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Dirk's Rambles

July 7, 2021, Duncannon PA

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We are zeroing in Duncannon today after what has been an eventful 24 hours.

First of all, TwoKnee fell yesterday. He fell in front of me and hit hard on a rock. Luckily, it was his thigh that hit hard and not his head. When he fell, I knew it was painful and thought it was serious. He wanted to lay on the ground for a minute or two to take an inventory of his pain. When he got up, he said his thigh was what got the most of the brunt force of the fall. He decided to continue on.

About two or three miles up the trail, we walked the overpass over Rt. 225. We sat down at the trailhead parking lot just on the other side of the parking lot with two other hikers and got a drink. A TV news reporter pulled in and began taking video of us resting. He was doing a story of the heat and humidity that day since it was so hot (over 90 degrees). After he walked over to the footbridge, TwoKnees tried to stand up but the pain was so great he said he couldn't go on. We decided to go back to Duncannon.

So we bummed a ride with the reporter who took us back to the hostel (Kind of Outdoorsy). They were really good to us. We ran into some other hikers and went out to dinner with them at a bar/restaurant owned by a huge Penn State fan. Had pictures of PSU football players all over the walls. The place is called The Pub. I had a huge hamburger and fries that I had to force myself to finish.

About midnight, I woke up with severe stomach pains. So severe it had me doubled over in pain. Never felt anything like it. I thought I was having a gall bladder attack, like at least two of my brother have had. After about 45 minutes and the pain not dissipating, I woke up TwoKnee and asked him to call an ambulance. The ambulance got there quickly and took me to the hospital (Penn State Medical Center) across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg.

By the time I got to the hospital, the pain had subsided. They ran all kinds of test including including a scan of my stomach region. Everything looked normal. There was nothing wrong with my gall bladder. They thought it was one or a combination of several things- colon issues, acid reflux, overeating. I believe it was a combination of acid reflux and overeating.

The hospital provided me with a ride (Uber) back to the hospital. The driver was a committed Christian who suggested that I begin preaching because he could tell I had a gift. Hmmm......

TwoKnee and I decided to take a zero today to catch up on our sleep and to rest his leg. Glad we did. The owner of the hostel let us stay for free because we were injured/ill. Very generous.

We ate breakfast for the second morning in a row at the breakfast place across the street. We hope to hit the trail again tomorrow. We left the trail yesterday at mile 1157.8.
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