Weekend hike: 5/24

WORTH THE READ

This past Saturday, I hit the trail in Green Point, PA to make way to my final destination in Bethel, PA, a total of 15 miles on the trail.  In the first few miles before I crossed over into Berks County, there was not much going on. Beautiful landscapes and a few day hikers. I was a little dehydrated during the day, but I was fine.

After a few miles, I finally got to William Penn Shelter.  Although this is not where I would be staying, I decided to stop here for dinner.  I made ramen with tuna.  It was an ok meal, but what made it awesome was the fact that I could talk with another thru-hiker by the name of Figgy (check out his trail-journal).  We talked about gear, and after I was done eating, I set off.  

I knew that I would not get to Camp Swatara in Bethel while it was still light, so I got out my headlamp and prayed.  At this point, I was alone again, and darkness fell quickly. It was a scary time, as I still had about 5 miles to go.

My plan was to take a side trail called the grapevine trail into my camp for the night. the grapevine is a trail in the camp Swatara trails system, that goes from the AT at the top of the mountain down into the camp, an extra mile and a half. 

As I was hiking in the dark, I spotted a lot of animals off in the woods, a bobcat being one. Scary times, but I did not think of it at the time.  I kept hiking and I missed the grapevine trail, and I came across two guys hanging out around a fire. One guy was nice enough to give me a really cool Coleman knife that he did not want anymore. Maybe he did not want to carry it out. Either way, thank you!  The bad news was that I missed the trail.  As I turned around to find the trail again, out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked to be an orange glow from a gas lamp deep in the woods.  As I turned my head with my petzl on it, I saw a guy jump up and turn off the lamp.  Talk about creepy.  I found the grapevine faster than ever, and finally made it into camp Swatara around 10:30 pm that night.

Conclusion:  Only night hike when I have to.  Keep alert and watch for animals and moonshiners

The next day, I went to Cabela's.  I picked up a Sea to Summit pack cover, titanium spork, and a platypus bag.

Nate JB Harner