Date: 2004-06-09
From: Shippensburg Road

To: Sheet Iron Road
Miles today: 19.5

In spite of getting to sleep after midnight I was awake by 5:30. I just had to take another hot shower before heading out on the trail. The weather report was for temps to be in the 90's and we wanted to get an early start. Plus I was hoping to finish early enough to pick up my mail drop at Boiling Springs before heading to Harrisburg. Rosie had offered to shuttle me to Harrisburg where I will pick up a rental car so I could attend a wedding. After todays hike I will be off the trail until at least Monday. Anyway, we loaded up and headed back to the trail after a brief stop at McDonalds where I was able to load up on some fast calories and coffee. We started hiking shortly after 7:30 and already the heat was building up. Rosie was waiting for us at the first road crossing and had cold drinks on hand. I don't know how she finds some of these out of the way places but she hasn't failed yet. We stopped at Toms Run Shelter and I was surprised to see a spring flowing from only a few feet from the privy. The insects were unbelievable and eager to have us for lunch so we quickly moved on. We arrived at Pine Grove Furnace SP and headed to the store to try to join the half gallon club. It is a custom for thru-hikers to attempt to eat a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. Half way finished with the trail - half gallon. Some thru-hiker actually was able to figure some correlation between the two. Well, it wasn't going to happen today. They were sold out. I had a few scoops of their other ice cream and a banana and some more coffee. As soon as I finished they got a delivery of half gallons. I'll have to try it on my next thru-hike. We continued on and made a stop at the lake where there is a nice sandy beach. I enjoyed the views and almost took a dip but decided to try to beat the post office closing time instead. Pez and I stopped for photos at the midpoint marker which is no longer at the midpoint. At Hunters Run Road I said my goodbye's to Pez as he would be staying on the trail while I attend the wedding. Rosie was at the road with drinks and his pack. I quickly consumed a Pepsi and headed up the trail. After crossing PA34 I came to what looked like a new road being built across the trail. There was earth moving equipment and the road cut right through the trail. I was wondering if I had made a wrong turn but that wasn't the case. I met Rosie at the designated location and as usual she was busy picking up trash from around the trailhead. We got to Boiling Springs plenty early to pick up my package. We then went across to the AT office to report the road construction and to get some local info. Ross at the AT office was a big help and got me some info on local shuttlers so I may find my way back to the trail on Monday. He also informed Rosie and me that he will go out first thing tomorrow to check out the road I told him about. Rosie and I then checked out the spring and headed over for a nice Italian dinner. She then drove me to Harrisburg where I checked into a motel and arranged for an early morning taxi to the airport. I will be renting a car and driving the 750 miles to Atlanta. Two days later I will be driving back. Now I am going to crawl inside the sheets and enjoy the feel of cotton...I could easily slip back into civilization and become addicted to cotton again. But I am not yet ready to become a "cotton people" just yet. Goodnight,Lwop