September 25, 2005 - Eagle’s Nest Shelter to 501 Shelter
I left shelter with plans to do 15 miles today. I was able to get water two times today and walked by two others. The
Old Fort Dietrick had a good spring .1 off trail and I spent some time there at a pretty spot. I found a nice dam when I
got off the trail shortly and it was a nice pretty spot with tent platforms. I continued on and got water at spring. I made
it to the 501 shelter very tired and took a cold shower at a nice place. This is another shelter with a house and a
caretaker. Tangu, another sobo came in later and stayed here. He had taken some time off and did big miles today
to try and catch up with his buddies. I will go into Pine Grove in the morning. Fall is here and it is getting chilly every
night. This shelter has a big plexey glass dome on it and the acorns falling all night sounded like we were in a tin
can. Bangs very loud and woke me up all night. There were 12 bunks here with a large table in the middle. I never
saw the caretaker.
September 26, 2005 - 501 Shelter to William Penn Shelter
I got up really early and got to the road by 7:15 p.m. I got a quick hitch into town. The store was on the far side of
town and I could not get a ride until I got on the last road to the shelter. I got all I needed really quick. I called Virginia
while walking through town. Everything is fine in Florida. It looks like rain here today. They sure do need it. I stopped
by the shelter again and repacked some stuff before leaving to go on. I had left my blue bandana there and had to
go there. I hiked over some pretty open ridges and got to the shelter in a couple of hours. William Penn Shelter is a
nice shelter with good water. It is built heavy and would come in handy on a rainy thunder stormy evening. Tangu is
here too. He hiked too much yesterday and is having shin problems now. I am reading a book here tonight as it
rains. Raiders of the Western Atlantic by Tim Champlin. It is a good book so far. The rain has settled in. It is dark
and windy and raining and I am in a warm dry shelter. We will see what it is like tomorrow. I am ahead of my schedule
so I can take a zero if I have to. I took my last muscle relaxer tonight after my knees hurt a lot. There is fog blowing
into the shelter now. This is a big two story with loft shelter. I may need to get up top to stay dry with this blowing fog
and rain.
September 27, 2005 -William Penn Shelter to Rausch Gap Shelter, ½ way Hilton
It continued to rain most of the night. I decide to hike today and the other hiker said he was quitting today. He took
too much time off and doesn’t get into a rhythm. I left at 7:30 a.m. and stopped by the outhouse which is the biggest
one I have ever seen. I felt good for the first hour on a cool and windy day. My tendon got stretched out two days
ago and is hurting a lot now. It does not seem to be getting any better. I am using Vit I at an alarming rate. I will
probably need to go a little slower the next few days. I am taking a long break on a downed cherry tree right on the
trail. It is in the 50’s at 10:30 a.m. I can hear geese honking and heading south for the winter everyday now. I took a
lot of pills today but kept moving. I got to the Old Rausch Gap Village and there was a pretty stone rail road bridge
and a man made spring from the creek. It was built to take the acid out of the water for the fish. It is the first of it’s
kind in this country. I then hiked into the shelter which in 1981 we called the ½ way Hilton. Rausch Gap Shelter has a
spring in a trough in the yard where the shelter is. It has a nice stone yard in a little bank. This old shelter brings
back a lot of memories from my first trip. It was on the trail the first time and now it is .3 off of trail. It got down to 42
degrees in the night.
September 28, 2005 -Rausch Gap Shelter to 2.5 mikes north of Shikellimy Rocks
It got down to 42 degrees last night but I was warm in my 40 degree bag. I was up and out of shelter by 7:30 a.m. I
drank a lot of coffee to keep me warm. I felt good all day but I did not want to hike long and hard. It was an easy
ridge walk on old road bed most of the day. I took lots of breaks and enjoyed the day and read my book. After
leaving the shelter I saw water soon but not again until late in the day. There was water way off the trail but I could
get by without going the ½ mile to get it. I passed a side trail and hiked down to see “The General”. I never did find it
or figured out what The General was. I didn’t have a guide book and no one else knew what it was either. Maybe it
was an old tree? I passed the Horseshow trail which goes to Valley Forge for 100 miles. I got water close to the road
so I hiked on. About ½ miles on the other side of a road I went to another spring which had a nice camp sight and I
decided to stay. It is still clear so I’m cowboy camping. It may cloud up later and I will keep my tarp handy. 6p.m. and
it is time to eat dinner. This was an established campsite.
September 29, 2005 -Camp site to Clarks Ferry Shelter-
The wind blew hard all night but the stars stayed out till I got up at 5 a.m. I was out by 6 a.m. in the dark leaving my
spoon on the ground somewhere I think. I hiked in tropical storm force winds up on the ridge today up to Peters
Mountain Shelter. I got here around 10:30 a.m. The old Earl Shaffer Shelter where I stayed in 1981 is within sight of
the new shelter. It was very small as most shelters were in 1981. I took a break at the new shelter not going to the
spring which was way down. It was raining so I gathered some water off the roof and treated it and after a while I
moved on. I wore my rain coat all morning because the windy weather made it cold at 50 degrees. The sky cleared
at 11:00a.m. so I left soon after. This shelter is big and will sleep 20 or so comfortably. It has a nice inside porch
over looking the steep trail to the water source. I had coffee and ramin noodles for lunch here. I need to go 7 more
miles today yet so let’s get it done. I continued to the Clarks Ferry Shelter just out of Duncannon Pa. Before getting
here at the shelter I got to see the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant where the accident happened years ago. It is
pretty up here on the ridge. There was little elevation change today. The thing is the trail went up 20 feet and then
down 20 feet all day and on the rocks which made making any time almost impossible. It took me nearly 4 hours to
go 7 miles. Oh by the way I found my spoon in the cheese baggy! My boots looked great two days ago but today I
don’t know if they will make it another 120 miles to Harper’s Ferry W.V. The insides have collapsed and I noticed
they put cardboard where the rubber used to be put. I used the same type boots on this 500 mile section that I did in
the spring and they definitely were made cheaper than before. They will do anything to make another buck on
something.
September 30, 2005 -Clarks Ferry Shelter to The Doyle Hotel in Duncannon
I left the shelter before daylight after much coffee and graham crackers here at the shelter. It got down to 38
degrees last night. I hiked a rocky ridge 3 miles to a point overlooking Duncannon and then down into Duncannon.
The trail was relocated a little since 1981 through here. This route keeps the trail up on the ridge longer. I got into
Duncannon and went to the post office and repacked there on a picnic table. I talked to some locals who were
interested in hikers. I hiked past a sled company which went out of business after many years. I will need no
groceries in town because Virginia sent me a lot of food. I went to the Doyle Hotel and it was not opened yet so I ate
lunch across the street. Super Feet is here and let me in the back way and I took a shower and laundry until the
registering area was opened. The man and woman who own the Doyle take hikers pictures and put them in a book
for all other hikers to view. I checked out last years book too and saw many people I hiked with last year, along with
this year. There were several through hikers here last night and will stay another night. I got a room with Super Feet
so he could get a bed this time. He had split a room with Lady Bug and Big fish and another hiker and he had to
sleep on the floor. I got a room for 10 dollars after splitting it with Super Feet. My room has 2 single beds and over
looks the Susquehanna River. I commented to the caretaker that I had the best view in the Hotel. He said that he
would show me a better view. He took me up on the roof and I did agree that he was right! The Doyle was built in the
early 1900’s by Anheuser Busch. It was a palace when it was built. It is now a flop house but I still love it as most
hikers do. It has a great original bar which serves cold bear and great food. I will be back and I usually hate towns.
The thru-hikers here tonight are Big Fish, Lady Bug, Super Feet, Kite, and Stone Passer. Stone Passer dropped a
kidney stone on the trail.
October 1, 2005 - Doyle Hotel to Cove Mountain Shelter- Old Thelma Marks
It is a cool day at 43 degrees at 5 a.m. I went to a bathroom and took a bath in an old claw foot bath tub just to say I
did! I had done this same thing in 1981 at the Greymore Monastery and wanted to do it again on this trip. I then
packed up all my stuff and went back across the street and had a big breakfast. I had pancakes, eggs, sausage,
toast and coffee all for $5 bucks. I hiked to Cove Mountain Shelter. [There is also a Cove Mountain Shelter in
Virginia] This shelter is in the location of the old Thelma Marks Shelter. They changed the name after some hikers
were murdered here I think. The same people who were at the Hotel last night are here tonight. They got a big fire
going and partied all evening. I am smoking my pipe and am enjoying the fire. The boys got a hollow log and
stacked it up and created a chimney and it was very pretty and burned all night. I have an easier schedule for the
remaining days out. I expect to enjoy the remaining 15 days even more up till Harper’s Ferry. This was the biggest
fire I have seen since I left. This shelter had a carving on a large wooden beam in the top of the shelter facing
outside. If you go there check it out.
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