Update

I am now at mile 1140 in a place called Duncannon, Pennsylvania. The weather has been tough the past couple of weeks ( high 90's with lots of humidity) Camped in a horrible thunderstorm Thurs. night and walked in heavy rain all day Friday. When I arrived in town all my clothes, tent, and pack were soaked. The trail goes right through the center of town so I stopped at the laundrymat to do some washing. I actually had to hang my boots in the dryer by the laces to dry them out.West Virginia was very short but a lot of fun. I took a side trip into Washington DC for a day.Then, I took a shuttle 10 miles the next day to the CharlesTown horse track/casino. They had the best buffet that I've found thus far. Maryland was a great state to hike through. The trail is 2-3 feet wide across the whole state. The PATC maintains the trail to perfection and builds the nicest shelters a hiker could want.I met a guy named Andrew in maryland that was doing a few days on the trail. He was from Philly and we had a lot in common so we spent a couple days hiking together and staying at a hostel.  Stopped in Boiling Springs to stay at the Allenberry Resort. They offer hikers a $40 room rate versus the normal $130-150 rate. All my hiking friends were also there for the night. They had a $15 dinner buffet that inc. sucshi and prime rib, and lots of good desserts.The resort also has a theater for live plays. There was a staff on sight that was conducting a two week acting camp. It was fun to watch the kids practice their lines and act out scenes. Pennsyvania has a reputation for having a rocky trail. So far, it has not been too bad. Yesterday I did hit a 6 mile stretch with nothing but rocks. The hard part is watching where you place your feet as many of the rocks stick up like sharks teeth. The rocks are also very slick when it's raining like when I walked over them. I have spoken with several hikers in town that fell yesterday, luckily I wasn't one of them. The town I'm in now has a 100 year old motel that was originally built by the Anheiser-Busch company. It is called the "Doyle" and has trail famous burgers. ( which I can vouch for being very good ! ). The next thing of interest along the trail is the Yeungling beer brewery. I guess its right near the trail and they offer tours. The trail supposed to get extremely rocky after Port Clinton for the last 80-90 miles before New Jersey. I am still 75 miles from Port Clinton so I have a few days to psych myself up for what's to come. I had a bit of good fortune this past week. At a road crossing I found a $200 Gerber knife w/sheath laying in the middle of the trail. I carried it for 5 days and asked if anyone lost it, no claims. So, I went to the post office in Boiling Springs and mailed it home...... Bonus !!

Thanks to all for following and posting. I miss everyone and hope to see you soon !

                                                                                       Tony