Appalachian Trail: Days 61-70: Harper’s Ferry to Duncannon, PA

The Skinny:

• Out of Virginia! 👍🏽
• Harper’s Ferry: history! Friends!
• Maryland: easy peasy! 😏
• Into “Rocksylvania”: not bad yet
• Duncannon: Doyle Hotel = 😁 🍻 🍸🍹 😁

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Day 61: Saturday, June 6, 2026
Tentsite at 999.7 to David Lesser Shelter

Last blog entry left off with my having entered “the roller coaster”: ~13 miles with 13 little mountains and tough, rocky terrain. Trillian and I camped in the middle of the roller coaster — just before mile 1,000 — and we had a great big tentsite all to ourselves, except all the sites were slanty. I slid down towards my feet, but in the end the sleep was pretty good. Everything damp and wet in the morning…. I greedily decided to drink ALL my coffee in my tent along with the blueberry muffin I bought at the market the previous afternoon.

We finished the ‘ride’ on the roller coaster and stopped for lunch at the Horseshoe Bend Restaurant: a cute and quirky bar run by a fun patroness and her Dad.

Evening found us at the large David Lesser Shelter. All the other hikers set up tents, despite the ground being wet from rain, and so I had the Shelter all to myself! After a fun dinner with a bunch of the other hikers in the dining Pavilion, I went to retire and — I really don’t know why — I turned my headlamp on at the brightest setting and shone it all around the place. Why did I do this? One of the secrets of sleeping well is to deprive your senses of exterior stimuli. I wear ear plugs each night so I don’t hear the scurrying of mice or rustling of other animals outside. If you can’t hear it, or see it, it isn’t there. So, naturally, my headlamp illuminated a big, nasty hideous spider. I guess I didn’t have the shelter all to myself. I moved my sleeping pad away, thinking surely that would make things better for me. I tried to make peace with that spider and asked it very kindly just not to come in my space.

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Day 62: Sunday, June 7, 2026
David Lesser Shelter to Harper’s Ferry

Woke up early and had my coffee going by 6:00. It was a gorgeous morning, and I enjoyed some quiet space in the dining Pavilion as a doe munched on leaves right next to me. I read a little until Trillian join me. We had our breakfast, packed up, and started hiking just after 7:00 a.m. It was a  muggy morning, but the conditions were great, the trail was nice, and we were cruising right along at 3 mph towards Harpers Ferry…

…then we hit rocks. It slowed us down significantly, then they passed and we descended gracefully into historic Harper’s Ferry: the “emotional” halfway point (actual halfway is at mile 1,099–a bit later). Arrived at the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) headquarters around 10:30 a.m., checked in, chatted with the staff and had my picture taken– as almost all other hikers do–in front of the building. Hard to believe that Trillian and I are hikers numbers 375 and 376 to pass through this year. That was a cool surprise. I was the 1,868th hiker to start out from Springer Mountain.

Walked over to the Halfway Hideaway Hostel and  checked in. It’s very nice, there’s even a piano. Played a little tune. Trillian’s step brother drove in from the D.C. area, and I met up with my friends Tim and Valerie, who live in nearby Charles Town, West Virginia. Went for a ride to a fun brewery and enjoyed catching up with them.

Back to the hostel, mooched around and tried to figure out what the plan was going to be. Ended up ordering to-go salads from a local place and watched trash TV in bed, drinking wine and eating takeout salad. Was really fun.

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Day 63: Monday, June 8, 2026
Zero in Harper’s Ferry

7:30am: Espresso and cinnamon roll. Heaven.
9:30am: Pizza in bed with a Budweiser. Heaven.

Took the local bus out to the shopping center, got a haircut and had my beard cleaned up a bit. This made me feel infinitely better — especially given the heat, the long hair was driving me nuts. Headed back “home”, made a curry dinner with Trillian, and enjoyed the rest of my day sans hiking.

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Day 64: Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Harper’s Ferry to Washington Monument State Park

Hiking out of Harpers Ferry was really fun: descending through the historic old town, going over the railroad bridge, walking along the C&O Canal, then finally getting back into the woods.

We covered more territory than originally planned, arriving at the Washington Monument State Park, and had the ‘youth group’ tent site area (earmarked for AT hikers) all to ourselves. We made lots of ramen and pitched the tent under the shelter, since we had it all to ourselves.

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Day 65: Wednesday, June 10th, 2026
Washington Monument State Park to Sunflower Cottage in Cascade, MD

Another great day of hiking through Maryland. It rained a little during the morning, but has been dry since we left camp. Very muggy, but not necessarily hot. It’s just nice to walk in this easy terrain. I’ve been listening to all sorts of YouTube videos: catching up on the news, probably because the terrain is easier. Normally I just listen to the music playing in my head, or sometimes play music in my headphones for an hour, but this cruising through flatlands gave me opportunity to focus on some other stuff: not that the news was anything good to hear!

Towards the end of the 22-mile day, we descended a horrible pile of rocks which was to be a preview of what was to come in Pennsylvania.

Eventually we arrived at Pen-Mar park, signaling the end of our short walk through Maryland and welcoming us to Pennsylvania. The stay at the Sunflower Cottage was cute, and we got to wash the grime off before heading out for a tasty pizza.

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Day 66: Thursday, June 11, 2026
Sunflower Cottage to Caledonia State Park Campsite

After a pancake breakfast at the Sunflower Cottage, we were shuttled back to Pen-Mar Park to start our hiking in Pennsylvania. Our bodies were sore and the energy level was low: this was also to be a sign of the impact the rocks in Pennsylvania would have on us, eventually. However, this first part of the state was relatively gentle. Only problem was the oppressive heat, humidity and bugs. The bugs! I proudly declare that I have a secret weapon against them: a mini battery-powered fan I got off Amazon! I don’t like Deet or bug spray or bug nets, but the swarms of gnats is enough to drive me to distraction. My little fan keeps the flies out of my eyes and ears, and makes a terrific “pick” sound when the flies get hit by the fan blades.

Before noon, a sign alerted us to trail magic, and so we enjoyed free vegan hot dogs, Gatorade and snacks courtesy of the trail angel pictured below, whose name sadly escapes me right now.

Made it to Caledonia State Park around 5:15. We were dying from the heat. Like a mirage, the sight of a huge, blue swimming pool met our eyes. It was part of the park’s campsite: hosting car campers and families. We hemmed and hawed over whether to stay, go further, go to a church hostel in town… The office was closed, and in the end we decided to pay cash honor system in the fee tube and give it a go. I was so excited about the swimming pool: it looked fabulous. It was also much quieter than when we saw it at our arrival. It was 6:01 by this point. A note said that after 6, there’s no fee to enter the pool: perfect! Approaching the entrance, a young lifeguard said a ‘contaminant’ had been found in the pool. We looked dead at him: he replied “yeah… yeah, somebody pooped in the pool”. 

Thus; defeated and overheated, we walked to camp, dropped our things, had a shower (THIS was a nice perk of the big campsite), then got our tents up just in time for the rain to come through.

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Day 67: Friday, June 12, 2026
Caledonia State Park Campsite to Ironmaster’s Mansion at Pine Grove Furnace

Started before 7am. Hit the actual halfway point this day: an exciting milestone.

A very nice day of hiking, despite being really hot. Somehow, it didn’t feel as hot as the day before: maybe because of a decent breeze through the day.

We made good time getting to Pine Grove Furnace. We checked in at the Ironmaster’s Mansion (run as a hiker hostel now), then went to the General Store: home of the Appalachian Trail 1/2 gallon ice cream challenge (something neither of us were interested in attempting). Ate some french fries, drank some Gatorade, and bought a little resupply. Laundry in at the mansion, then sat out on the porch, enjoying an ice cream sandwich and watching baby swallows get their evening meal delivered by Momma and Pappa in their nest. The host generously offered us some fruit and leftover pasta salad, which Trillian and I enjoyed with an English muffin and one of her homemade whoopie pies. Nice.

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Day 68: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Iron Masters mansion to “stealth” site in field 1.2 North of Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania.

Not as early of a start as we had hoped, but still pretty good at 7:30 a.m. Not as hot as yesterday. Nice hiking, not too hilly. The bugs are bad again, but the fan continues to work wonders.

Out of the hills, we entered farmland: cornfields and wheat fields–all eerily smelling of chemical pesticides–but rather pretty, anyways.

Got to Boiling Springs in the afternoon and it was HOT… There was a municipal pool, overrun with kids and families, and to make matters worse, we learned it’s a “dry” town, so nowhere to get a drink! Ate some frozen acai with Trillian (what the heck is this stuff? It was kinda like sorbet??) and deliberated about what to do. The “campground” was right near train tracks (loud) or there was a somewhat forbidden stealth site a little over a mile up trail: we decided to go there. Was great. Just across a corn field and it’s associated farmhouse.

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Day 69: Sunday, June 14, 2026
Tentsite North of Boiling Springs to The Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, PA

Alarm at 4:30. Up and out by 5:15. No coffee …. Colors of sunrise pretty but too early for the sun. Still needed headlamp a little in the forested sections. Beautiful morning, though!

Absolutely cruising during the morning hours: did 12 miles in just under four hours! Started to climb a bit after ‘breakfast’… Nothing MUCH all day, but given the miles (23.4 total) and the sleepiness from the early start, it added up.

Made it to the town of Duncannon just before 4:00 PM and checked in at the Doyle Hotel– famous along the Trail as a hiker friendly place–and I ordered a big boy drink, a whisky sour. First drink since Monday! Yummy. Room basic but nice / clean. Fun, casual hotel with a neat porch to enjoy drinks on, multiple bars… Package was held for us with new shoes and earbuds for Trillian, Lavazza coffee for me!

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Day 70: Monday, June 15th, 2026
The Doyle hotel in Duncannon, PA to tentsite by spring at 1168.2

Two pots of espresso. Packed up and left around 9:30. After walking through town and then over the Susquehanna River, it was a steep climb into the woods, but the weather was so much nicer than prior days: cooler air, and less humid too. Generally flat terrain, although a little rocky. We reached a road crossing where two separate groups were doing Trail magic.

“Twizzler” had a nice selection of goodies, and a family was also doing sausages and hot dogs as well as a big platter of cookies, fruit and more. While there, we met “A-fib”, who had just twisted his ankle and was getting off trail for a while, a hiker who is trailing his brother, and then our friends “Spirit Bear” and “Berry Picker” from Walpole, New Hampshire. It was nice to see them again.

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