October is when the weather starts to get cooler in my area. So if I have any hiking I really want to do before the end of the year, October is usually my last chance. I took advantage of an unseasonably warm weather forecast for the weekend of October 10th. I headed out to central Pennsylvania and knocked out a little more than 16 miles on the Appalachian Trail between the town of Boiling Springs, PA and state route 850.
I hit the trail at route 850 around 7:30 am and started walking south. After an initial short climb, the trail meandered down to a mostly flat stretch along Conodoguinet Creek. After a little over 8 miles, I hit US route 11 where I detoured to the local diner for lunch. At this time, many restaurants were offering dine-in service at a reduced capacity. So I took advantage of a nice sit-down meal and had an hour long break from hiking. After lunch, I made my way back to the trail and completed the remaining 8ish miles to Boiling Springs in about 3 hours. I have now section hiked all of the Appalachian Trail from Harpers Ferry, WV to PA route 225 – about 200 miles. Combined with the other hikes I’ve done on the AT, I’m about 10% done.
Towards the end of the month, my wife and I joined my parents for a getaway weekend at Lake Chautauqua in western NY. We enjoyed getting away together for the first time since our trip to California in January, but it wasn’t the same. The hotel was nice and had reasonable precautions in place for the pandemic but it was different. I’m not sure if it was the chilly, overcast weather or our lack of interest in wineries (which seem to be the popular attraction in the area), but it was kind of a boring getaway. On our way home we drove out of the way a little to visit Kinzua Bridge State Park. The park is home to the – now collapsed – Kinzua Bridge. It’s a clever name. Even with heavy fog, it was amazing to see this massive structure in a mangled mess at the bottom of the valley.
Soon enough, October came to an end. Halloween night brought a few local kids out for trick or treating, but it certainly wasn’t the same as the last 10 years we’ve lived in this neighborhood.
Kinzua Bridge State Park. Mt. Jewett, PA. October 26, 2020.