Day 117 - 26th July - Wiley Shelter to Kent - 13.5 miles

As always, we make a fast getaway when it is a 'town' day. We are heading for Kent, our first New England village. We cover 4 miles and arrive at Ten Mile River Leanto, to find Ugly Tuna is still there! It is a beautiful campsite by the river, and we wish we could have been fit enought to make it here last night. The climb up the Schegticoke Mt turnes out to be an ordeal - very hard and rocky. We cross into Connecticut during the climb.

We meet a young hiker heading south - only second day on the trail - who is carrying a skateboard strapped to the back of his pack. We are boggled - he is young and fit and wants transport from the trail to towns and this is his solution. We wonder how long it will last.

When we emerge on to the Kent road, we meet Freeman's parents who are waiting to collect him. We had passed Freeman yesterday and given him an ankle bandage for his twisted ankle. His parents are about our age - they drive us into town. Freeman's foot is seriously inflamed and he needs serious medical help.
His parents had hoped to walk a few days of the trail with him as day walkers but he is in too much pain. We later meet him in Maine, heading south, and learn that he spent nearly 2 months camped in the forest on the edge of Kent waiting for his foot to heal.

Kent is expensive and cute. We book into The Fife and Drum - a tavern and accommodation and the most expensive accommodation we have had so far on this trip. We eat dinner there as well. The restaurant had won all sorts of foodies awards and was full of rich people.

Touching Base

 The Oncologist says I am very fit, much less than my physiological age and that it will stand me in good stead. On the scales, I am 58 kg, still trail weight. I am amazed that 10 months after the AT I am still carrying the residual physical fitness.

But I am losing the mental toughness that everybody else seems to think I possess. It's one thing to focus on a mountain 2000 miles away and walk to its summit - quite another to be a hospital 'case' - and not quite sure how or where the journey is going to end. It is adjusting the mental perspective - I am sick - I am going to have chemicals pumped into my body - they are going to make me sicker - I need to do this if I want to increase my chances of survival. But they will make me sicker before I get well. The chemical treatment is known as TAC - how about that - the same initials as the ATC. The chemicals are so dangerous that I need to be checked by a cardiologist before they can inject me to make sure my heart can cope.

In two days I have a Cat Scan to see if there are any other cancers in my body - this is the 'baseline'. In one week I see more doctors than I have seen in my whole life. They all ask me questions and fill out a questionnaire - do I drink alcohol? - 'only Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc' I reply.

How am I going to pass the time - sitting with a drip in my left arm for 4 hours - Sheena has the best solution: Get an I-Pad. This idea keeps me going all day - what things can I do with an I Pad?..... Technology has a solution to every problem, even mine.

Day 116 - 25th July - Morgan Steward Shelter to Wiley Shelter - 17.5 miles

Digby stops for a swim in Nuclear Lake - I watch and take photographs of butterflies. Too cold in the water for me!

We find the Dover Oak, famous as the largest oak tree on the AT which is over 300 years old and has a girth of 20'.

We cross the railroad which goes to New York City - and there is the train station - called Appalachian Trail Station. You can flag down the train to catch a ride into the city. We find 'Ugly Tuna' having a nap on the train station seat. Ugly Tuna is starting to have doubts about why he is doing the trail.

That night we camp again at the shelter with Serenatina, Red Lobster and LJ. Red Lobster and LJ are obviously very well suited and they become one of the trail romances of 2010 - but they sleep in separate tents and maintain a polite distance. As I write this I wonder if they did ever get together after the trail. I read in the AT Journal that they both completed the hike.

Day 115 - 24th July - Bushcamp@1410.5 to Morgan Stewart Shelter - 17 miles

We leave our campsite in the mist of the early morning and follow an old railway track to the road. We follow the trail through old farm land which has now been reforested - but the stone fences remain. Everytime I see a fence I think - look how much work went into that! We come to a lake - Lake Canopus - where the resident lifeguard rakes the sand.

At the shelter, there are two new section hikers who have just started walking and can only walk 8 miles a day, and a hiker with a loud voice on his mobile phone. Red Lobster, Serentina and LJ (London Jo) arrive to share the campsite with us. The most memorable part of the camp site is the old hand water pump which enables water to be pumped to the surface - we are very appreciative - water is still a scarce commodity despite the rain over the last few days.

Day 114 - 23rd July - Fort Montgomery to a bush camp - 17.3 miles

An early departure and we are passed by all the cadets from West Point on their 5 mile morning run. It was interesting to see that there were women among them, and African Americans as well. We cross the Hudson River on a suspension bridge and reach the start of the trail.

We are amazed to find an abandoned hikers pack, with things strewn everywhere. There is a two mile climb to the Hemlock Camping Ground, we are met by 'Sherpa', who asks us if we have seen his son, Anthony. It becomes evident that it is Anthony's pack we have found. Sherpa says Anthony "got lost" yesterday, and the police found him and Sherpa told them to drop him at the start of the trail - this was at 6pm and he never arrived at the campsite. Sherpa heads down to the pack and we wonder what will happen next. We later hear on the AT grapevine that he does find Anthony and there is a mediation between them with another hiker acting as the go-between, so that Anthony is able to tell his father that he doesn't want to hike the trail any more, and his father has to accept that his dream is not his son's dream.

The rain sets in the for the morning and we have a meandering walk through valleys, and ridges. The highlight of the morning is when we 'discover' the Appalachian Market Roadhouse - we had not read our trail guide properly and had not expected to find this treasure - hot food, loads of food, coffee, every colour of lemonade you can imagine. We buy a whole lot of food and sit out in the drizzle on the picnic table watching the traffic go by on the freeway, and stuffing ourselves.

We follow the trail and do not turn off to the monastery - it is a 1 mile detour so decide to pass it up. The drizzle continues and just as we think its time for lunch we find a little garden seat with a roof, overlooking a dam, at the bottom of somebody's garden, so we take up residence. The rain continues and our feet are now wet.

At a road crossing we find Beaver Chief, last seen on Day 93 at the ice-cream challenge at Pine Grove Furnace. He is wet, and as he is travelling sooo light - he is cold - he has no tent, and no waterproof coat - and is huddling under a small shelter thinking he might stay and sleep here if the weather doesnt improve. We continue on, through beautiful steep granite gorges and find ourselves in a picturesque valley with a parkland feel and decide this is the place to camp for the night.

Day 113 - 22nd July - Fingerboard Shelter to Fort Mongomery - 14.1 miles

We had a great night with all five of us being 'mature' hikers. The rain pounded on the roof and we felt warm and cozy. This is the day for the great skyline view of the Manhatten skyline 35 miles away - it looks like Fantasia - pale blue silhouette on the horizon.

We all meet up again for lunch on a stream and later in the afternoon we climb Bear Mountain, one of the legendary climbs on the AT. There is at least 3/4 mile walking on the road, and we climb over the top to be confronted with an old stone tower known as the observatory.

It is the descent off Bear Mountain which is special - a path of stones cut by volunteers. It is an amazing job. Stickwalker puts 'booties' on Belle the Wonderdog as the small stones are very sharp, and the booties protect her paw pads. She looks sooo cute. We descend to the lake and find the kiosk. Sourdough and Sweet Tea are already there, wondering if they should order for us, as it is about to close. We order Hot Dogs and fries and a large bottle of lemonade. We eat and relax for half an hour. Sourdough and Sweet Tea decide to continue for another 6 miles to the monastery where hikers can camp for free. With blisters and very heavy pack I think this is a bad move for Sweet Tea, but I am not her mother. My concerns prove right - she drops out the next day, and we never hear from her, or about her again.

We head into Fort Mongomery with Stickwalker and Belle, and stay at Garrison House, a B&B which does not supply breakfast. Our resupply is done at the petrol station which is fairly limited.

Day 112 - 21st July - Greenwood Lake to Fingerboard Shelter - 16.4 miles

Water is a worry on this stretch, but we find lots of gallon containers of water, all full. Thankyou so much to all those trail angels who take the responsibility to make sure the hikers can keep on hiking.

We walk with Sourdough and Sweet Tea. Trish drives us back up the road to the trail. At the first shelter we stumble across Stickwalker and Belle the Wonderdog, who also walk with us for the day.

It is great hiking today - hard rock climbs to viewpoints and lake views. I watch in amazement as Belle the Wonderdog navigates through the cliffs and manages delicate descents with style, while carrying her own saddlebags stuffed with her food. We struggle through the 'lemon squeezer' a long narrow gorge which requires a tight squeeze with pack.

It rains twice which cools down the day. The first shower is great. But the second shower becomes a thunderstorm which is very heavy. The temperature drops quickly and next thing we are being pelted with hail. The lightening is very close and the thunder is really loud. We huddle against a pine tree and soon we are soaked to the skin. We make the decision to stay at the next shelter and we arrive soaked and cold, with no water. Stickwalker and Belle are already settled in, and Sourdough and Sweet Tea arrive an hour after us.

Digby rigs up a tarp to trap water for drinking and this saves us from dying of thirst in the storm. We have a cosy night in the small shelter with 6 bodies plus dog. Sweet Tea is having blister trouble. Her back up team - her husband Gene has gone back to Alabama and now Sweet Tea is carrying all her stuff for the first time. We watch in amazement at the junk she is carrying. We ditched all the extras a long time ago - about day 5 - this is day 3 for her carrying a real pack - she still carries shampoo, conditioner, facecream. If she has any chance of surviving she needs to get rid of all her extras.

Day 111 - 20th July - Greeenwood Lake - Zero Day

On the whole hike there are only 6 days where we do not walk. Today is one of them - a day to be treasured. The last zero day was Day 88 when we stayed in luxury with Stickbuilt and Sandy in Washington DC.

We sleep in, then have breakfast in town at a local diner where all the old men gather - they even have their own mugs! We hoped we were not sitting in somebody's special seat. They nod to us. We think - life could be quite comfortable living here as a retired elderly person.

After breakfast we go hunting for groceries and try the grocery store run by an Indian - we buy some interesting things and then head down to the main street and the pharmacy. Trish picks us up and takes us for a ride to 'the beach'. Digby spends time reading. I go to the library with Sourdough and fight for a computer with all the local teenagers who are on school holidays.

In the main street we meet Restless and Crazy Train.We have not seen them since Day 41. They have been hitch hiking to catch up and head further north on the trail. Restless is very depressed and tearful about the trail. Crazy Train doesn't seem to remember who we are, or is just too lazy to acknowledge us. Restless has not made the transition to thru hiker. She is lost in the romance of a relationship, with short hiking days, long times around the fire and lots of laughs. She has no trail fitness and cannot walk the miles that everyone else is now covering in a day. There is a determined focus and a 'lean and mean' demeanour to most of the thru-hikers now - those of us that are left know that we have the mental toughness and the physical fitness to make it all the way.

Day 110 - 19th July - Wawayanda Shelter to Greenwood Lake - 10 miles

We climb to a ridge which is really rocky - there are huge slabs and ribs and it is difficult to find the trail markers. Digby is like a mountain goat and takes the lead so I just have to concentrate on staying upright. We cross the border and enter New York State from New Jersey. We have now walked 1356.8 miles of the AT. Less than 1000 miles to go.

We follow the rocky ribs for about 5 miles- it is slow going. We stop for lunch on a small flat spot on the ridge. I don't have my glasses on, and a shadow moves on the side of the rib. At first I think it is a hiker who has lost the trail and I watch the shadow to see who it is. Over the top of the rib lumbers a bear - a big bear! Digby is too involved in spreading peanut butter on his tortilla. The bear comes towards us - the distance is closing to less than 10 metres. The bear still hasn't seen us and Digby hasn't seen the bear.  I jump up and yell and wave my arms and yell and wave my arms. The bear finally gets the message and turns away from us to head back down the trail we had just followed. Another hiker.... Another surprise.....This is the closest bear encounter we have on the whole trail. Sorry folks - no pictures, no time!

We arrive at the road crossing with Sourdough who has decided to join us and stay at Anton's on the Lake. We visit the icecreamery and wait for our ride. The ice creamery is a farm owned by the one family since 1702 - it is now the 10th generation running it. Pretty scary.

Trish arrives to pick us up - she turns out to be Australian and married a US army Vietnam Vet. She went to high school near where Digby grew up and her family had a big vegetable garden near my parents home.

To celebrate Digby's birthday we buy 2 bottles of wine from the pub and have drinks on the lawn with Sourdough, followed by dinner at a restaurant which turns out to be a 'yachties' hang out.

Note the black dog cut out - to scare the geese to stop them pooing on the lawn!

Day 109 - 18th July - Unionville - Wawayanda Shelter - 16.6 miles

Bill who is in his 80s, cooks us an early breakfast at the mayors house, and we are walking back on the trail by 7.30am.

There is a steep climb up Pochuck Mt, a circuit of a swamp, now a wildlife refuge managed by the Federal Govt. In the 1700s it was drained by Polish farmers to grow onions. Now wetlands and full of birds and bird watchers.

We follow a very long boardwalk over the swamp and reach the main road going to Vernon. Red Lobster's parents have set up a trail magic outpost here - they have driven all the way from Boston to see her and we appreciate their efforts with cold drinks, fresh fruit and snacks. We also walk 100 metres to the icecream shop and eat icecreams and rest in the shade until later in the day and we head off about 3 pm to climb the 1000' to the top of Wawayand Mt. It takes us an hour, and then we have a series of bumps the Wawayand shelter. '7' is already there. Sourdough and Masterchief arrive later.

We camp near the shelter and meet a section hiker who is a grade 8 science teacher - he has no trail name as he has only been hiking a few days. He is later christened 'Itinerary' because he has a very detailed program of dates and distances for where he is meant to be. All the thru hikers got that out their system 100 days ago, so his planning and conscientious stands out amongst us. The water source is 0.4 miles from the shelter - what a trudge.

The AT community still lives on

I write my stuff on a computer in the middle of the Daintree Rainforest, and halfway across the world, people reach out to support me when they read my latest news. Thanks Stickbuilt and Sandy. Thanks Worn Heel. Worn Heel is in Delaware Water Gap on the same date, as we spent  there 365 days ago. How amazing is that! I heard on the news today that the heat waves on the east coast of the US are really serious - temperatures up to 55deg C. So Worn Heel take care - lots of night walking and carry lots of water.

Day 108 - 17th July - Gren Anderson Shelter to Unionville - 20.1 miles

An early start and we enjoy walking towards the sunrise with great lighting through the forest.

We see our first beaver dam - up until now we have seen some of the trees that they gnaw to build the dams but this is the first construction. Loads of work. We straggle into lunch at High Point State Park - a national park office where people can collect parcels, so there are hikers doing their resupply on the lawn. We sit and eat and enjoy the company, and the spare food which comes our way - 'Does anybody want a KitKat?' well what can you say? eat up.There is a view to a long spire monument - we never find out what it actually represents. Finally we drop off the mountain and have a great hike with no rocks, walking through flat private froet and farmland. There is a guy shooting a gun on the other side of the lake to us - we have to walk across his line of site. he doesn't know we are there. We just think this must be normal for the US, and continue on our hike. As we emerge on the road we meet our first US policeman - 'trooper', who has been called on the mobile by Sourdough over the guy shooting his gun.

It's a long day and we struggle to make it all the way to the small town of Unionville where there is the 'mayor's house' a place where hikers are welcome to stay. We arrive and find about 10 hikers already in residence. They run the place by donation. We set up camp in the backyard and have hot dogs and coleslaw for dinner. The laundry and shower are great. There are 6 tents pitched in the backyard which has no fences - I keep wondering how the neighbours feel about this invasion. We discover that Boomer was here a few days ago - we met him on Day 2 of our hike - an Australian and havent seen him since, though his name crops up from time to time.

Day 107 - 16th July - Rattlesnake Spring - Culvers Gap - Gren Anderson Shelter 17.8 miles

Early start and we see a bear only 3 metres from the trail.

We have 4 miles to walk to the Blue Mt Rd - there is no house but there is meant to be a water pum. The handle is missing and it doesn't work. Luckily we are tanked up with extra. Heading south we meet a hiker desperate for water - Talisman - so we give him one of our bottles of Gatorade. This will save him a 4 mile detour to get water. It is a long hot day as we follow the ridge with few trees. There is a great view of the gap and we drop to the lake and the small town of Culvers Gap.

Culvers Gap is notorious for its poor treatment of hikers, but we find the steakhouse under new ownership, and the new owner appreciates hikers and their appetites. There are already 7 hikers at the bar, so we settle in for an evening with a burger, and then later walk back into the bush to the next shelter, another 2 miles away.

We use the mobile to ring and book 2 nights for Digby's birthday at Antons by Lake for the 19/20th at the little town of Greenwood Lake. This gives us something to look forward to.

Day 106 - 15th July - Delaware Water Gap to Rattlesnake Spring - 14.6 miles

On the way out of town we notice a snowplough - our first one - so we stop to take a photo and the firechief comes out to see what we are up to!

We walk across the bridge and follow the freeway into New Jersey. We climb a ridge which follow for most of the day. We have lunch by a glacial lake with a lot of other hikers who have caught up to us - Red Stick, Serenatina, Scatters, One Life and Stucco.

The track is still rocky but only a few more days to go and the rocks will be gone. We eat blueberries all afternoon - they grow well along the trail in New Jersey.

We stop to camp at a site near the Rattlesnake Spring while the others decide to push on and do another 6 miles. We know our limits. We are kept awake by the noise of a loud speaker drifting up from the valley floor below - it sounds like a christian revival meeting, with everybody being exhorted to do stuff.

Day 105 - 14th July - LeeRoy Smith Shelter to Delaware Water Gap - 18.2 miles

We camp in the clearing for the gas pipeline and get heavy rain during the night, but when I wake at 2.00am there are great views with the lights of a city below. Of course the tent leaks as per normal. Sourdough's tent leaks more than ours - we are fairly depressed and miserable packing up to carry a heavy wet tent in the mist through the descent of the mountain.

We meet Sourdough at the road as we stop to get water at the motel at Wind Gap. We meet Sweet Tea again who is basically slackpacking with her husband Gene acting as the back up team. She is dry and fresh after a night in the motel - we are still wet and miserable.Stucco and One Life have hitched into the city, and then catch us again during the morning. We arrive at Fox Gap to find everybody resting and relaxing. We have lunch at Kirkbridge Shelter and meet a cheeky chipmunk.

There is only 6 miles left to go and we are out of Pennsylvania - the 16 days in P have been very difficult and the concentration to walk on the rocks without spraining the ankle has been intense. We are counting down the miles, and can't wait to say goodbye to the rocks.

We arrive at Delaware Water Gap and stop at the Outfitters to by some dehydrated dinners, then to the bakery for apple pie and coffee, then to the Pocono Motel for some luxury. We have to shop at the petrol station minimart - fairly expensive but we manage to get enough food for 4 days. We have dinner at the bar in the motel and meet up with Masterchief and Sandbagger.We put the heater on in the motel room and dry out all our wet gear, tent and boots.

Day 104 - Tuesday 13th July - Slatington to LeRoy Smith Shelter+2 miles - 18.1 miles

We have breakfast with 'Stickwalker' at the diner next to the hotel. We start the climb up to LeHigh Gap - an amazing rockclimb and one of the most exhilarating days on the AT. It is so steep my walking poles go into my pack and I climb hand over hand. On the climb, we are caught by Scatters, Stucco, One Life and Sourdough.

We more or less walk as a straggled group for the rest of the day. We walk along the contours of the ridge and follow the restoration of the degraded mountain caused by the zinc smelter. We get to know Sourdough - a naturalist who carries an i-phone with the bird 'app'.

We find some hilarious trail magic left by the 'Church of Satan' - 'no prayer lists provided'. It is a joke and a send up of the trail magic left by religious groups for hikers. This is the closest example we see of 'Australian' humour of taking the piss out of somebody. Usually americans don't get this - and sure enough, One Life is deeply offended by it. I laugh my head off. Softdrink, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and fruit in juice. What a feast.

We stop at the LeRoy Shelter with Stucco and Scatters for a snack and then walk another 2 miles to camp on the ridge at the pipeline clearing with Sourdough.

Events overtake me

When I started this blog, my plan was to live each day, and write up one day at a time, 365 days after the event. Now I am 8 days behind in my narration, of what had been the most significant journey of my life.

Unfortunately there has been a change of circumstances - the Appalachian Trail story has been superseded. I have found myself on a whole new journey for survival - in a space of 10 days I have been diagnosed with breast cancer, been into hospital, and had the breast cancer excised as well as a lymph node. Tomorrow I find out the results of the tests from the tissues that have been cut out. I am confronted by all the statistics - odds are good that I will be still alive in 5 years time - everybody I speak to knows somebody who is still alive.

I will continue to write up the blog and the story of the AT -This hike may be my last. I need to remember it. It is certainly my greatest achievement so far. I am glad that I did it while I am still fit and able to carry a pack.To anybody reading this - don't leave things till its too late.

Day 103 - 12th July - Blue Mts B&B to Slatington - 13.3 miles

We call Ira Fine from 'Fine Lodgings' in Slatington and he agrees to meet us in the late afternoon between 4-5pm so we can stay in town.

The day's hike is really bad and rocky in sections, climbing ove Bake Oven Knob. We have to carry enough water for the whole day. The ankles and knees do not do well under the strain of the rock climbing with the heavy pack.

Ira picks us up in his truck and we have a private room in his residential hotel which is really nice. Slatington is a small town with stone buildings with everything nearby. We eat at the tavern 50 metres up the street. I use ice from the ice bucket to reduce the swelling in my sprained ankle.

Day 102 - 11th July - Windsor Furnace to Blue Mountain B&B - 20.6 miles

We enjoy a great forest walk with some nightmare rock patches which require great concentration to walk through. We see quite a few hikers out for the weekend. Walking to the Pinnacles is a popular day hike as it has a great view over the valley.

We get to the Allentown Shelter at around 16 miles, and the spring is really low. We decide to walk on. We call the Blue Mountain B&B and restaurant which is another 4 miles and they say ' last order is at 7.45 and yes we have two vacant rooms 'with jacuzzi'. We decide to go for it and hike the 4 miles in an hour and a half. Over the last mile we can hear the live band playing at the restaurant - the music floats through the forest. We make for dinner with half an hour to spare and have a wonderful meal with wind and the settle in for a spa bath. Such luxury. There is a framed poster of the AT with full length map plus photos in our room, which gives me ideas for what we could do as a presentation.

DAy 101 - 10th July - Port Clinton - Windsor Furnace Shelter - 6.2 miles

Stickbuilt and Sandy take us for breakfast at McDonalds. This is a revelation. Digby and I have only been in a McDonalds establishment once before - Invercargill, NZ, 1994. The place was packed with families, old people, queues and queues. Fast service.It is raining - which is unusual after all the hot dry weather.

We are going to be chauffeured over to Lancashire County where the Amish country is. As we approach the area we see horsedrawn carriages - small black boxes on wheels with horses trotting very fast. These carriages are amongst the traffic. We park and watch the carriages arrive at the 'drive-in' ATM to queue up with the cars to get money. We visit an Amish craft market and I experience the sudden urge to buy a quilt to bring back to Australia. Takes a while to make the decision, as we are served by an Amish lady in a long black dress and a white bonnet straight out of the 1800s. Sandy says she will look after our quilt while we complete the walk.

Stickbuilt and Sandy drop us back on the trail around 2.30pm and we say goodbye and head 6 miles to the next shelter which is an old furnace site for coal. The rain stops and we find that some springs are already being replenished from the rain. We meet 'Stickwalker' for the first time with 'Belle the wonderdog' an 8 yr old weimaraner at this campsite, plus a group of older women hiking for a few days with too much stuff. I tell them if they have any spare food we will take it and they give us some hiker trail mix which we consume on the spot!

Day 100 - 9th July - Hertlein Campsite - Port Clinton - 18.8 miles

Walking by 6.30am. We make it to the road crossing by 8.30 and there are chocolates and iced water. Even at this time in the morning, it is too hot to enjoy the chocolates but the water is much appreciated. We later discover that Stickbuilt has bee here and left drinks at 10.30am, two hours after we have passed through.

We have lunch at Eagles Nest Shelter - there is a small spring to get water, which is about a metre below the surface, and which needs a small cup which takes a long time to quarter fill. We gradually top up our water bottles. The trail has some very rocky sections and the heat of the afternoon takes its toll on us. We reach Port Clinton at 5.00pm and make for the Union House B&B where we have booked a night. There is no-one there. We are completely exhausted, water deprived and stressed. Finally 'Herbert' one of the owners turns up and lets us in to the bar, pours us flat cokes with ice and gives us a plate of watermelon. Kathy the other owner finally arrives and fluffs around while we sit and wait. We don't get shown to our room until 6.15pm. It is full of antique junk and we have to leave our packs on the ground floor by the door! Very unfriendly to hikers. The bathroom on our floor has no shower. If we want to have a shower we have to go to the basement.

Sandy and Stickbuilt arrive, and we call Scatters on the mobile - she is at the hotel down the road - she, Stucco and One Life join us for dinner, cooked by Herbert. We are the only diners. It has an air of Fawlty Towers, and the cost is so expensive for so little that I am very angry and determined to make sure that no other hiker gets ripped off by staying here.

Day 99 - 8th July - Swatara Gap - 501 Shelter - Hertlein Campsite - 16 miles

The temperature reaches 101 deg F today. We start early and are on the trail by 6.30am. There is trail magic at most of the road crossings with gallon bottles of water for hikes to replenish supplies. We stop for lunch and have takeway pizza delivered to us at the 501 shelter - the town is about 8 miles away - they also bring two large bottles of Mountain Dew softdrink - our 'soda' of choice because it contains the most calories - yes even more than coco cola. There is an outdoor solar shower at this shelter so we have a 'cold' shower to cool down for lunch. While we are having lunch it rains - quite a sprinkle for half an hour.

We see few hikers today - most of them are off the trail waiting for the heatwave to pass in nearby towns. At the campsite we meet 'Pigpen' who lives in New Hampshire new the White Mts and he gives us some good advice - plan to average no more than 10 miles a day and don't book huts as they should not be crowded by the time we are there.

Day 98 - 7th July - Clarks Creek to Swatara Gap(after freeway) - 18 miles

The walk takes us through a valley with stockpiles of coal from old coalmines. We find an old mining town with cemetery near Rausch Gap. The temperature is nearly 100 degF. We are looking to have a swim in the river. We find a swimming hole next to the most amazing scientific experiment - a limestone regenerator with filtered water to reduce the acidity of the water to enable trout to survive. The coal mines destroyed the river for fishing - no trout could survive and a philanthropist was able to develop a technique to restore the water.

I have a nasty fall on  a gravel path at about 4pm - I fall flat on my face/hand/knee with bad grazes and it takes the wind out of me. We find some trail magic - two lots of eskies with soft drinks. I am so depressed from my fall we decide to try and hitch a ride into the nearby town. We stand on the bitumen in a 100 deg heat, and 10 cars drive past without stopping. We give up and push on.

Helicopters fly over us - we are near a military zone. As we cross underneath a freeway we find a big water cache of gallon containers left for us. We replenish and keep walking hoping to find a flat spot to camp away from the freeway. We are lucky. We have a good campsite and mobile phone reception. I send a text to Scatters who is ahead of us to ask her about water supplies for tomorrow. She replies within minutes, and we learn that there is water at Hertlein Campsite so it meansn we dont have to walk 20 miles plus tomorrow.

Day 97 - 6th July - Duncannon to Clarks Creek - 18.3 miles

Due to the heat we start early and have a 6.00am breakfast at Goodies Diner, eating blueberry pancakes before heading out of town. It is a long hike through the town of Duncannon - decaying timber houses with junk in the yard, followed by a long walk over two highway bridges to cross the Susquehanna River.

We climb up on to the ridge and reach our first road crossing where trail angels have left about 20 gallon containers filled with water. We arrive as they have just been refilled.

The most memorable part of the day is being attacked by a spaniel, at Clarks Creek. I gather my two walking sticks together, ready to defend myself and spike the dog and call out in a loud voice 'Control Your Dog'. The owner doesnt get it and I repeat it again. He is irate - he sees us as the problem rather than the dog.

A report on the lack of water at the lunchtime shelter makes us look closey at our options for the next few days as there are long distances without any water source.

We calculate our schedule - we have 77 days to go until the 25th September. To climb Mt Katahdin and finish the hike we need to walk another 1000 miles. We are over the half way mark now and it is looking possible. We need to average 13 miles a day to reach our target - this includes rest days. Possible but it is not going to be easy.

Day 96 - 5th July - Darlington Shelter to Duncannon - 11.4 miles

It is a very fast hike into Duncannon despite the heat. We arrive at a 'gas' station on the edge of town and drink 4 litres of gatorade to rehydrate. We receive a wonderful welcome at the Doyle, a hiker legendary hotel. The sign on the bar door says it all - Beware smelly hikers within! We have lunch in the air conditioning in the bar, cooked by Pat, one of the owners. We sat back and relaxed and enjoyed the ambience with other hikers coming and going. We are not going anywhere!. We meet a thru hiker from 2008 - a young man called 'party girl' who has brought his friends to show them the Doyle. He shouts all the hikers a drink. So we drink and thank him for his generosity.

The supermarket is 2 miles away along a windy narrow road without a footpath, so the Doyle owners have arranged a regular afternoon shuttle. The supermarket picks up hikers to go shopping and then delivers back. Great service and we dont get killed on the road in the heat.

Our room is on the second floor in the corner turret at the front, with a great view of the main street. There is a sign on our window saying 'Do not open windows - unstable due to age and condition.' Without aircon it is very hot and the fan struggles so we hang out in the bar.

In walks Spoonz and LiftnStep - they have hiked a very long day to catch us up and we have a great afternoon. They plan a rest day tomorrow as the rest of their party has stopped at a motel about 10 miles back, including 'Hook', a young hiker from Canada. A year later, Hook is in Australia with LiftnStep, and they are making their life together in the Murray Valley - LiftnStep is a primary teacher, and Hook is working in a winery.

Day 95 - 4th July Alec Kennedy Shelter to Darlington Shelter - 18.3 miles

A special holiday today in the US. We could hear the firecrackers last night from our campsite. It is a really hot day. By the river it feels cold, until we climb the hill and are soon sweating in the warm air on top. It is a fast 6 miles into Boiling Springs. This is a beautiful old town with stone buildings and a lake. The community are setting up for a big festival to celebrate the 4th July. We stop for breakfast at Caffe 101 opposite the tavern and have a fantastic meal.

On full stomachs we walk another 12 miles across the Cumberland Valley, without stopping. It is a flat valley full of farms and freeways - there are no campsites. The sun beats down on us.We walk through cornfields and some forest. We discover two lots of trail magic left for hikers - eskies full of ice and cold soft drinks. We find an old cemetery which is abandoned and overgrown. We climb bridges over freeways. Altogether we count 15 road crossings that we have to negotiate.

At 2.30 in the heat of the day we stop at the Susquehenna River for an hour and a half and swim and rest. We still 1000 ft to climb to the shelter to camp, and we decide to do it after 4pm. We meet two hikers - Swift and Tiger Lily at the river and they also camp with us at the shelter.

Day 94 - 3rd July - Pine Grove Furnace - Alec Kennedy Shelter - 16.3 miles

The owner of the motel drives us back to the trail and we are walking by 8.30am. Packs are very heavy - we have restocked with some of the food that Sandy has brought from the basement - Stickbuilt's stash, and we have now gone back to our original tent - which is heavier.

The walking is boring - the trail ends up going within 2 miles of the motel where we stayed last night and we realise that we could have stayed 2 nights!

There is a climb up Rocky Ridge which weaving in and out of giant boulders. Really difficult with a pack on, and we keep losing the trail. On the ascent we actually pass a hiker - this is a very rare occurrence. She is only a section hiker and very unfit, but we still feel very proud of ourselves. There is a very steep drop down to the campsite on the river and we arrive around 5pm. The shelter is only 1 mile further on, and we can hear dogs barking all night, belonging to the hikers staying at the shelter.

Day 93 2nd July - PATC Milesburn Cabin - Pine Grove Furnace - 12.3 miles

While we are packing up this morning, another hiker walks by. It is 'Beaverchief'. We have met him before, he was walking at night with a friend who had a large white husky to escape the heat. We ask him if he is going to compete in the 'half-gallon ice-cream challenge' at Pine Grove. He says he can't afford to buy ice-cream. So we (Stickbuilt) gives him $5 so that he can compete on our behalf. This is a very famous challenge on the AT - eat half a gallon and then most are violently vomitous.

This morning we approach the actual half way point, but we don't know where it is exactly. Last years half way marker has a sign on it. There is nothing marked for this year. Each year the trail gets longer as there are more and more upgrades done to steep inclines and zig zags are inserted.

We get to Pine Grove shop and there is Gene waiting for his wife to pick him up to go home and Beaverchief (his walking stick has been gnawed by a beaver) eating his half gallon of ice-cream. He succeeds. We eat a burger and chips, visit the AT museum and wait for Sandy.  We decide to go to the nearby town of Mt Holly Springs and stay at a motel there, as they will give us a ride back to the trail tomorrow morning. When Sandy arrives we depart for Mt Holly Springs and have lunch at the tavern. This is where Stickbuilt finishes his walk with us and we say goodbye. We watch the weather channel and see 5 days coming all over 90 deg F.We have dinner in the tavern restaurant and a lady at the table next to us complains to the chef that there is too much bread in the crabcakes and not enough crab. We didnt order crabcakes so we can't make a judgement.

Day 92 - 1st July - Tumbling Waters Shelter to PATC Milesburn Cabin - 17.2 miles

The trail is a climb up to a ridge and then some difficult walking along rocky paths. My ankle is having difficulty so I put the new black bandage on and take 2 Ibubrophen tablets to get through the morning.

We stop for lunch at Caledonia State Park where there is a large swimming pool full of fat parents watching skinny kids, all in bathing suits. We buy cheeseburgers and friels and milkshakes and relax, then Digby finishes with an icecream. We discover a new icecream flavour - Moosetracks - vanilla with chocolate swirls and lumps.

We continue on to the PATC cabin - it is locked and available for anybody to rent, but alas we do not have a key so continue on to camp above the cabin on the hill.

Day 91 - 30th June - Free State Hostel to Tumbling Waters Shelter - 18.3 miles

As we start hiking this morning, we catch up with Gene again. We met him about 3 weeks ago when he had just started his hike - now he is much fitter. We follow the trail to High Rock and get a great view.

The  highlight of the day is the lunch stop at Pen Mar County Park - it has a toilet block and a soft drink machine so we drink icy cold Mountain Dew. We see a rattlesnake which is 'rattling' - there is a sign saying that they are protected in this area. Stickbuilt finds this amazing that they should be protected - we find it amazing that people are allowed to kill them everywhere else.

We stop and cook dinner at a picnic ground about a mile and a half before the shelter. Someone has left a bag of trail magic for hikers here - lots of MnMs, which we all scoff. On the last half mile to the shelter we meet the 'warden' of the shelter who has been doing maintenance at the shelter and tells us he has left an esky with apples and coke in it. We rush ahead to get the coke.

We set up camp alongside the creek. We have now left Maryland, and are now 8 miles into in Pennsylvania. Another state down.