Pine Grove, PA (USA)

[slept late (0745) - left the hotel around 0830 and drove west on PA-443 until I reached the AT trailhead at the intersection of PA-72 & PA-443 - Lucky (St. Patty's Day) me: it was in the low 50s - short-sleeve weather again! Headed out, thinking I was going NOBO - but soon realized I was headed in the opposite direction! No matter - the snow was almost all gone for most of the hike and I made great time up to the ridge. There was actually still some snow and ice up there and I decided to turn around at Rausch Shelter. Most of the day was spent in Swatara State Park - on the way back, I used the road to cut off the last section to reach my car - had planned to hike over to I-81 but there was too much snow in that direction - so I called it a day - I'd actually had enough for the long weekend. It felt really good to be out in the pleasant weather. I saw no people all day. With the backtrack and misdirection, I logged almost 11 miles. I look forward to coming back to this area again soon - in shorts! - got a gas fillup at Jonestown (1300) - drove back to Alexandria via I-81, I-83, PA-581, US-15, I-270 and I-495 - what a good trip! - AT Today = 4.72 miles / G.T. AT = 378.0 miles]