Date: 2016-05-17
From: Clark Ferry Shelter, Duncannon, PA

To: Stealth Camp
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 2716.7 miles in 10 hoursClarksville Ferry Shelter, 4.3 miles north of Duncannon, PA (1151.2) to Stealth Camp (Horse-Shoe Trail 1167.9)Weather: Light rain showers a.m., drizzly, heavy showers p.m.¢manageable thanks to my umbrellaDinner: Chicken primavera (excellent ramen, tomato and zucchini combo)Wildlife: Nothing notable noticed from under the umbrella, againHikers: The Clark Ferry Shelter Group, Sectional hiker ¢Ramen¢ hanging out at the Peters Mountain Shelter lunch break, two soaked day hikersIn spite of being on a top bunk without any railings, and wearing wool socks, wool long johns, a wool t-shirt, a long sleeve rayon shirt, wrapping the foot of my sleeping bag in my rain jacket and tucking my down jacket inside the bag like an short extra blanket due to the temperature drop, I slept really well. Might also have been due to no snorers in the house or the white noise of rain, which is what we woke up to. Today is a hard day to plan. The next shelter is only 6.7 miles away. The one after that is over 17 or 24 miles from where I stayed last night. Am planning to put the tent to use tonight, but it's a matter of when and where. And, it will likely have to be pitched in the rain, something I've been able to avoid this far due to the available and conveniently placed shelters. A few people I camped with last night are getting real sick of the rain. Apparently I missed a long streak while I was back in Wisconsin. One man decided to use the trail to quit smoking and has been on the trail for five weeks. He announced this morning that he was taking the next Greyhound bus home. It could also be that he crapped his pants (or so he said) when he thought he was getting attacked by an inquisitive bear. The beat turned out to be hiker¢s dog sticking its head inside the guy¢s tent while he was packing up. Tensions are high this morning. I started off with just my umbrella, but put on my rain jacket to help keep warm almost immediately after taking off. After a little while, Nova, one of the young women who stayed in the shelter, caught up to me. We hiked together to the Peters Mountain Shelter where we stopped for lunch and met up with other campers from the night before. Each of the shelters have trail journals, and this one was pretty new. I have been flipping back to see when the hikers I had been hanging out with before passed through. The first entry was dated May 10, by the trail crew. It stated that the last journal had been found burned in the fire pit and some knuckleheads had burned the shelter curtain, bulletin board and plant restoration fencing at this shelter. When I went to use the privy, an attempt to burn the signage had been made there too. There was Libertarian-like graffiti attributed to Thomas Jefferson stating a right to possess drugs, guns but without any government oversight scrawled on the outhouse door. Apparently Jefferson freely dropped the F-bomb in his oratorios. I did not know this. I may be making a jump here, but I¢d bet the farm that the noted quote and arson are related. After cooling down over lunch, it was time to get moving to heat back up. Nova and I started out together again. The rain had pretty much quit, so I stopped to stow my umbrella--and lost Nova to the mists. I¢m not having good luck hiking with people in fog. Within a few miles, I reached my 300 mile mark and stopped to commemorate it with a photo by an obscured foggy view. I caught up to Loony and Slug, who were planning on stopping at the next campsite, 11.1 miles from last night's shelter. I wanted to put on some more miles, so we said goodbye. When I passed it, I noticed that it was an awesome campsite. Great view (once the fog clears up), on the ridge and under pine trees. Am really hoping I can find the same in four more miles. This stretch didn't have many water sources (if you aren't counting the rain), which is another reason I wanted to push on. There were several springs beginning a mile after that campsite. The first one was at the bottom of a long descent. Then the rain started again. It was now around 5 p.m. And I figured I might as well keep hiking since stopping meant getting everything soaked. I started back up, in search of another perfectly placed site with my new water supply. And up. And up. The trail was great¢a mostly graded path with a gradual ascent, but no decent campsite options. And the rain was stopping. I now decided that I would take the first site that looked promising. Okay, maybe the second site. I could go a little farther. When I finally did stop, it was 6:45 p.m. I¢m camped alone by some rocks at the Horse-Shoe Trail turnoff. There is a commemorative plaque nearby that I didn't stop to read in full, but has something to do with a 121 mile long trail from Valley Forge by some historical figure. Tucked back in my dampish feeling sleeping bag listening to the dripping leaves and imagining ticks roaming in my hair. Turns out I did 16.7 miles which is a new high for me.