Date: 2004-07-19
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Dan's Spring Campsite
Miles today: 19.1

On 07/16/04, I wrote: "I¢ll push on to more spiders, more climbs, more funny encounters and probably more Copperheads. Yikes!"Holy Smokes, talk about a prophecy! Today, my first hiking day since the 16th, I saw five Copperheads and nearly killed myself in the process. Otherwise, the day was beautiful and I made two new friends, Eric and Jessica. The day also threw in two 'pulpits' and an eight-foot black rate snake to boot.This is how it began:I was sleeping quite content when I was roused about 6:30 am. During the night I dreamed I was in college and I had a final for a class I had forgotten to sign up for¢¦eek. Over a breakfast of granola with blueberries, I shared my dream with Michele who had a quite similar dream. Thank God I¢m not in school right now! Michele brought Amanda out to say goodbye, but she was not having anything to do with being awake at 6:30 am. It¢s okay; I¢ll see my little buddy again in two nights. I said my thanks and goodbyes to Michele and hopped in the SUV with Todd. Todd drove me to Port Clinton while I faded in and out of sleepy conversation. I thanked him again as he dropped me off at the pavilion. In two days, total, I will hike 40-miles, reaching Palmerton tomorrow. Once there, I will stay one more evening with my delightful hosts.It was weird to return to the same pavilion I went to for the Trail Magic one week ago. I was alone until a hiker named Eric walked by on his way to breakfast at the 3-C's. Though broke, I decided to join him for conversation while I waited for the post office to open. We talked about the trail and food, of course, and the joy of not always hearing the news.When we left, Eric was kind enough to accompany me to the post office and wait for me to receive my package, then "bounce" it ahead. Only compared to a stump or a rock, could the woman behind the counter be called, intelligent. It took her 20-minutes to discover that my package, posted by Priorty Mail nine days ago from only 70-miles away, was not there. Totally frustrated, I left to hike with Eric. I stopped to show him the rock jump I'd conquered a week ago and then we started the climb out of town.As we climbed, we traded college stories, talked about politics in the media and talked about "trail pressure." Trail pressure is when other hikers evaluate your hiking according to their standards. It's funny how hikers create a set of "rules" instead of "choices" for how one should hike the AT. Personally, I choose to pass by every white blaze, but I've also chosen to hike southbound as well as slackpack. Eric, too, seems to be quite comfortable with the hike he has chosen. We breezed over the rocky, flowerless uphill slope and continued to talk. We discussed how the trail is an escape from the reality of life, yet still a microcosm of life at the same time. We have no boss, no schedule and few constraints. Still, we have daily goals, daily turmoil and daily challenges just like the rat race of the real world but they're necessary to reach our biggest goal, Katahdin. As we finished this discussion we happened upon a beautiful girl, Jessica, waiting at the spring.It turns out Jessica had been waiting for Eric 4.5 miles in. I said, "Hello," and we all hiked on together. Jessica seemed shy at first but soon we were all joking and walking. Eric seems to love to laugh and Jessica loves to smile. At six miles we took a pleasant snack break on a grassy hill near a state park. We drank Chai (thank you Gordy!) and Eric filled our water at an impressively clear creek. We hiked on two more miles to Pulpit Rock before our next break. Eric and I discussed drinks that I had served as a waiter. After breaking down the differences between scotch, whiskey and bourbon, we reached the pulpit. As we took pictures of the valley below, a family nearby pointed out another visitor - a Copperhead was coiled in the bushes below. Thankfully, it was far enough away not to be too scary. We would find the scary ones a short time later...aaaah!We hiked 2-miles to The Pinnacle for lunch. Crazy Pace had told me there was a beautiful view of the valley over a rocky ledge of The Pinnacle. We walked down the ledge and I took a picture of the beautiful valley below.I wanted to get another picture, one with more rocks, so I stepped backwards and lowered my left leg into a crevice about 18' deep....yaahahaha!!! My foot was six inches from, not one, not two, but three coiled Copperheads. Had I checked my footing a second later, Eric would have been dragging my venom-filled body for help. The instant I spotted them, I sprang up three feet in the air...screaming...adrenaline coursing through my body. Holy Crap! Slowly, and with extreme caution, we tiptoed around the ledge scouting the territory. Not a minute later we saw our fifth Copperhead of the day-coiled near the rocks we had crossed just 5-minutes earlier. Undoubtedly, we each had stepped directly above it. Crazy Pace told me it was The Pinnacle but not The Pinnacle of the Coiled Copperhead!"As Jessica approached we greeted her with, "Watch out for Copperheads!" Half petrified, she arrived at the ledge, unbitten about 2-minutes later. We ate lunch on the flattest rocks we could find to avoid hidden serpents. We were only 10-feet away from them...wow! Chipmunks-so cute-visited us while we ate. One of them headed towards the Copperhead ridge so I poured out cracker crumbs for it on the rocks. I don't know if Copperheads eat chipmunks, and I didn't want to find out either. My ploy worked and our little friend came up to us, only about 6-inches away. When we'd finished we said goodbye to all our chipmunk friends. After scooting past the last Copperhead on the way out, a huge Black Rat Snake was hanging out in the tree above. I said goodbye to him, too, and we hiked on.The next 5-miles were a breeze. The trail was a gravel road and we all walked side-by-side. We talked about movies and bad pick-up lines and a plethora of other things before reaching the creek. We rested and filled water, anticipating a 2.5-mile climb. The climb was rocky and fairly steep. I thought I was an out-of-shape bum until I saw that Eric and Jessica were glistening with sweat, too. Exhausted, we reached Dan's Pulpit. Unlike the last pulpit, there were no Copperheads...WooHoo! I prefer churches where the pastors don't handle the snakes.We were planning to do 4.5 more miles, but it was rocky. While I usually like rocks, it was late and they were slowing us down. After a mile we called it quits and set up camp near a spring. Eric helped me set up the hammock, on loan from Crazy Pace and then we ate around the campfire circle. After some beef ramen, I said goodnight to my two friends and headed to the hammock. While it feels weird, the hammock is actually comfortable and I was ready for bed.But first, a few final comments:Beatbox's Obvious Note of the Day: "I think I like the chipmunks better than the Copperheads.Science Notes: 1. Sometimes small snakes have more venom than large ones since they have not used it up. 2. Large black snakes that are wider with a white belly are Black Rat Snakes. The others are Black Racers.Quote of the Day: Beatbox-"What do you think would happen if we peed on a Copperhead?" Eric-"There are some things I don't pull out in front of Copperheads!"Fun Moment: We went through an "ecological sensitive" area. We were sure to avoid ecologically insensitive remarks and kept our language ecologically correct (I'm retarded).Best Pick-Up Line: (Courtesy of Coyote)"Do you have any duct tape?...cause I'm ripped!!!Big Thought: Despite rocks and chaffing, Pennsylvania may be my favorite state so far due to the amazing people I have met both on and off the trail. So much Magic!Enough of my silly thoughts!Goodnight: Beatbox ttt