Day 110 Appalachian Trail, Pennsylvania Miles Hiked to Date: 1123 Hiked yesterday: 14 Trail Miles, Miles to Katahdin: 1061

I hugged and kissed her good bye, confirming that I'd meet her at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy office downtown.


It wasn't so I started typing my blog into a document when I looked up to see Uke and Gilgamesh, soon followed by Talker. They all ordered breakfast and were given numbers. Not surprisingly, Uke's was number 1. So, Doreen (Uke's mom), it's official, Uke is #1!
While I typed, I got text messages from "Beans", who had asked if I would drive her and "Vice" into Harrisburg so that they could catch trains back to Michigan for some family time. They had agreed to chip in for fuel so we all met up in town. Talker had also mentioned that he needed to stop at the Carlisle Post office and since it was on the way back, I told him he should hop in, too. I let them all know that I expected Chipmunk around 11 AM and that once she had a break and resumed the trail, I'd be able to head out.
Chipmunk came into town and said she'd like to take an air conditioned ride in the front of the truck with us to cool down. So, we all piled in and drove towards Harrisburg. Along the way, we saw two hikers hitch hiking with a sign for Duncannon. I stopped and told them we were headed to Harrisburg and Carlisle and that I'd be willing to drop them there but that (at that time) I didn't know if Duncannon was along the way. They said Harrisburg was good and they got into the back with Talker.
In short order, we arrived at Harrisburg and Vice and Beans hugged me and thanked me for the ride to the Amtrak. I wished them a terrific time with their folks and reminded them to come back to the trail, even if it's hard to leave home again. They smiled and said they would. The other 2 Duncannon bound hikers also got out and thanked me and then I pointed the truck to Carlisle. We stopped at the Post Office and Talker ran in only to find that his much needed insoles were not there. He was disappointed but said he would check again at Boiling Springs when we returned.

Talker looked apprehensive about getting into the truck because they were soaking wet. I assured him that it was fine and they both threw their packs in and got in. I drove a short distance to a Dunkin Donuts where we dashed into for coffee and hot chocolate. (A lovely friend of mine, Faye, sent me a bunch of Dunkin Donuts coupons and I broke them out for all kinds of savings! Yeah!)

I snapped this pic and Talker struck a grumpy face which cracked up Chipmunk. The three of us found Pacific Rim to be hysterical! I don't think it was supposed to be a comedy but it was so cheesy and overused cliches by the dozens! We laughed so much that a lady a few rows ahead of us came back and said, "Quiet down. Do you want me to tell the attendant?" I looked at her and said, "Do what you need to do."
About 5 minutes later, the attendant arrived and told us to keep it down. We smiled and agreed and tried to muffle our laughter. Ironically, in a theater of about 60 adults, only 2 or 3 other guys, Chipmunk, Talker and I were the only ones that found the movie ridiculously funny. We all laughed out loud at the same cheesy parts. Oh, well. We had fun!
We invited Talker to stay the night in the camper with us since it was raining again. At first, I thought Chipmunk would let him have her bunk and she'd sleep in my bunk with me. I was wrong. She said, "He's too tall for my bunk. Let him sleep on the floor. I need a good night's sleep if I'm going to hike tomorrow." It didn't seem to be a problem for Talker and so we all took our sleep spots and called it a night. Before I fell asleep, I glanced down at the floor and realized that Talker looks a lot like my son, Captain Oblivious, and how much I missed seeing him. I can't wait 'til we get closer to where he and the Editor live.
If you enjoy reading the story of our adventure, and you’d like to send some “Trail Magic” to Chipmunk, click on the “Donate” button at the upper right corner of today’s blog post. Chipmunk maintains a twitter account: @openlymtngoat where a common hashtag is #GoChipmunk . She (or we) will try to answer any questions you may have about her hike and this family adventure.
Thanks again for all your support,
Mama Chip, Papa Chip, Chipmunk and her dog, Chocolate Chip
(Tammy, Jay, Neva and Coco)