DUNCANNON, PENNSYLVANIA
This morning at the grocery store, a young woman started to write her number on a card to give to me. She said she has been a nurse for 20 years and wanted me to have her card if I need a nurse. I assured her that I wasn’t in need of a nurse, then went and climbed a mountain.
My travels took me to Duncannon, Pa., and a hike up to Eagle Edge overlooking the Susquehanna River. A description I read of this hike pretty much warned against climbing directly to Eagle Edge because it was steep. I will confirm that and second their advice. Do not try this (1) at all, and (2) if you do get a hiking partner (in case of a slip or fall).
I started from the town parking lot and remembered to turn left at a split. I had unwittingly joined the Appalachian Trail. As I climbed, I met two hikers and asked for local guidance. They may not have been local at all. They told me to keep straight on the trail, which, unbeknownst to me, was the AT and was descending quickly back to Duncannon. I gave up a lot of elevation before realizing that I had to turn around and go back up.
I came to the “trail,” although not marked, that looked like it continued up the mountain. I decided to follow that. It was not marked, although I could usually find where other people had walked. At times, it was all rocks, and I imagined in warmer weather, this must be home to timber rattlesnakes. I never stopped to rest, although Strava sure did use auto-pause a lot even while I was moving. There were sections where my climbing was on all fours. It was steep.
My legs were burning, and I went into bicycle climbing mountain mode. “One step at a time,” I kept repeating. My body screamed to turn around, but I sensed something good was up there. I didn’t know how much longer I could continue. And with each step into the heavens, I knew I would be retracing those going back down. And if possible, it may have been harder descending than climbing.
I also thought that if I was near the top of the mountain that I could make a loop and have a much gradual descent rather than retracing my steps. I was right.
I expected Eagle Edge to be at the top of the mountain, but came upon it before reaching what I thought would be the summit (I hope that was Eagle Edge). I took a couple of photos and already decided that I could not descend the path that I just climbed. I remembered the trail description and kept hiking.
I started to worry that I would run out of daylight (6:00 pm) and be lost on the mountain. I had faith that following the trail would eventually take me back to the parking lot, even though I knew I was walking in the wrong direction. After 10-15 minutes I came to a fire pit which I had remembered was a landmark. I continued on the unmarked trail, climbing over two downed trees.
Yet I suspected all was good because there were a couple of freshly cut trees removed from the trail. So while not an official trail, someone had been here to maintain it.
It was then that I came to Hawk Rock, which is the destination for most hikers here. After 1-2 minutes, a young lady hiker arrived. I was glad to see a human and asked her for directions back to Duncannon. She pointed to the west, whilst I knew I wanted to head east. But I also figured she just came up from there, so I trusted her 100%.
I then followed the trail, still headed west when I knew I needed to head east, when it did a 180°. I was able to finally feel that I was headed down and in the right direction. And I passed two hikers coming up the trail.
I was glad that I hiked this trail but I doubt that I will do it again. However, the next time, I would be confident that I knew where I was going. And I wouldn’t climb the face of the mountain up to Eagle Edge but rather take the longer way around. I’m not sure I would want to descend it either.
I don’t recommend hiking alone and suggest that you have a hiking pole or two. I found a rotted stick and broke it to be the right size. It helped, although it broke in half partway through my hike.
It wasn’t a bad day for some old guy needing a nurse while climbing through the rock gardens in Pennsylvania.
