Russell and Jessie start to feel the pain of PA as the rocks become more frequent and sharp along with some other agitating injuries.

July 11th-13th, 2026

A rather unexpected A.T. Hostel that had a lovely snack shop and sodas.

There wasn’t much to report about the walk into Swatara Gap other than the wonderful hostel, Stay AT Swatara, that lay nestled in it. We were hot and worn down from the day’s hike and decided to take a break there and enjoy some of the cold beverages and shade that the place offered.

It had everything a thru-hiker could want, but more specifically, they had V8. I’ve found it’s a drink that actually begins to make me feel semi nourished again. I fear that makes it abundantly clear that I need to find a way to introduce vegetables in my backcountry diet. Since I’ve yet to find a weight and cost effective way to do that, a supplement every now and then will have to do.

They also had a really sweet dog.

We had to pep talk ourselves into leaving and continuing on to complete our 21 mile day. There was a solid two mile climb out of the gap, one of the first notable longer climbs in Pennsylvania. The climb itself was no real problem, but the heat was seeping into our bones and we were exhausted to our core.

We rested at the top for just a moment, chatting with a few hikers we had been leap frogging all day. They had taken off a few minutes before us as we gathered the strength to press on. It wasn’t too long into our walk that I felt an explosion of pain in my left big toe.

I started to limp, confused and shocked by the sudden pain. I worried that a blood vessel had popped or some other random catastrophic event occurred. Bam, another explosion of pain. Jessie, who was right behind me, also seemed rather concerned with what was going on.

I looked to examine my toe and found the culprit. A ground hornet had managed to conceal itself between my toes. One more jolt of pain followed the discovery. I reached in between my toes as rapidly as I could and plucked out the cruel administer of pain and flicked it onto the ground. It was crushed to a pulp beneath my sandal in a fit of primal rage.

To Jessie’s horror, she discovered three more of the vile things attempting to crawl into where my pants met my socks. Thank god I tuck the loose ends of my pants in every day. She delicately attempted to swipe the hornets off with her trekking pole so as to not get stung herself. Sensing that this would only serve to piss them off, I hastily backhanded them off the back of my leg and encouraged them to join their fallen comrade with the base of my heel.

I limped along in frustration at such a stupid and needless cause of pain. Upon reflection it seemed that the other party of hikers had disturbed the nest and hastily fled before they could warn us. I watched with concern as my big toe began to balloon around the sting site.

The rock field that we had to balance our way across. It wouldn’t have been a problem had my foot not been swelling up.

I tried to stall for time in hopes the swelling would die down, but we were losing light and still had 4 miles to camp. Of course this is when the notorious rocks of Pennsylvania made their first show of force. Any amount of pressure on the toe would cause a wave of pain, yet I needed to use the whole of my foot to balance along the rocks. I felt rather frustrated at the trail for these remaining 4 miles.

The rock field just kept going and going.

When we arrived at the campsite, it was everything in my power to cook up some dinner and crawl into the tent. My toe was throbbing so intensely that I feared I would be unable to sleep. It was nothing a variety of over the counter pain killers couldn’t fix.

The trail would surprise you by alternating from pleasant smooth walks like this to random spikes of rock.

The swelling and pain seemed to cease by the next morning. Thank god for that. We had a 19 mile day ahead of us, and the rocks were certainly earning their reputation. Without each step being a reminder of the unfortunate wasp encounter, the rocks were rather tolerable.

This section was annoying because the grass would obscure the rocks and make it easier to trip.

They became a little less navigable as we got to a burnout area with overgrown grass. On occasion the grass would conceal a sharp rock and a quick step would send a stab through the sole of your shoe and into the soul of your being. It was a rather beautiful area though which thrived in the afternoon light.

The parts that weren’t land mined with rocks made it easier to enjoy the fern understory.

It was a beautiful morning as the sun burst through the trees.

This segment ended with a steep descent into Port Clinton, where a friend of ours had sustained an injury and had to end his hike in the years prior. We had been fearing this drop into town for a while now.

It wasn’t too terrible until the last 10 feet or so. It seemed that the Trail Blazers had abandoned all thoughts of roots, wood, or rock steps. It was just a straight chute of loose dirt. I elected to just slide down it.

The walk into Port Clinton. It was steep, but not terrible.

We were now definitely in the rocks territory of PA, and it is becoming a state quite worthy of its negative reputation. Luckily, the people are so kind it almost makes up for the cruelty of the trail.

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