Day 54: James Fry Shelter to Darlington Shelter (26.5 miles)

July 5, 2004 - 26.5 miles today. Thought about going another 7 but I’ve put in almost 115 miles the past 4 days so I’m going easy today. It was a very easy day of hiking. 17 of the 26.5 miles were in the Cumberland Valley which is all flat. The only bad thing was the 100 degree heat index and not much shade since I was walking through cornfields, roads, and open fields. Ate lunch at the A

TC Mid-Atlantic Regional office in Boiling Springs, PA

. Met a lot of hikers there and spent too much time. Hiking through the valley with that heat really takes it out of you. I drank a lot of water. Got to the shelter (which doesn’t have a shelter anymore) where I could eat dinner and move on. By the time I had finished dinner it was 6:30 and it sounded like rain so I decided to camp here for the night. Didn’t want to risk walking on wet rocks when it’s getting close to dark. Also, it’s good to take an early day and rest my legs.