Date: 2015-06-25
From: Allentown Hiking Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today went from one extreme to the other. Once again it was a VERY hot and humid day. It was tough to leave the shelter because we all had such a good time the night before. But the newbies were headed south, and the rest of us needed to continue north.I stopped briefly at the Blue Mountain Summit B&B on PA 309. They are hiker friendly and allow hikers to draw water from their outdoor spigot. Unfortunately the restaurant was not yet open.After I crossed the road, I was pleasantly surprised with trail magic in the form of coolers provided by Berk County Hiking Club. They left drinks and snacks for tired hungry thru hikers.The trail again was particularly rough and rocky. But nothing prepared me for Knife Edge. Giant boulders were stacked every which way on a high sharp ridgeline, and the AT white blazes just went up and over them. There was no defined trail. And there were no bars to hang onto or step on. I just had to climb and hang on the best I could. I am afraid of heights, so it took every ounce of courage I could muster to get me and my heavy pack over those monstrous rocks. It was not just scary, it was pee your pants scary!!! At one point I could not immediately see a way over one of the boulders and thought I just might be stuck up there permanently. I was definely glad when I was done with the Knife Edge.Bear Rocks came next. Fortunately the rocks were smaller and not stacked high on a ridgeline, but it was still tough to pick my way over the rocks with a full pack.I was feeling pretty exhausted and beat up by the rocks when I came upon the best trail magic I have seen to date. The Berk County Hiking Club set out a feast with hotdogs, hamburgers, potato salad, macaroni salad, cookies, fresh fruit, soft drinks, and Gatorade.   They also had folding chairs for us to sit on while we ate. I was so tired and hungry I had tears in my eyes in appreciation for the feast they provided!! They claim they only set up such a feast once a year, and today was THE day!!!I ate, and ate, and ate. I also enjoyed visiting with the club members. They seemed to enjoy hearing the hiker's stories.On a full stomach I had one more pile of boulders to climb over at Bake Oven Knob. Being tired, with a full pack and a very full stomach made the job even harder. I just kept reminding myself that it was better than the Knife Edge, and in about 1/2 mile I would be at the shelter. Bake Oven Knob Shelter is a small sad little shelter, which is about one notch above something Earl Shaffer may have slept in years ago. Although it had no privy, it had a great water source and one other little extra - a resident porcupine.   Several people wrote in the shelter journal about being visited at night by a very large porcupine. There was also evidence of the porcupine chewing on portions of the shelter where sweaty hikers tend to sit.   Apparently porcupines like salt.Rockin Robin, Emma, and I were joined at the shelter by a thru hiker called Short Bus, and a section hiker called Hard Tack. We were not quite sure what to do if we were visited in the night by the porcupine. Emma and I slept with our hiking poles just in case we received a visit. We never did see the porcupine, but there were strange guinea pig type sounds in the bushes near the shelter.The AT is calling. But first I have to make sure the porcupine does not get me.