4 July 2007 - 1.133 miles - Happy Birthday USA! made it to past the half way point, through Maryland and half way through Pennsylvania to Duncannon. The trail took me through my first wheat fields and corn fields. I loved the low land hiking through the farm lands. this is the area my dad grew up in, so i was looking forward to this section, even though i heard the rocks were gonna be trouble.
The universe works in mysterious ways sometimes. this time, my folks were going to come up and visit one last time. We visited My Aunt Betty and Uncle Stan and Gram around Allentown. It just so happened Dad wanted to hike a section of the trail with me, so my Aunt Deb (she got married on the AT) researched the area and told us where the easiest part of the trail in Pa was. It just so happened to be right outside of Duncannon, which is on the ridge right above the valley where he was born and raised. Perfect. The night before we are to hike the 10 mile section from Pa 225 to Pa 325, i get a call from a Japanese Filming company. Turns out they are doing a made for Japanese television documentary on the Appalachian trail and are interviewing 4 hikers, one of which happens to be yours truly. So on the 8th of July, on the high ridge around Shikellimy Overlook, dad and i were followed by 4 members from the film crew. That was a good section of trail. We ate blackberries, identified sassafras and saw 2 big rattlesnakes. both of which were great footage for the film crew. We all survived the hike and the rattlesnakes. Lesson of the day. enjoy your friends and family while you can. Make the most of every moment .