6/09/06 Friday: Super 8, Carlisle, PA to Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA (15.5mi)

PICTURES:
1. Early morning walk through farmland
2. Something wrong with this pic... Thats a culvert from the road above the trail.. I hate to be some unsuspecting hiker passing thru during a downpour!!!
3. A walk thru some wetlands
4. After a climb we get some views
5. A view of Duncannon on my descent into town..
6. A previous landslide reshaped this portion of the mountain making the hike a bit tricky..
7. Some trail majic just before town
8. A view of the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, my stop for the day... One of a number of old Budweiser Hotels put up 100 years ago across the country... Needs a little remodeling work too...LOL
9. These two ladies tended bar at the hotel and also assigned rooms to hikers...
10. Hiker dinner later that night at an outdoor Italian restaurant... fun time had by all...

I was up for breakfast at 0600 at the diner across the street again and checked-out by 0700, walking the .4 back to the trail to continue north... It would be another beautiful day; we have had a string of them... I cant remember the last time I was rained on...:)... The day was uneventful until I arrived to a spectacular vista at Hawk Rock overlooking Duncannon... I met a father and young son there and we chatted for a while about the trail and the town they called home... Just before leaving, I handed him my map of the trail south of Duncannon, I would be using a different one tomorrow and I have been leaving them in the shelters to help cut down on the weight... Storm clouds were coming so I excused myself and headed into town.. I encountered more Trail Majic at the bottom of Hawk Mtn...:)... very nice... As I was indulging myself, a few rain drops began to fall so I covered my pack with its rain fly, no need to put a rain coat on since I was all wet from the days perspiration...;)... The trail runs right through town and I almost made it to the Hotel when the first of a series of torrential downpours began... I ducked into a convenience store, bought a pop and a hogie while the weather did its thing... It soon slowed enough for me to briskly walk up to the Doyle without really getting wet... I checked in at about 1400 and the ladies were sizing me up, trying to figure out which bed I would fit into... Apparently they have some pretty short ones... LOL... Anyway I got my room, stark but for $20 better than any shelter Ive stayed in... Laundry and bath for the floor just down the hall and the supermarket would arrive promptly at 1600 to take the hikers to resupply. I had plenty of time to get my stuff done and make the shuttle at 1600... On the shuttle I had the opportunity to meet a number of other hikers and we made dinner arrangements for later that evening... A total of 8 hikers got together and we had a nice Italian meal. At the end of the meal the owner/chef came out to introduce himself and we all chatted about the town, the food, the trail, and the days to come... A wonderful time had by all... Many of the hikers left me with names of other hikers ahead on the trail... They wernt sure if they would catch up to them but seemed pretty sure I would... I stopped at the interned cafe after dinner to do some blogging and check my e-mail. About 2300 their internet system crashed and since they closed at 2400 that was it for me... I turned in at midnight and had a good nights sleep...