Hike #1 | 9.05 miles | Pennsylvania | Sheet Iron Roof Rd to Boiling Springs

We were ready for our first hike on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, or were we? I joined multiple Facebook groups, bought the AT trail guide, and even bought the map bundle for the entire trail on the highly recommended Far Out app. I used the app to try to figure out the mileage and came up with a route around the 8 to 9-mile range. I thought that was the perfect distance for first-timers and our previous hiking experience. My husband took a peak at the route and mentioned that the elevation changes looked pretty challenging. I brushed off his comment thinking the squiggly lines were just little ups and downs and we would be okay. To be honest, I had tried about 10 other routes and the squiggly lines were even taller. We had hiked together many times over the years, including training for the Rachel Carson Challenge so I figured this would be just another walk in the park.

We drove from Pittsburgh and parked in downtown Boiling Springs PA just across from the TCO Fly Shop. Then we took an Uber to the AT trailhead on Sheet Iron Roof Road. So far my plan was executed perfectly. The trail started easy, we took a couple of pictures and then climbed the first mountain. We reached the summit and it was beautiful.

Then the descent which was followed by another climb, then another descent, then another climb…

The little squiggly lines weren’t little climbs after all. I turned around when my husband began to cross a brook, and on each rock, as he stepped he babbled swear words. I asked him how he planned to kill me. Then I decided to stay far enough in front of him so he couldn’t wack me with his walking stick. I started to feel bad and worried this was a very bad decision. I screwed up.

In every direction, all I could see was dense forest, mountains, and the sun beginning to set. We did not bring any type of light because we were day hiking and never intended to be in the woods close to sunset. We continued on… Eventually, we started looking at our mileage and the time of sunset and became worried we wouldn’t make it out of the woods in the dark. Damn it, my perfectly orchestrated plan was biting me in the ass. We had no time to stop and take a break, catch our breath, or collectively gather our thoughts. We both knew we had to keep moving. I kept hearing my friend Elaine say “burning daylight” over and over again in my head and she was right!

Traversing the rocks at the top of the mountains was a challenge and I had to put my poles down numerous times to climb or slide down on my butt and drop. The good news was the white blazes were rather easy to follow most of the time, so at least we didn’t get lost.

In the distance the sun was setting and the woods darkening just as we dripped out of the forest into a field.

The mountains were painful, not on my body, but on my mind. The fear of being in the dark, in the woods, was exhausting. The pasture continued through open farmland and then through a little piece of woods (in the dark), over the creek, next to Children’s Lake, and back to the SeaPony parked in downtown Boiling Springs. We made it. We hiked our first portion of the Appalachian Trail. I wasn’t sure my husband would ever go back.