Day 96, miles today - 23.7, total - 1,326.5

June 21, 2013

Rattlesnake Spring Campsite to Mashipacong Shelter.

I did a few stretches and went to get water at the spring 100 yards away before getting on trail at 8:00 am. The other three guys, along with Lil Bit, had left fifteen minutes earlier.

A little before 9:00 I saw Sundance standing in the trail. When he saw me he said there's a bear up here. I hurried to where he was. We slowly made our way through the brush to where we watched him for a few minutes. As we moved he ran away.

I hiked the next few miles with Sundance. There were signs of a lot of beaver activity. The trail was rerouted in one area to go around a pond created by beavers.

Later the three guys and I were on top of Rattlesnake Mountain. There was a nice view and there were a lot of small bushes with blue berries. We think they were huckleberries. I'm not really sure, but they tasted very good. So we dropped our packs and ate berries for ten minutes. Lil Bit showed up after a few minutes.

The there guys said they were going to stop to eat lunch. There was a road crossing at Culvers Gap in about six miles with a couple restaurants. Lil Bit and I decided to keep hiking and get something to eat there. As we got to the road I saw Hawkeye. The last time I saw him was in Harper's Ferry. He's a nice guy. He hikes a lot slower than I do, if we had the same pace I'd stay with him. Lil Bit and I went to the Stake House. It had been along time since I had a steak. It was a delicious meal. The apple pie with ice cream made it complete.

After a couple miles on trail I saw Hawkeye again. I asked him if the three guys had passed him. I thought for sure they would have passed through. We were in the restaurant for close to ninety minutes. He hadn't seen them. We continued on. 

                                         Culver Fire Tower                                              Lil Bit

When we got to the top of Sunrise Mountain there was a large pavilion. There was a great view in several directions. There were a dozen or so dayhikers sitting on benches enjoying the view. I suppose there is a side trail that leads there. I talked to a couple that had thru-hiked last year. Their names were Pace and Hungus. Pace offered me some water which I excepted. They started their 2012 hike on March 19, the same day I started my hike. We talked about life on the trail and places that we each had stayed.

Pace and Hungus

Lil Bit and I decided to do 3.4 more miles. That would put us at the Mashipacong Shelter. When we arrived we were the only ones there. This was Lil Bit's first day over 20 miles. She's a strong hiker, especially considering she's only been on trail for three weeks. There still was no sign of the other guys. The mosquitoes here are terrible. We both put up our tents instead of sleeping in the open  shelter.  A guy showed up named Half and Half. He's from Austria. His sister is hiking the trail also, she's a few days behind him. At 8:00 the three guys showed up. They had spent time in another restaurant. We wondered where they were, and they wondered where we were.