08 April Thur. Fayetteville, PA

Hot (low 80s), mostly blue sky and no rain during hike (but close).

It was 11.2 mi. to Fayetteville and it was not easy.  We were very tired from yesterday.  And the trail was not easy, very rocky in places.  Climbing over boulders with a 40+ pound pack is hard and it is slow.  Plus the trail would climb a ridge, go over some rocks, then go back down the ridge on the SAME side.  And worse, it did this repeatedly.  The trail term for this is PUDS (Pointless Ups and Downs).  I want to complain to the owner and ask for my money back.

Only met people twice today.  First we met a guy going south with a Walmart sleeping bag in one hand and an small,old, canvas backpack.   He was low on water and wanted to know how far to get it (1 mile downhill).  It became apparent he was homeless.  This unfortunately began happening when the economy became bad.  Basically unable to get a job, some are choosing to "hike the trail" rather than be "homeless in the city".  They rely on handouts from weekend hikers who usually bring too much food (when a thru hiker does this it is called "Yogi'ing").  Hopefully this does not become too common.  Hopefully the economy improves and eliminates the need for this.

Later we met two guys out for "long" hike.  They asked about trout streams so I told them about the ones we had seen today.  I hope they caught dinner before the rain.

We made it to Fayetteville just after 5:00.  Called the Rite Spot / Scottish Inn and they came and picked us up on Rt 30 and brought us to town.  We are very tired but it is worth it.  Showers, Sheets, and Real Food!  Thunderstorms arrived just as we walked to our room.

We had dinner at the Flamingo Family Diner.  Cheap and good.  Probably eat there 3 or 4 more times. 

We both have had our first falls now.  Nothing serious, but good bruises and scrapes.  This combined with our blisters means it is time to heal.  We will take a "zero day" meaning no hiking.  We will leave Saturday morning.  Hope to find a computer so I can do some clean-up on this journal and update our location history.