Date: 2014-06-19
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Campsite before PA 325
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: clear sky

Will add photo later.Grinder got up very early but was quiet. I saw him leave at 5:40, and I went back to sleep. Finally got up at 7, and Wings came down shortly after. We both made breakfast and packed up. He had told a wonderful story of trail magic last night. He got into Boiling Springs and ordered a big breakfast at the cafe, but he was not feeling well and barely touched it. A woman asked if he wanted it packed up, and he said yes. He asked her if there was a barber in town. He had very long hair and wanted it cut off. She said the barber was in Carlisle and offered to take him. He said he needed to go down to the campground for a shower first. She said he could shower at her house. She wound up doing his laundry, taking him to the barber and having him stay the night. A retired nurse, she had taken his temperature -- over 100 -- and then taken care of him. Wings said he is very glad he decided to hike the trail. He is learning things about himself and his hopes -- and now commitments -- for the future. He said he has taken too long with school and finding direction. He works at a restaurant where he really likes the owner, and he will go back to the job. But he will also get busy finishing his education, taking as many classes as he can until he is done. He is studying English and journalism and does some freelance writing.Wings left, I called Lee, and finally took off myself at 9:25. The trail continued to be fairly easy, with some rocky sections throw in, but I kept needing to adjust things. First my boot laces -- one was too tight, the other too loose -- and then my pack. For some reason, since I am sweating so much, the pack has rubbed a raw spot on the back of my right hip. After about 3 miles, it began to rain lightly, so I put on the pack cover. It was too hot for rain gear, so I decided just to get wet. Th rain was coming down harder, and as I walked, I devised a way to create a shelter with my tent footprint, so I could have a dry spot for lunch. I aimed for a campsite at 5.1 miles, and got there a little after 12:30. My plan worked, thanks to finding two trees close enough together for the para cord I keep in the bag with the tent pegs. I strung the line, attached the tabs on the head end of the footprint, and staked the tabs of the foot end to the ground. Room for me to sit with the pack behind me out of the rain. As I ate, I liked at the site -- nice and flat -- and thought how nice it would be to stay, especially since Weather Bug had rain and storms for the rest of the day. So, I wimped out and set up the rain fly with the footprint and hung the tent under it. Got everything organized, took off my wet clothes, and slept until 5. Naturally, I woke to no rain and clearing skies. Oh well. It is a lovely spot. I just need to be careful with water, since I had not planned on stopping before the first spring, another 1.3 miles.Had a quiet evening. Just two thru-hikers came by, Hemlock and Mex B. The latter recognized my name and said he had been trying to catch up to me before he had to get off the trail for four weeks just after Easter with a staph infection. He was a week behind me at McAfee Knob. He had thought about this site but needed to continue on to get water. I apologized for not having any to offer. Hemlock is younger. I said the Hemlock is my favorite tree, and it is his as well. He had planted some on his property, and the deer ate them them. I hope I will see them again. I need to get going early tomorrow to make up miles. It is supposed to be nice the next few days and not hot. Hooray! The rocks will dictate what I can do in the way of daily miles. Would still like to make Port Clinton Monday. Lee will send my next food box there.