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.
Pat's greeting even before we dropped packs was with two glasses of cold iced water. The Doyle felt like an outback Aust. pub, we felt that we should buy shares and help with the renovation.
ReplyDelete