The Great Wander of 2026
Day 16: June 8th, 2026
States Hiked: Pennsylvania (16 total so far)
Trails Hiked: (redacted) Neighborhood, Mechanicsburg, PA, Middlesex Township Park Trail
Distance Hiked: .6 miles, 2.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 36 ft. elev. gain, 157 ft. elev. gain
Cumulative Wander: 111.2 miles
Duration: 12m, 39m
In the grand scope of things, I'd barely consider this distinctive from a zero day. But, it was more the sentiment of the short hikes than the actual miles gained that meant something to me.
On the morning of the 8th, my chosen family went for a walk with me in the neighborhood, and that mattered far more to me than when or where we went. For the second time, they were putting up with me twice within a short timeframe of each other (last year), and they never made me feel like an intrusion or a bother. Especially at this point in life, that matters so much more than it ever did before.
The neighborhood was lovely, being shown around was better, and the company couldn't be beat.
The second stop was a combination of waiting for my parents to be available, and seeing an area to which I hadn't traveled since I was young enough to be involved there.
When I was a kid, there were separate baseball fields shortly down the road from each other. There were two on the lower end of the hill. One was for "Pony" leagues, which I think was ages 8-9. It was diagonally opposed by the "Teener" field, which was appropriately named. Because of the limited fields back then, there were sometimes practices in between the outfield fences of the two called the "Tweener Field" because clever. This would no longer be necessary.
Up by the township building, there was the "Major" field, ages 10-12, and when I was at the age for that to be appropriate, it was considered the "nice" option. Nobody wanted the Pony field, as it was down by a bunch of bugs, the infield was of lesser quality, and the Major field just felt like a big deal, being up on the ridge and closer to the road.
Funnily enough, it's now the worst-looking of the available options a few decades later. Things are always changing.
But, this park was no longer two fields nearby and one field by the township building. The number of fields has doubled, and I saw softball being played specifically on one of the fields built since then. I saw a splashpad, tennis/pickleball courts, disc golf, and of course, a hiking trail that connects the two parks. None of this infrastructure was there the last time I traveled to this park.
It's not a particularly difficult hike by any means, nor was I looking for anything but a few miles on the trail, a verified complete badge, and the feeling that I did more than nothing at this point in the Wander. Nearing the end of my time to free roam, I didn't want to miss any opportunity, no matter how minimal.
I spent this evening (and the two following) with my parents, and I think that's more time I've gotten to be with them since I moved to Minnesota in 2017. A genuine privilege it was, indeed. How fortunate.
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