Date: 2018-06-09
From: Campsite Vic Horseshoe Trai

To: William Penn Shelter 
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: overcast clouds

A noisy animal/bird woke me up at around 1 a.m. and kept me up for awhile with its endless groaning. Needless to say, I was a little slow getting going this morning. It was about 7:15 when I took my last swig of coffee, got up from my stone recliner, and started hiking. Even with the late start, I was breaking cobwebs for the first couple of miles. I was walking directly into the sun which cast a shimmer on some of the silk strands. This allowed me to take some of the webs down with my hiking poles before I got them full on in the face. The trail was mostly flat, sloping gently down, and soft for the first 9 miles, so I was making good time. Mountain Laurel lined the trail for the first several miles. Some clusters were still in bloom. A whitetail deer danced down the trail in front of me before exiting into the thick underbrush. As usual, dozens of chipmunks darted just under my feet. The squirrels even got into the act of leaping right in front of me today. I came past Yellow Springs Campsite a few miles up the trail and signed the trail log. There was a florescent rope used for hanging bear bags dangling from a tree. I contemplated grabbing it just in case another hiker left it behind, but thought that the owner might actually still be camped out of sight. Plus, it looked pretty new so I figured it could belong to a SOBO section hiker. About a mile later I came to a stream and stopped to fill up on water. A young couple¢Peebo and Dryl¢were finishing up when I arrived. They had just started a flip flop hike in Harper¢s Ferry. They left in a hurry and I forgot to mention the rope. After getting water I passed a dozen or more PA Air National Guardsmen who were hiking south. They said they were doing a 6 mile ¢team building¢ event. Hey, it works for Which Way and Next Step.Rausch Gap marked the end of the downhill section. Just before the short climb up Second Mountain I noticed a swamp on the left side of the trail. About 50 yards later I came to a low foot bridge crossing a small stream. Just to the left of the bridge a was a beaver dam. The beaver had continued its water management project by extending the dam with a four high levy stretching another 100 yards up the trail. Evidently the project was not finished because water was streaming from the end of the levy all the way back down the trail to the foot bridge. Two weeks ago I might have just walked through it. But not today. My new shoes had yet to get wet and I wanted to keep it that way, so I put on my camp shoes and proceeded to walk through the water. It was two feet deep in places and was a silty mess. The water was also very cold which was kind of refreshing. After I was above the watery path I stopped to clean and dry my feet. As soon as I sat down to take care of business I was assaulted by a platoon of mosquitoes. The thin veneer of Deet that I applied earlier was no deterrent for these Swamp Skeeters. I quickly reached into my bag and started spraying more repellent. When I switched hands to get the other side sprayed I accidentally depressed the button, sending a stream of bug spray into my mouth and left eye. Now blind, I fumbled around trying to feel for the bite valve to my hydration system so that I could flush out my eye. I eventually got my act together and started up the hill. Up until then I had been on a roll and had planned on cruising right over the 600 foot climb. But after sitting for 20 minutes my muscles had tightened making it difficult to get back up to speed for the first few hundred yards. As I started back down the other side I caught back up to Peebo and Dryl. I remembered to ask them about the rope this time. It was, in fact, theirs. Unfortunately, I opened a can of worms as they entered into a ¢discussion¢ about who was supposed to get the rope. Team Building?!?! Having done enough damage, I eventually opened the gap between me and them. They were planning to catch a ride into Lickdale at Swatara Gap, so I did not see them again today. After Swatara Gap the trail passed under I-81 and began a 1,000¢ ascent. By now it was the heat of the day, making for a long slow climb. Once at the top, the trail continued for several miles winding along the ridge line. The Mountain Laurel had given way to other forms of undergrowth, including a fair amount of poison ivy. I was still about 4 miles from the shelter where I was planning to stay for the night when the rocks came. The sun was now behind me and casting shadows on the trail ahead. Not only was I dealing with rock hopping and poison ivy dodging, I was also trying to keep an eye out for snakes sunning in the rocks. After a couple of miles the trail softened and the hike ended in much the same way it began, except that I was now exhausted. The William Penn Shelter is a nice double-decker structure that sleeps 14. On one side of the trail are some tent sites and on the other stands the shelter. I heard the kind of commotion that isn¢t made by long distance hikers coming from the tent site, so I opted for the shelter. Anyway, it might rain overnight so I¢ll take my chances with the bugs. Immediately after turning down the blue blaze trail leading to the shelter I saw another deer. When I arrived at 6:00 p.m. I had the place to myself. The shelter was a quarter mile downhill on one side of the trail and the water coming out of a piped spring was a quarter mile down the other side. Fun!As I was fixing my dinner another thru hiker named Eddy showed up. Before then, I was starting to think that all of the Springer to Katahdin hikers were stuck back at the Doyle in the Twighlight Zone. We had a nice chat as we ate our dinner. Having someone to talk to serves as a good distraction from me thinking about how much I miss Which Way being here with me. As it turns out, Eddy is planning on joining the military after his hike. Why didn¢t I think of that? Elevation Data:Ascent - 3,180Descent - 2,850Grade - 5.4Weather:Day - 80 / SunnyNight - 68 / Rain LateOver The Horizon: Port Clinton, PA