Date: 2018-09-20
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Near Schubert's Gap, PA
Miles today: 16.6

In the dark I walked to 3C's restaurant using my headlamp. I got there just after they opened at 6 a.m. No other customers were there yet. The waitress talked and laughed like Fran from the TV show "The Nanny."I ordered French toast, two orders of sausage patties and, for later today, two steak, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches. After I ate and paid my bill the waitress wished me well, told me to be safe, and said "God bless you." It was light out when I left and I headed back to the pavilion carrying my two breakfast sandwiches. At the pavilion I packed up my gear. I took the foil wrapped breakfast sandwiches out of the Styrofoam container and slid them into an empty bagel bag I had. I also decided to annex the Merrells left in the hiker box that I liked. I left at 7:30. I was on the trail at 7:40 but immediately had to stop across from the fire station to fix the bandage on my corn. It was too much pain at first but after adjustment it felt better. The trail followed the road across the Little Schuylkill River and then left into the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern rail yard. I could see the excursion passenger cars up ahead as I crossed the main branch of the Schuylkill River. After I crossed four or five sets of tracks the trail climbed steadily up the mountainside. On top I stopped and ate my first breakfast sandwich. It was great. Steak, egg, cheese and peppers. Oh! The trail was pretty good during the morning. Only a few rocky sections. At noon I saw two Nobo section hikers taking a break. One guy said he was glad to see me. They were having the same problem I had all morning - spider webs! He told me they cleared them off the trail for me and I said I did the same for them. I didn't get his name but his friend's name was Dancer, his trail name and his real name. They are hiking from Duncannon to Port Clinton to break in their gear. Next year they plan to do the whole Appalachian Trail. We talked a bit then I headed out. I hope they do well. At 2 p.m. I stopped at the access trail to Eagle's Nest Shelter. I sat down and ate the other breakfast sandwich. It was fabulously luscious. I like those fancy words. Seriously, they made really great breakfast sandwiches for me. I'll have to drive there when I finish the trail. PA-183 was a dangerous crossing. The trail came out of the woods to meet the four lane highway on the inside of a curve. I stepped out a few times only to step back fast. I made it to the double lines and had to wait there for a truck in the next two lanes to go by. After the Fort Dietrich Snyder marker the trail condition deteriorated. The old road for miles was eroded and full of puddles. Various trails the hikers made going around the bad areas left me wondering which was the real trail. The trail was just as bad 20 years ago, I remember. I saw a guy sitting on a log. I think I startled him. He said he was listening to the bio of Mister Rogers. The hiker's name was Hot Rocks. He is the first Sobo I've seen in 10 days. He began a week before I did. I was looking for a site to camp and, as we both headed out, I told him to go on ahead. He was heading to the 501 Shelter. The trail got better and there was thick mountain laurel for a few miles but no campsite. Finally, at 6:50, I saw a site and stopped. Right now the katydids are calling and, as I have for a few days, can hear the traffic of I-78 somewhere down the mountain.