Date: 2016-05-26
From: Wiliam Penn Shelter

To: Hertlein Campsite
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: clear sky

I made it through the night at the shelter. No mice or bears bothered me, or my food. I slept pretty decently. My heel continues to split open every morning. I have to clean it up with alcohol wipes and apply neosporin and all my blister wrappings. The amount of blister tape keeps increasing. I basically need to just tape up my entire foot at this point.I think I ate a pop tart for breakfast, then I separated my lunch and granola bars from my food bag to places in my pack for easy access. I hiked up the hill and over the AT trail and back down to much needed water. As I filled my camelbak, a surprise visitor came down for water. I couldn't believe it, it was England!! He was apparently hurting too and ready for a break. He said he camped nearby last night and was headed 2 miles up the road and was going to hitch into town and take the day off. I was super jealous but happy that he made that choice. We parted ways and off I hiked.The first 2 miles went by quickly, the second 2 not so much. By the 3rd mile, I reached a clearing in the trees with a gorgeous view. It was an open grassy field similar to ones where power lines run through, but there weren't any there. I dropped my pack, kicked off my shoes and socks then I walked down to the edge of the hill and sat in the sun, loving the view. I watched horses run around on a farm down below. I snacked on some trail mix, and I tried to relax and forget about my feet pain. The sun feels so good out here. It reminds me of home. I let my skin soak up the vitamin D that I've been needing since I left Florida. After about 30 min I got up and continued on to the shelter. Shortly, Perry and his dog, Mika, joined me on the trail and we walked there together. It was probably only .5 mile away. 501 shelter was very interesting. It looked like a great hangout place. Toothpick was there devouring pizzas with the group of people I ran into on the trail the night before. We all chatted a bit and I fought my urges to buy any food while I had so much weighing me down in my pack. I decided to shower first. It was an outdoor shower with a hose connected to barrels of water above my head. It was chilly! I used the gross soap bars left behind by other hikers - something I'd never be caught dead doing back in my old life. I tried to scrub off the top layers all around it first in the very least. I also chose the least hairiest bar of soap there was. LolI rinsed, then bathed, then rinsed. Then I just flipped my hair and rinsed it out. No shampoo or conditioner left behind for me unfortunately. I got dressed and headed back into the shelter. Still resisting my urge to splurge, I cooked some chicken noodle soup and ate it really slowly. Perry brought up buying pizza and before I knew it, I ordered a small one and garlic knots all to myself. I thought it was a terrible decision at the time, but in fact, it was JUST what my body needed. That and a long break. I stayed at 501 for about 3.5 hours. I knew I wanted to hike on to lessen my miles for the next day, but I was too scared to tent alone my first time. Thankfully, 2 new hikers came in: Dutch and Clean Skittles. They said they were also hiking on and I tried to get them to promise me they'd only go to the next campsite and no farther bc I was too! They left after eating a larger pizza each and went off to the campsite to find the rumored reservoir that they could fish in. I hung out at the shelter organizing my stuff, elevating my legs and chatting with Toothpick. She was zeroing there and I was really tempted to too, but I didn't want my group to get too much farther ahead. I really missed them. Especially once I heard about the huge party everyone had together in the 501 the night before. It was a big bummer that I missed out. Also, I must mention that while talking to Toothpick, I brought up my idiotic question I prompted Obi with the day before, you know the one that was tearing me to shreds, and I'm SO glad I did. She knew exactly where I was coming from, and without explanation, knew exactly what I meant and even felt the same way! It was so ironic and funny at the same time. I couldn't believe it. My anxiety level went from a 9 to a 4 after talking with her. I was so happy!!So I finally forced myself to pack up and hit the trail after my pizza digested. The elevation of my feet didn't help much, I haven't been able to see my ankle bones in idk how long, at least a week and a half. It was the best I could do for now.What I immediately noticed while hiking my last 5 miles, was how unbelievably great I felt! I could pretty much walk, run, and hop rocks as if it was day 1! Yes, it still hurt my feet, but I just had this groove and I went with it. Those were the fastest and easiest 5 miles id hiked since the beginning. I was so down and so low lately, it was insane how great I felt in those moments. They all kept saying what a morale booster pizza was, and oh how correct they were! I am so thankful I ordered that pizza. It got me through my evening.To top it all off when I got down to the campsite, the boys were there tenting, which made me really happy. AND the reservoir was so cool! It had a waterfall and a rope swing. You could swim in it! It was super neat and we had it all to ourselves. It was just so beautiful and one of my favorite places on the trail. I swam a little bit.. It was ICE cold. SO chilly. I couldn't go past my waste, I thought I was going to get frostbite. I did keep my feet soaked till they went numb and I washed my socks and shirt in the water. I was pleased with my decision to leave the 501 shelter and I fell asleep to the sounds of peaceful waterfall in the background that night. 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