It rained yesterday morning, so I didn't get out early. Then, I just continued to slack off, despite a nice day. I had to get out today and wanted to run somewhere new. Visiting different trails has become so addicting. I decided I would hit up the AT along the Susquehanna River in Duncannon.
The weather was almost perfect. It was sunny and even had a slight chill. I wore my AK vest, so I was a little hot, especially while climbing. However, my shorts and short sleeve shirt were good otherwise.
I wanted to drive to near Marysville because the trail crosses over 2 different ridges. I figured I could get some elevation here. The sections along the river, I figured would be very crowded. I couldn't find the trail in the initial location, so I opted for the more crowded section. It turned out that it wasn't that bad.
I ended up going past Duncannon. I eventually found the trail on the other side of the river and followed it into Duncannon. I parked in a city lot near an old train depot. I was a little worried as there was only one car in the lot at the time. However, things worked out okay.
This is a trail town. I saw the well known Doyle Hotel. Many thru hikers head there. Running on the pavement wasn't much fun, but it did give me a warmup. I hit the woods in about 3/4 of a mile or so.
I was climbing up to Hawk Rock. That is supposed to be a nice view point overlooking the river. I ran a bit early on. This trail was a little tough, but the climb certainly wasn't bad. If I wasn't so hot, I wouldn't have had much trouble. There were a lot of stone steps.
The trail wasn't steep though. It skirted the mountain and I found it somewhat gradual. It is still a long climb. I was anticipating more boulder scrambling, but it wasn't bad.
I was expecting more people too. I saw a few families coming down. There were a couple hikers with packs too. I passed some going up as well, but it wasn't even close to as crowded as I thought it would be.
I ran by a young couple on a woods road type section. Then, I passed a woman right before a steep switchback. I wasn't quite to the top, so I didn't think I'd be at Hawk Rock yet, but I arrived there shortly. Four people were already there, so I didn't get great photos before leaving.
There was a short climb to a backpacking site. Someone had a tent setup there. I continued along the AT. I knew I'd be on the ridge now and mostly running. This section was great. I was able to run a lot and my feet actually touched dirt. I'm so used to the AT being rock after rock after rock.
There were a few rocky sections that I did walk over. It was good to get past mile 2 and then mile 3. A couple asked me about road crossings, but I told them they had some distance to go.
I saw the Cove Mountain Shelter side trail. A couple guys were across from it. They had a seasonal view. The leaves are starting to come in now. I continued on the AT.
I decided I would run to mile 4. Then, I kept going. At around 4.2 miles, it was becoming too rocky. I turned and headed back.
I was a little tired, but I think using some Tailwind helped. When I got back near the shelter, I took the path down to it. That was a nice descent. I went even farther, down to the spring. I climbed back up to the AT then and got a couple hundred more feet of elevation gain.
I was almost at 6 miles now. It continued to mostly run along the ridge. I really enjoyed it. If the sections by me had this few rocks, I'd be on them much more often.
I passed the one woman again. I got back to the tent site and the tent was gone. That was good because there was supposed to be a side trail to a better view. I took this fun singletrack. It was about half a mile to a mile to the view. I saw some other hikers coming back, so I figured that I went the correct way.
I got the view and it was amazing. You could see up and down the river. It was right at a bend. Also, the mountain ridge was directly across. There are several other mountain ridges behind it too. This young couple was at the view, but let me have it to myself then. The guy had a Liberty shirt on and he was from Bethlehem. How funny was that?
I passed them as I headed down. I ran some, but this way was narrow and very rocky. It was slow. I think I might've even went off the trail and took a short cut. I then made it back on the AT. I ran on down out to the road.
I was nearing mile 9 now. Right under the highway bridge, there is a BBQ joint. Bikers were there now, but I'd imagine it is popular with thru hikers. I ran back through town and finished up at my car and over 9 miles. I wish I could've gone to the other side of the river, but that would've required a few miles more of road running, which I had no desire to do. The climb would've been cool though.
It was fun to go somewhere new. I got some climbing and mileage in, but I didn't tax myself. The view was pretty good too. I'm really getting a bigger and bigger AT itch these days. I just love that trail more and more. It's probably only a matter of time before I attempt a thru hike or fastpack run/hike.
Tomorrow, I might run or take the day off. I should start running back to back days soon. I want to climb on Tuesday if I take tomorrow off. Wednesday, I have a concert to attend, so running could be tough.
9.21 miles - 2:11:07 (14:14 pace) 1631 feet of elevation gain
No comments:
Post a Comment