McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 10/05/2024 | AT Mile 996.1 | Day Total: 18.0 miles | Gain: 2465 ft

Slow start to the morning. Last night there were a few trains that went by late that woke me up twice but none after 11. Otherwise sleep well, ate breakfast at the picnic table and packed up. I left just before 9 and walked down the street through town back to trail. It’s about 4/10 of a mile away.

I walked over the Schuylkill River and passed a police officer at the road into the train station. The trail walks along the road just until you get to the train station then crosses 5ish sets tracks.

There were two gentleman with cameras and tripods setup on the side of the street. I asked if a steam engine was coming through and they said in about an hour one would pass. I figured if they had setup an hour before hand then it’s probably worth the wait. For those that don’t know, I’ve got an intermittent hobby in model trains as well.

Woah! What a way to start my day! The steam engine was so cool! Never seen one in person before. Lots of visitors around and well over a dozen cars filled with people behind the engine. I got a two minute video of it accelerating out, I’ve watched it multiple time over fascinated by the mechanics and size.

The climb out of Port Clinton was VERY steep. I didn’t really start my hiking day until 10am. My mind was still occupied by the steam engine so the climb went by pretty fast. Once I was up on the ridge I will stay up for the next two days with little bumps along the way.

Today’s the first day of the hunting season and two sobo hikers (Sky and Leaf) gave me a strip of orange fabric to hang on top of my pack. I’ve got my orange puffy jacket that I could put outside my bag but the fabric is more convenient. That being said, in first few miles there was a massive puddle of blood on the trail followed by the insides of an animal about five feet off trail. I’ve got a picture but I’ll save your stomach…

I was coming down a little bump when two female hikers were walking around the trail at what seemed like nothing. Turned out to be a medium sized black rat snake. They said “we’ve got some snake phobia”. I nudged it back into the woods with my trekking pole and we all got by unharmed.

There were a few views this morning but not many after. One of the views had a funny carved sculpture pointing to the lookout. Today’s the first day that really feels like fall. It’s a cool 65ish degrees, little breezy, sun is shining brightly, and the leaves are almost in full “bloom”.

I had lunch at a random campsite with a rock stool to sit on. I was spreading Nutella on my tortilla when a big creature flew by at what seemed like mock 10 about 6 feet behind me. Scared the living sh*t out of me. Turned out to be a deer but that’s the most startled I’ve ever been in my whole life. My heart was beating out of my chest…

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I really enjoyed the weather today. It was wonderful. About 5 miles from camp I caught up to Sky and Leaf and chatted for a mile or two. They had passed a big rattle snake about 2 miles ago that was a few feet off trail. Apparently it was about the diameter of a forearm.

Walked though what I assume was a previous location of a forest fire. There’s lots of dead/barley living trees and new forest floor growth. The sun was able to get through the canopy no problem. Lots of the trees had dark char marks on their trunks

I had a little descent down to the campsite. Sounds like it’s a popular weekend spot with a swimming hole. I talked with a section hiker earlier and he said that he’s seen groups of 50+ people there. It’s a Saturday today so I’m hopeful that it’s not crazy busy…

It’s actually pretty quiet at the campsite. There’s a ton of sites around the area and a small group that started a fire that I could smell on my way down. The sites near the waterhole are beautiful but not great level and rock wise. I decided to go to another one of the sites above the swimming hole where the streams are.

Pitched my tent and cooked dinner. Talked with Sky and Kill Bill for a while before heading to my tent to journal. Going to get pretty cool tonight. Weathers calling for low around 46. I’ll be toasty warm in my tent!

Got word that the AT is now open up to nobo mile 558.6 . It’s reliving to hear that the trail slowly opening back up down south. There’s still spotty closures from 558.6 till Georgia boarder. Keeping an open mind and trying to not feel let down with the possibility of not being able to finish the whole trail. I’ve still got 600 miles before the closures so fingers crossed that more sections open up.