Date: 2003-06-15
From: 1mi north of Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 shelter 
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: overcast clouds

1mi north of Rausch Gap Shelter to We didn't get more than a few sprinkles last night, but I left my tent fly on just in case. The night started out very warm and humid, and I slept in my silk liner, but around 3am I crawled into my sleeping bag, as the temperature seemed to have dropped, along with the humidity. It made for some good sleeping the rest of the morning. It was one of those cool, comfortable mornings when I didn't want to get up, but I had to go pee around 5:30, and didn't sleep much after that.B-Roc, Hotdog and I were on the trail just before 8:30, and Paparazzi happened to be passing by then, so the four of us hiked together for most of the day. At Swatara Creek, there was a cool, old bridge where the AT crossed. The bridge was built in 1890, and moved to that location in 1997 (I think). We took a break there, as it was a neat place to sit. Then it was time to move on. We climbed Blue Mountain, then walked along it's ridge for the rest of the day. Paparazzi had been ahead of me, but was taking a break at the top of the climb. He said I could go first, as he was still a little leery of rattlesnakes. When we stopped for lunch, B-Roc and Hotdog came along just minutes after. Then the four of us hiked together for the rest of the day.We came to a boulder field, and the AT went right across it. I saw a piece of paper on the rocks, and was going to pick up the litter, but saw it had a note on it: Two rattlesnakes by the foil wrapper. We looked ahead, saw the foil wrapper, and just beyond it was a big rattlesnake. It was the biggest of the 8 I'd seen in the last 3 days. As we were all looking at it, we were wondering where the second one was, but never saw it. We finally moved on, but we were all a little jumpy. B-Roc was leading, and once, when a toad jumped in front of him, he yelled and jumped to the side, causing Paparazzi, who was right behind him to yell and go backwards, asking where the snake was. B-Roc finally said it was just a toad, and we moved on again, jumpier than before. We saw no more snakes today.We stopped at William Penn Shelter for water and a break, but had one thing on our minds: Hitching a ride to McDonalds at PA501, which is right by the destination for the night, 501 Shelter. B-Roc wasn't planning on going, but the rest of us were, and that's about all I thought about for most of today.We met two men and four young boys, around ages 8-10, and stopped to talk to them. They asked where we were going, and we said "Maine". Then they asked where we came from and we said "Georgia". One guy kept saying "No way. No way." I think he finally believed us as we were able to answer his many questions with ease. I always enjoy talking to people on the trail, especially those that don't have a clue what the AT is, even though they are hiking on it. We moved on, meeting other dayhikers and talking to them, but anxious to get to 501, which we'd been teasingly paralleling for about a half mile.When we got there, B-Roc went to the shelter, and Hotdog and I met John of Not The Kennedys, and Texas Jack, who are hiking the trail. They are staying at 501 Shelter and had ordered pizza for delivery at the parking lot. We decided to head to McDs anyway, and about that time Paparazzi talked one of the dayhikers we'd met into giving us a ride, as he was going that way. He was surprised when we climbed into the bed of his pickup truck, but we explained that we do it all the time, and prefer to do that.The food was wonderful! I used more of my gift certificates to buy a Big Extra, large fries, large soda, McFlurry, and 3 cookies. Yum! I seemed to inhale the food, even though I didn't think I was THAT hungry. Hotdog and Paparazzi had plenty to eat too. We also enjoyed the indoor plumbing... more than once, and the convenience of payphones inside McDs. I called my dad and wished him a Happy Father's Day.Fat and sassy, it was time to head back. We tried to hitch a ride, but it wasn't working. The McDonald's was at an I-81 interchange, and most of the cars were going into McDonalds or the Exxon across the street, and back to the Interstate. The only times I've wished I still had long hair were when hitching a ride. We went to the Exxon, bought some food and drinks. The plan was to talk to some people and get a ride that way, but it failed as well. That's okay, I got some OJ and drank it. We went back to the road, and within 10 minutes, a lady stopped in front of us, waved us to her truck, and offered a ride. Gladly, we climbed into the bed of the truck and cruised back to the trail. It seems like one of the worst feelings is not being able to get a hitch. I feel like I'm doing something wrong, or like I'm second-rate. And why do people in the cars that pass by wave and smile? I usually wave back, just to be polite, but do they think that makes it better, standing ! on the side of a road? Once I get a ride though, it is the best feeling! Trail Angels going out of their way to give us stinky, smelly, full hikers a ride back to our world. Great people!This shelter is an old pottery barn, with a huge skylight in the middle of the roof, bunks along the walls, a big table and chairs in the middle, tons of magazines, a solar shower, and an outhouse. Very nice. Prince William, Dirty Bird, Fidodido, Sunpig, Hotdog, B-Roc, Mule, Paparazzi, Texas Jack, John and Jackie (not the Kennedys) are here with me tonight. Some are planning on going the 24 miles to Port Clinton tomorrow, but Hotdog and I are going to a shelter about 15 miles from here.Even though the miles have been around 17-18 each day, we've been getting to the shelters before 5pm. It's nice to have time to relax and read each night, but sometimes I feel I'm wasting daylight by stopping that early. My feet usually tell me the miles are plenty for the day though. And that's okay too. If I listen to them, hopefully they will carry my to Katahdin.