Five Days in the Boulder Field that is the AT in PA

[Red Cinema]

Finished sectioning the state of PA today.

Hardest section, but includes what seem to be the best views in the state--The Pinnacle, Pulpit Rock.

501 Shelter to Bake Oven Knob road, about 55 miles.

Three miles north of the 501 Shelter...
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Within 50 feet of this setup, this view:
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View from The Pinnacle:
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...and about 30 feet from the edge (no, I don't sleepwalk...)
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Lots of fookin' rocks. By the time I got to the Knife's Edge I wasn't able to really enjoy it--hurrying to catch my shuttle driver and to beat the rain. Section Hiking the AT--PA is a necessary part. But, dang, lots of rocks

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[Tech Dawg]

Awesome section for the hurty rocks! The other week I hiked from Palmerton down to rt 183 (Reading) on the AT. On my 2nd night I ended up at the Pinnacle and hung a few steps away from the edge and was a totally sweet campsite. Also made some youtube vids complete with some of my rock annoyance rants. That Bake oven Knob area is a total dump though... probably my least favorite area of the trail so far.

[SilvrSurfr]

Congratulations. How many miles did you hike?

[pH@willie]

I remember that an article in National Geographic about the AT called the Pennsylvania sections "the devil's golf course" because of the rocks.

[Red Cinema]

Congratulations. How many miles did you hike?

55 mile section to finish PA. If you mean overall, hmm, math...looks like I've hiked a total of about 460 AT miles over the last...hmm, checking journals...five years. Maybe six. Portents are unclear.

[Red Cinema]

Awesome section for the hurty rocks! The other week I hiked from Palmerton down to rt 183 (Reading) on the AT. On my 2nd night I ended up at the Pinnacle and hung a few steps away from the edge and was a totally sweet campsite. Also made some youtube vids complete with some of my rock annoyance rants. That Bake oven Knob area is a total dump though... probably my least favorite area of the trail so far.

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A few steps away from the edge, you say?

[Randonneur]

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A few steps away from the edge, you say?

Perfect example of why hammocks are the way to go.

[twentybelow]

Been there, done that, not eager to do it again. Glad you made it through unscathed! Thanks for posting.

[Red Cinema]

Been there, done that, not eager to do it again. Glad you made it through unscathed! Thanks for posting.

This makes some 460 odd AT miles over five or six years. Can't say PA didn't scathe me; had to get off trail earlier in the summer with a back injury; turns out there's something about ALL the boulder hopping that tweaks my yon olde guyye back. Took six weeks to straighten that out. And no other chunk of trail has caused abrasions on the bottom of my feet. I heartily agree with your main sentiment, however: been there, done that, not eager to do it again.*

AT thru hiker Crash described the day we both ended up at the Allentown Hiking Club shelter (nicely kept area, shows a lot of care and attention) as "worst AT day ever." He started in Georgia. That's saying something. He also did more miles to get there, doing all the Pulpit Rock/The Pinnacle bouldering in addition to the shorter portion I hiked, but still...that's saying something

*The southern part, Pine Grove Furnace (is that right? is also a Pine Grove in the northern part) area is quite nice. . .and MAHHA is there, so count that as a caveat to "never again!"

[PatapscoMike]

They say it's the only state you hike on the AT where your boots never get dirty (but you'll be needing new ones when you're done).