State of Annoyance

Port Clinton, PA
Mile 1203

People complain about the rocks in PA, but really, they are no worse than a lot of Virginia. What gets you about PA is that this is the state in which all the trail annoyances gather to attack you en masse.

1) It's as hot and buggy as the mid-Atlantic. It's making us kind of crazy.
2) Some of the worst climbs on the entire trail (I'm looking at you, Lehigh Gap)
3) Rocks like New Hampshire (sharp enough to cut deep if you are foolish enough to walk to the privy barefoot . . .ahem)
4) Towns are as mean as New England (no showers)
5) Twenty miles of toxic waste. The forest service has considerately covered the AT Superfund sites with Ecoloam, a product containing real human feces. Mmm!
6) For the love of God it's as boring as Virginia.

Put all those things together and you get a state that kicks out as many would-be through hikers in two hundred miles as Virginia kicked out in five hundred fifty. Yellowblazing (i.e., hitchhiking) has gotten to be very popular.

From here it's seventy-six miles to Delaware Water Gap. Might as well get out of here. DWG has a free hostel, and please, Jesus, let it have a shower.

On the bright side, all the recent rain means there is plenty of water. In addition to rocks, PA is also known for thirst. Not so for the class of '06.

Well, less than a thousand miles (971.4) to Katahdin!