April 21, 2013
Section Miles: 18.2 Total Miles: 121.4
A week after our marathon hike of the Brandywine we found ourselves back on the Horse-Shoe trail, still nursing a few stiff joints and sore muscles. We were accompanied once again by our friends Jill and Rick, who had spent the previous day cutting up a storm-damaged tree and spreading mulch, so between the four of us we creaked along at a rather stately pace (as we'll call it). The day was bright and sunny, but a steady, brisk wind kept things on the chilly side.
Section 8 starts out on game lands, where we hopscotched along a rutted, muddy road for much of the way, crossing through some areas of recent logging activity. After four miles (or so) the trail becomes mostly road walking, leading you into the town of Hershey. You skirt just north of town, through lands of the Hershey Estate, across some of the grounds of the Milton Hershey School, along the edge of the golf course for a bit, past the Hershey cemetery, finally returning to a patch of woods for one last mile before reaching Boat House Park.
I wish I could say this was all very interesting, but to be honest, if I were to recommend one section of the HST for people to hike, it probably would not be this one. As always, there were a few memorable moments. We met an entire herd of friendly Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Bouviers, Labs, and Standard Poodles out for a slobbery explore with their owners. Walking through one of the subdivisions we were nipped at by some sort of sputtering, yapping, miniature dog having a hiker seizure. The grounds of the Hershey School were a scene right out of the twilight zone: perfectly appointed landscaping, tidy housing, cars neatly parked in driveways, and not a single person to be seen anywhere... and we're talking miles. Not even any sound. It was like everybody just vanished. Alien abduction, I'm thinking. Naturally, we took full advantage of the situation by catching a nap on their unattended hay bales in the fields (amazingly comfortable, I might add).
Lastly, this is Hershey. I mean, come on, you just have to go to Chocolate World and take the tour while you're in town. And if by pure chance the official Weinermobile is parked there? That, my friends, is an awesome day.
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