I was on the trail.)
Even
at home I managed to meet another through hiker. Hope Mauran was a senior at my
sister’s school, and she also came home from the trail for graduation. I saw
the slide show she had prepared for school, which was quite good. Hope’s (3?)
friends were still hiking and she would join them on the trail north of Port
Clinton. I never saw her group of girls on the trail, but several times I was
just behind them.
(I
wish now that I’d kept better notes on my stay at home, and the logistics of
getting home and back, but my AT journal was tightly focused on the trail.) After
graduating on June 2, and finishing my errands, I was ready to get back on the
trail on June 5.
