Day 89, miles today- 17.5, total- 1,189.3

June 16, 2013

Rausch Gap Shelter to PA 501 Shelter.

I was on trail this morning at 8:00. Great weather again today.

There had been a coal mine operation near by this area. I took a short side trail to look at an old cemetery.

About six miles in, near a road crossing, there were two coolers of food. There were oranges, Honey Buns, peanut butter crackers, small candy bars, and bottles of water. I took a break there for fifteen minutes. There were already two young guys sitting there when I arrived. The one was Fresh Coke, the other Restless Cowboy. Both are from Germany. Jim Dog and his daughter Firefly came a few minutes after me. It was great trail magic.

I took a short side trail to a rock overlook. On my way back to the trail I passed Lentil and Pfeiffer. When I saw Lentil later he said that they saw two rattlesnakes down in between the rocks at the overlook. I wish I had seen them too.

There  was a small section of trail that had ferns growing on each side. There were also long stretches that had a lot of poison ivy. It was sticking out onto the trail so much that I'll be surprised if I don't wake up tomorrow with it on my legs.

After about 17 miles I crossed PA 501. At the parking lot I saw a travel camper with Oregon plates. I thought it might belong to Steady, a thru-hiker. He had told me the other day that he was from Oregon and that his wife was following along with him in a camper. I knocked on the door. Steady's wife came to the door. After I introduced myself she told me to come in. My cell phones battery was very low, so I asked her if I could charge it. I sat there for one hour while my phone charged. She gave me a bottle of Coke and a cup of ice.

From there I moved on to the 501 shelter, maybe 200 feet away.  This is a very nice shelter. It's a cabin with an outside shower and a water faucet. One of the nicest shelters. Jim Dog who is doing a section hike with his daughter, Firefly, played his guitar. He plays pretty good.

 

Firefly and Jim Dog

Pilgrim had ordered pizza. They deliver to the parking lot. Later Jim Dog said he would pay for another pizza if we could also get a cherry pie. Fables called the pizza place and asked if they would pick up a cherry pie from another restaurant on their way. It took a lot of talking, but they finally agreed. So we had more pizza and a cherry pie. A nice treat.

Lentil, Calamity Jane, Jim Dog, Firefly and Fables