| Destination: PA 325 Parking Lot | |
| Start Location: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA | Trip Miles: 24.9 |
Some random stuff…
Check your packing list, check your pack and do it again and again. Enough said.
The Doyle Hotel in Duncannon is famous with Appalachian Trail hikes. It is over 120 years old and was once owned by Adolphus Busch, co-founder of Anheuser-Busch. The original hotel was a three-story, wooden lodge in the 1770s. After the original burned down, the current structure was built in the early 1900s. The hotel has had several owners over the years. On one hand it is considered hiker heaven, on the other hand some hikers consider it too worn down to stay at. There are regular rumors that the Doyle is closing. I finished a northbound section of the AT in 2017 at the Doyle but did not go in. At the start of this section, Nick, Bob and myself made a stop. We were told that the hotel was in the process of being sold and that the new owners were making much needed renovations. The atmosphere was that of your local dive bar with good food and cheap beer. Glad I finally got to visit!
Hikers are not supposed to sleep with food in their tents. Many of the shelters have bear poles available nearby. Some have cables to hang your food. Recently bear boxes have been placed near some shelters. The bear box is a heavy duty tool box with some sort of clasp to keep the bears from being able to lift the lid. The boxes are much easier to use than either the poles or cables. Although bearproof, both poles and cables have not been able to be mouseproof. The bear boxes also keep out mice.
When you are not camping near a shelter, you hang your food from a tree, hopefully out of the reach of any animals. Sometimes finding a tree with a branch that works can be a challenge. Bob and I were lucky to get a nearly perfect hang on our night away from the shelters.
Shortly before getting to our last campsite we crossed a small stream containing acid mine runoff, The water is rust colored and was coming out of the side of the mountain. Evidence of mining remains many years later.This water did not look like anything I wanted to drink but interestingly, our guidebook listed it as a water source!
GPS tracks and info from our hike. Miles listed in each day’s update are AT miles. GPS miles include and side trails for water, views, etc.
| Day | Miles | Ascent | Descent | Net Elev Change | High Temp | Low Temp |
| 1 | 4.6 | 1,119 | 351 | 768 | 82 | 71 |
| 2 | 7.3 | 794 | 837 | -43 | 71 | 68 |
| 3 | 10.8 | 1,978 | 1,601 | 377 | 68 | 61 |
| 4 | 3.7 | 163 | 1,250 | -1,087 | 64 | 60 |
Another learning experience, but another great adventure.