1. AT Days 9-16  Duncannon, PA to Port Clinton, PA
   

Day 9-11 – Downtime (0 miles)

Day 12 – Duncannon to Peter’s Mountain Shelter (9.3 miles)

Day 13 – Peter’s Mountain Shelter to Rausch Gap Shelter (18.0 miles)

Day 14 – Rausch Gap Shelter to 501 Shelter (17.5 miles)

Day 15 – 501 Shelter to Eagle’s Nest Shelter (14.9 miles)

Day 16 – Eagle’s Nest Shelter to Port Clinton (9.0 miles)

Harper’s Ferry Start – Marker 1026.    

Days 9-11 – Down days.

I had planned on one day off, but personal issues pushed it to 3. I could have started late on the last of these days, but as it was raining, 50sF, overnight in the low 40s, and the forecast for the next 5 days was rain off and on well…

Day 12

It stopped raining! Let’s go! The trail starts at the Susquehanna River and goes straight up to the top of the ridge (~1,200 ft in 2 miles). If you find Duncannon on a map with contours, you can see this is the same ridge that hits Duncannon on the west side except that the river cut through it. It also has the same rocks. I lost a sitting pad somewhere in those rocks.

I was so full of energy from the days off that I wanted to go further. Except thunderstorms were forecast for the evening and overnight. 

The Shelter was full and  on the bottom level, so I headed to the 2nd (Yes, this Shelter had 2 levels). I had my pick of spots and chose poorly. I was on the windward side. The rain didn’t come in on me, but the cold air blew in that window and straight down onto me. I barely kept warm enough.

Yes, that’s the trail!

 

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Day 13

The next morning was cold and rainy. I trudged 18 miles all day in the rain. Got to the Shelter about 5:00 pm. There were already two guys there in their sleeping bags and ready to sleep. I, and two more guys cooked our meals and went to sleep as well about 7:30. The two guys that were already in the sack slept straight through until 5:30 in the morning. Then they made a lot of noise when they got up and took off by 6:00.

Day 14

The day was nicer and the 17.5 miles went faster. Except for the Damned rocks. I can make pretty good time until I hit the rocks. Then it’s down to 1/2 to 1 mph.

The Green Tunnel

Bridge near I-81

The shelter was a dream. I shared it with only two other people. It was completely enclosed with about 18 bunks. A nice table in the middle for cooking, a spigot for water, a garbage can, and a hose for a shower. The shower was COLD, but felt good anyway. I dries my stuff out. Hooray!

My stuff 

Cooking Dinner 

Day 15

Not so far today, and good weather, which was a godsend. 

I made it to the shelter about 15 minutes before it started raining. One other young lady from last night’s shelter arrived about the same time that I did. It poured all night.

Day 16

It finally stopped raining about 9:00am. I pulled a calf muscle and jammed my toe slipping on the rocks. I hate the rocks to begin with. I’m lucky if I can do 1/2 to 1 mph. When they’re wet, they’re really treacherous and I have to go even slower. But obviously I didn’t go slow enough. So I opted to stay in Port Clinton after only 9 miles. There is a pavilion provided by a church. It’s loud, but I can rest my foot and leg.

This used to be the frontier

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Two bills being heard in Delaware are aimed to be solutions in the fight against anti-Asian rhetoric, violence, and hate. The legislation was inspired by a dad and a college student, who are getting additional support from a very special kindergartener.

“I believe everyone in Delaware should learn about the vast cultures and traditions of Asian and Pacific Islander communities,” said Austin Lou.

Austin is a kindergartener with a grown-up voice advocating for legislation to support AAPIs.

“I’m here today to speak in favor of House bill 322,” he said. “I’m proud of my heritage, but sometimes I can feel invisible.”

Yunfei Lou is Austin’s dad. He grew up in Lewes, Delaware.

“I still kind of struggle with an identity crisis of who I am as a one and a half generation Asian American mom, a lot of the time, I still slip and say them Americans, even though I am an American through and through. I pay taxes, I vote,” said Yunfei.

Yunfei wants to instill a sense of belonging among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and increase education.

“We basically we want to kind of remove that veil, the mystique around being Asian and really give the community an opportunity to really learn about who we are,” he said.

Yunfei has partnered with Devin Jiang, who’s a junior at the University of Delaware studying public policy.

“COVID-19 was when I saw this community crumble for the first time and I realized that Asian Americans can’t be silent anymore,” said Devin.

Together Devin, Yunfei and little Austin are lobbying for AAPI inclusion in education and to establish a state AAPI commission in the form of two bills.

“The first step is to gain more political representation, making sure that we have a voice at the table,” said Devin.

“Once we have that commission established, we can then start having some brainstorming sessions on trying to get community feedback,” said Yunfei .

SB 297, the AAPI education bill, has already evolved to include programming for all racial, cultural, and ethnic groups.

“We want to be as inclusive as possible,” said Yunfei .

“This would mean more educational programs in schools and a stronger sense of belonging for Asian American students like me,” said Austin.

The education bill will be heard in committee on May 15. HB 322, which would establish the AAPI state commission, has passed the Delaware House and will also be heard in the Senate.

Over 5,600 Delawareans turned out to vote in Tuesday’s school board elections across the state, according to the unofficial results from the Delaware Department of Elections. Contested races were held in seven districts: Appoquinimink, Colonial, Red Clay Consolidated, Indian River, Delmar and Woodbridge.

While other districts throughout the state did have seats up for grabs, Delaware Code states that elections will not be held if there is only one person running.

Here are the preliminary results posted by the Delaware Department of Elections, in alphabetical order by county:

NEW CASTLE COUNTY

Appoquinimink

Incumbent Norm Abrams has been reelected to his at-large seat on the Appoquinimink School Board, which he has held for 15 years. He received 54% of the 880 total votes cast, beating opponents Britney Mumford and Candace Justino.

Mumford, executive director of the public education equity-focused nonprofit DelawareCAN, was the runner-up with 32% of votes. Justino, who works with the nonprofit “Public Allies of Delaware” program at the University of Delaware, received the fewest votes.

Colonial

Incumbent Robin Crossan was narrowly reelected to represent District G on the Colonial School Board, a position he’s held for six years. He received 52% of the 362 total votes cast, beating opponent Tanya Kerns, a retired financial analyst with Amtrak, by just 12 votes.

Red Clay Consolidated

Susan Sander has been elected to represent District E on the Red Clay Consolidated School Board, beating incumbent Jason Casper, who has held the position for almost seven years. Sander, a community volunteer and former executive assistant for assisted living communities, earned 72% of the 2,043 total votes cast.

KENT COUNTY

Lake Forest

Incumbent Sarah R. Starkey has been reelected to her at-large seat on the Lake Forest School Board, which she has held for almost five years. She received 77% of the 290 total votes cast, beating opponent David Mazur, a former behavior modification specialist in New Jersey.

SUSSEX COUNTY

Delmar

Russell Smart has been elected to fill the at-large seat on the Delmar School Board. Smart, whose son is a student in the district, received 68% of the 563 total votes cast, beating opponent Dawn Turner, who was previously appointed to fill a vacant seat on the school board in 2021 and served through June 2023.

Woodbridge

John Campbell has been elected to fill the at-large seat on the Woodbridge School Board. Campbell, who has two children in the district and coaches youth sports, received 59% of the 684 total votes cast, beating opponents Brian Swain and Kristie Thomas.

Swain, a former teacher and principal, was the runner up with 34% of the votes. Thomas, who served on the boards of a government tax ditch program and the Woodbridge Little League, received the fewest votes.

Indian River

Anita West-Werner has been elected to represent District 4 on the Indian River School Board. West-Werner, a U.S. Air Force colonel and parent of two children in the district, received 59% of the total 835 votes cast, beating opponent Joshua Hudson, a captain with DNREC’s Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police.

BACKGROUND: Delaware’s school board election guide: Who’s running in your district?

Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.