Trindle Road to Campsite near Sheet Iron Roof Road – 12.2 miles
Monday, April 17th, 2017
Happy birthday to me! I love spending birthdays alone in the woods. Not sure if I got the exact campsite correct because I managed to lose the pages I’d printed from my trail guide and therefore didn’t mark any locations on those pages. But let’s start at the beginning…
My dad agreed to drive out to my destination point of Pen Mar Park and leave my car, and then drove me back to PA 641 to start my hike where I had finished with Rock Turtle five months before. Dad isn’t a hiker but he’s very supportive and I am thankful for him and my mother as well, despite how crazy she thinks I am.
I had learned of the Appalachian Trail Passport that was becoming popular among hikers, and I was excited to stop at the ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office to purchase one. I made it there by 4pm and proudly received the first stamp in my passport. I’m quite a sucker for things like that. I like to collect memories, and the passport is a great way to do that.
My hike started off in more open pastures and then into the woods and then into the town of Boiling Springs, past a lake, through a cornfield, and then back into the woods again. The terrain was still relatively flat and these were easy miles. I was thankful. It was sometime around where I was climbing the hill to Center Point Knob (the original AT midpoint) when I discovered that I must’ve dropped the pages I was carrying from my trail guide. (I never carry the whole book. It’s unnecessary weight. I just photocopy the pages I need for each hike… one of the benefits of being a section hiker.) I retraced my steps for about a half mile but then decided that was stupid. I texted Rock Turtle and Flo and one of them (I can’t remember which one) sent me photos of the pages I needed. I stumbled upon a stream containing trail magic at dusk, and while I was tempted to go further, I decided to stop and set up camp and celebrate my birthday with the delicious Mountain Dew the stream had given me! Thank you John Goodman!
Wherever I May Roam 