Agile Trekker: PA Appalachian Trail - Section 4 - Hawk Mountain Road to Furnace Shelter

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/20/2018	11.7 miles		1,566'

Map: Appalachian Trail Guide Pennsylvania
Parking: End car at Port Clinton ballfield (near railroad station). Beginning car at Haw Mountain Road.
Directions: Hawk Mountain Road to Furnace shelter

We only had around 15 miles left in order to finish the Pennsylvania section of the Appalachian Trail, so we decided to do this on our way back from Virginia. I persuaded Glen to do it as an overnight backpack. Although I really wanted to go backpacking, I was actually a little bit concerned due to how cold it would be at night.

We had contacted someone about parking, because we knew we couldn't park at the Port Clinton railroad station overnight. Actually parking there during the day might not be allowed either (we did do that once). We had tried to do this overnight trip earlier this year but were washed out. We had contacted a shuttle driver, and they suggested parking in the ballfield parking lot which is very close to the railroad station. The sign in the ballfield parking lot said no overnight parking on weekends. We did see a backpacker park there and leave their car (and it was still there when we got back, didn't get towed). We ended up parking on the road next to the ballfield.

The train station was giving rides this weekend on a steam engine train. There were soooo many people there, many taking photos of the train. We drove down the road, and saw another crowd in a field - they were also there to take photos of the train!

We drove to Hawk Mountain Road. There were a lot of cars parked there. We wondered why. Is everyone backpacking? This made me feel better - other people are going out - so I certainly won't freeze tonight, lol. The trail started out as a wide woods road with not bad terrain. We stopped by pinnacle rocks. This is actually where everyone was headed. There were soooo many dayhikers there. It's a great spot for watching raptors. There were so many of them - pretty incredible. There's a large area with a view - there must have been 50 people there. We took a long break. On the way out, we continued to come across tons of people, including large groups. The trail became rocky. Next was the Pulpit. The trail was still crowded.

We hiked to the Furnace Shelter and set up our tent. We had read in Guthook that the privy had a wasp problem. But when we got there, the privy was actually boarded up and there was a portapotty near the shelter. I guess there are enough woods roads that somehow they can get to it to service! This time we used a Ursack for our food for the first time. It worked great! Hanging a bear bag is hard, and when Glen hangs it, I usually can't get it down by myself, which drives me nuts. The Ursack is heavier than a bearbag, but it seems like an easier solution. However....Trek was carrying his food in his backpack. I decided not to stick his food in the Ursack, but to hang his whole backpack. So...we were still back to hanging....

It's supposed to be cold - around 40 degrees. I ate a warm dinner. We hung out in the shelter for a while talking to a thru hiker & a former thru hiker. They had a nice cattle dog with them. Trek liked it.

Trek has only slept in a tent once before. That time, Moxie figured out exactly where to lie down and was relaxed, versus Trek who didn't know what to do or where to lie down. I had a closed cell sit pad and a foam pad used in my backpack - I used both of these to provide insulation from the ground for Trek. He did okay, though he also tried climbing onto our sleeping pads at times. I'm not sure how good the sleeping pads are with dog toenails. I threw a fleece throw on Trek, but he didn't seem to need it. He was comfortable throughout the night - no shivering. Me on the other hand....my core was cold. With a 20 degree bag, and a sleeping bag liner which is theoretically supposed to give you many degrees of extra warmth and an insulated sleeping pad. Cold weather backpacking just may not be for me. But I still want to figure out how to do it better. One thing that was suggested, that I didn't try was putting a Nalgene of boiling water in your sleeping bag. I did sleep with my phone to preserve the battery, and my water filter.