I slept in a bed last night. There is something pretty special about laying on a squeaky bed and appreciating every sound it makes. At 5:30am, the siren went off, like what you would hear if there was an air raid. Only one burst of song and then it stopped. I laid in bed and wondered if I should get up but decided, if it was really important, it would blast again. About five minutes later, a Fire Truck was blaring its horn heading down Main Street. Maybe they have a Volunteer FD and that’s how they notify the crew, that they have a call. Excitement in Duncannon.

I rolled out of bed, I love writing that, and headed across the street to the Cafe. Konza, Bergie and Couch to Trail were there. We all had our gourmet meals and hit the trail. Couch to Trail ended up finding a guy to slackpack her. Dang, I would’ve jumped on that if I knew earlier. Next time. Slackpacking is when you carry bare bones gear, water, food and a jacket. All your other provisions are released to a trustworthy person who, after you’re done hiking, will bring it back to you. She paid $30 to have the pleasure of not carrying 30 pounds on her back. A buck a pound. Once we hit the real deal Pennsylvania Rocks, I’ll be looking at slackpacking!

I left Duncannon after breakfast, with my pack and all. The trail walks through town, in front of homes and schools. It reminds me of Americana, this town of Duncannon. It’s as close to Mayberry RFD that I’ve ever experienced.

I crossed over a couple of bridges and the confluence of rivers , crossed the railroad tracks and made my way back up into the woods. It was a good climb with rocks made into stairs. I passed Six Mile who was going slower than I. She does about Six Miles a day, and stops at pretty much every shelter along the AT. But bless her heart, she’s doing it, with a smile on her face.

Around lunch, just after crossing the big highway, Trail Angel Twizzler set up some chairs and was giving hikers magic. He had sodas, peanut butter crackers, oranges and apples, and homemade banana bread his wife made this morning. It would’ve been rude not to partake so I had one of everything. Couch to Trail, Medusa, Slip and I hung out and heard stories from Twizzler. He’s lived here for the past 40 years and knows every inch of the trail we’re walking on today. He does trail maintenance with his wife, hunts in these parts and has a heart for hikers. What a sweet guy.

I stayed way too long as I still had another 9-10 miles to go, but it was hard to leave. Typically lunch is on the trail, maybe sitting on a rock or laying my mat on the ground, but when you can sit in a proper chair, that’s heavenly. Oh the simple pleasures.

The rest of the day was pretty much a ridge walk until the last downhill. The trail was manageable but there’s always some boulders, or fallen rocks or downed trees that you need to attack. I had one little root that grabbed ahold of me, and I went down like a downed Sequoia! Ouch, my knee found the one pointed rock on the trail and gouged it pretty bad. Now this is ironic, as I went down for the count, I rolled over to access myself and my First Aid kit popped out of my front pouch! I cleaned up my wound, put some Neosporin on it, placed one of my big bandaids over the cut and wrapped my leg with tape. A bit overkill, but I figured it would hold me over till I hobbled to camp.

I made it to camp around 7pm, which is a bit later than usual. I set up my home and…. Blew up my brand new air mattress. Oh my goodness, what a wonderful thing to lay on a cushion of air. I reinspected my wound and cleaned it again, put a new bandaid on it and wrapped it. Now to get all comfy and cozy. All is good except for the fact that some military helicopter keeps buzzing the campground. In between their night maneuvers, there’s a frog who has a lot to sing about. Thankfully I’m lying on a fully inflated pad so all is good in my noisy and wonderful world.