PO'ed in PA

Ok, so I'll admit, I cribbed this title from a series of comics drawn by this guy "Butters" on the trail. He leaves them in every trail register and they're pretty consistently hillarious, so I figured I borrow it for today. Its hard to believe that the last time I posted was in Harper's Ferry, WV, yet now all the sudden I am here at the end of Pennsylvania, and none too soon either. We're all tired of the state and its near constant rocks, though there are few hills or other major challenges to get in the way. The terrain in PA was one of the trail rumors everyone's been hearing about for hundreds of miles, and they don't disappoint. While the worst bits didn't start until a few days ago, my feet have been getting roughed up with every mile of walking. But, instead of complaining, I'll just go back to the beggining and spare you.
After the long haul through VA, the states of West Virginia and Maryland blew by like a breeze. After leaving Harper's Ferry, we got a nice stroll along the C&O canal path, the same trail that heads through Georgetown in D.C. It was nice and relaxing, with the Potomac on one side and the tranquil canal on the other, but once again made me miss the city. We had a few parting glances from the cliffs back down the river before heading into MD, which was full of Civil War history and old momuments, including a small stone one to George Washington. Nothing to rival its bigger cousin, but something cool to see anyway.
We passed into PA, which started benignly enough with some easy ridge trail that gave way to the farms of the Cumberland Valley. State parks were sprinkled along the way, including the milestone Pine Grove Furnace Park, where the official half-way point is located. Its also the home to the "Half Gallon Challenge", where hikers routinely down a box of ice cream in a minor gastronomic feat that inevitably leaves one sprinting for the bathroom (chocolate chip cookie dough for me, in a measly 30 minutes; the record is 4:30 or so). The flat land afterward was a bit disorienting, walking across the fields with corn growing on one side and wheat on the left or wading through grass grown head-high, the hills receding for a short time. Luckily the trail passes straight through several towns, including historic Boiling Springs with many preserved buildings and a clear lake in the center. Several of us got to witness a wedding at a gazebo right off the path; the coupled walked down the aisle on the same trail we'd been following for 1,100 miles. Next came Duncannon, a slightly less charming town on the Susquehanna (sp) River, home to the seedy yet legendary Doyle Hotel. In a great stroke of luck, Anastasia came to visit on here way back from a wedding in WV with a friend and we got to have a few drink together. On the other side of the coin, I got an egg thrown at me on the way back to my campsite; a glancing blow to the foot, but annoying none-the-less and asign that not everyone understand that they have something unimaginably cool going right through their home town. I'm eternally gratefull that I didn't grow up in that particular burg.
The rest of the state proceded along ridgelines and down into the river vallys between, passing through Port Clinton and skirting the rememnants of an envirnmental disaster outside Palmerton, where years of zinc mining and smelting left the hills denuded and dead, a wasteland with a view. From there on out, our feet became punching bags, constantly getting beaten and twisted by rocks. I was fortunate enough to fall in briefly with a group of fun people, so at least themisery was shared, and now I've been relaxing the past couple of days with my mom and brother who met up with me in Wind Gap and did some hiking with me today. There's been tons of food, a gradual lessening of the rocks, and some nice downtime and company, as well as some new shoes and gear to take me the rest of the way. Now that the tough terrain is gone for the time being, I should be flying along from one visit with friends and family to another. I'm looking foward to seeing and meeting more people as I go north, the next few weeks should be a fun time... until the White Mountains at least anyway.