Pennsylvania: Rocks, Snakes and Poison Ivy

after a brief foray into dc for the closing on our condo (we're officially homeless) we are now back on the trail. We spent an evening at a lovely b&b in carlisle PA (pheasant field b&b: www.pheasantfield.com) - the home which dates back to the 1800s was once a stop on the underground rr. We rejoined the trail at swartara creek only to be reminded of the joys of PA hiking. Our path was very narrow and was lined most of the way with poison ivy. To keep things even more interesting, the trail was covered with rocks (which is what PA stretch of AT is infamous for) ... And to take it up a notch...our friends on the trail informed us of multiple (as many as 10 in 2 days) rattlesnake sitings. This doesn't exactly make for leisurely walking. We spotted a coiled rattlesnake sleeping on the side of the trail but we didn't get the trademark rattle out of him that makes grown men like billy goat jump in the air as if they are auditioning for riverdance.

with all do respect to our friends from PA we are looking forward to bringing this stretch to a close in a little over a week if we can help it. Tomorrow we pick up a maildrop in pine grove - happy times!