Date: 2004-07-15
From: William Penn Shelter

To: PA 325 Campsite
Miles today: 24.1

Officially, I have less than 1,000 miles left. Today is my 4-month trail anniversary, and I hiked a huge day! I¢ve now covered 1,185 miles, leaving only 989 miles remaining. ¢Only 989 miles¢¦ha!¢ I¢m delirious from the long day, my tent is falling apart, I¢ve already slaughtered eight bugs, and now I hear thunder. It should be a fun night! My day went well in many ways even though I¢m beat and cranky. (*I¢m going to sleep, but will finish this in the morning.*)Hello again! The rain held off and I¢m rested and dry. Now about my day yesterday: I awoke to the rustling and bustling of the shelter around 7:30 am. I quickly packed and said good-bye to Jester, Arms, Booboo and the crew. By 8:00 am I was ready to depart with a modest goal of 29-miles. As Gordy and I left, we were both in our own little zones. The first part of the trail was flat, but laden with thorns on both sides. I was cut up pretty badly, but I pushed on. After 4-miles, I saw three familiar faces: Gaia, Yoda and Mad Scientist. The four of us had all started on the same day and here we were together again. The moment was sweet and we enjoyed it. Gordy soon caught up and we said good-bye to the crew.Apparently Gordy had fallen behind due to a case of the ¢unexpected poo.¢ It was now my turn. I bounded off the trail, through poison ivy and over rocks where I had to drop shorts before I had even dug a hole¢¦UGH! I did my best to destroy the evidence of my ¢Peanut Butter Poop¢ and get back on the trail to catch Gordy. The trail descended through a rocky decline for 2-miles where I spotted an ¢orange blaze¢ sign that said: Appalachian Trail Detour.The trail led straight into a construction area below I-81 (4th crossing). I walked right under a crane and by a Port-A-John. It was strange, to say the least. Soon I caught up to Gordy just over a cool bridge. We picked raspberries and ate peanut butter while I recounted to her my jaunt into the woods. We were about to head out when two northbound hikers arrived. One of them, named Pokey, offered to let us use his cell phone. Gordy called her mom and I paid my credit card bill. It was a delightful blessing before we moved on. As we left, the two hikers warned us that we were going to get wet.The next 3-miles were lovely. The aura of pine and flowers embraced us as the sun approached its mid-day resting place. We crossed under a bridge where four small children were tossing rocks in a creek. We passed black-eyed susans, butter-n-eggs, jewelweed, daisies, chicory and a large pink flower with a dark center (wish I had my flower books!). I was lost in wonder as the creek crossing drew nigh. At the creek, the rainwater ran far above the rocks hikers usually rely on to stay dry. I giggled as I plunged my feet in and forded the rushing water. Gordy did likewise and we made it across and took two ridiculous pictures. The field section of the trail was coming to end and so was my energy.The next two miles were solidly uphill and I was sapped. I had an idea: ¢Ignore the tiredness and hike even faster.¢ That is what I did. Soon my body caught up with my mind and I again entered, ¢the zone.¢ I caught up and passed Gordy, and sweating profusely, I conquered the hill. About four miles later, I slowed up to enjoy my pine grove surroundings. We had covered 13.5 miles when we stopped for lunch.We let lunch go and just relaxed. Gordy tried to convince me that women like to be called, "mama." This is only a small taste of our ridiculous conversation! About an hour later we forced ourselves to leave, despite a lack of desire coupled with an almost simultaneous onset of "chaffing"...ugh! We were tired, but thankfully our walking was flat and not too rocky, with even more pines. Our spirits soon picked up with a round of "The Song Game," eight songs containing the word, river; six with the word, dream; four with the word, sky; and twelve with the word, love. Later, when our voices were tired, we realized we had covered another 4.6 miles. With 17.9 miles down for the day, we took another break. Even as we sat down, "Unchained Melody" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" ran through my head.We took our break at the Yellow Village Campsite. There we mourned our chaffing and ate more peanut butter. While we sat and joked, a girl named Amanda arrived. She was scared of us at first, but then she joined in our joking. She soon changed Gordy¢s name to ¢Grody¢ due to the mud all over her, and the chaffing. She then gave us ¢ButtR,¢ a chaffing prevention product. It didn¢t work any better than the Vaseline, though ¢a**butter¢ is a far more humorous product. After more inane moments and much laughter, we left around 5:30 pm.We began our next 3.4 miles after Gordy and I applied anti-chaffing cream, with our backs to each other. I quipped, "If someone walked up on us this way, they might get the wrong idea." Just as I finished my sentence, Rider approached with a, "Whoa!" Embarrassed and laughing, we ceased application and turned to meet Rider, Kip, 9-Monkeys and Krispy (not the knitter). We exchanged basic questions and I soon realized that 9-Monkeys is Rally¢s brother. I told him where she was and that she missed him. As soon as we ended our conversation, I turned into a zombie. I remember very little of the next 3.4 miles other than pines, rocks, silence and fatigue. We were both shot at our last break point, but we agreed to push on towards the road. The last 3-miles were downhill and rocky, with a steep wall of talus to our right. We reflected on the age and character of the Appalachians and just how cool it is to walk over the oldest mountains on earth. Just as the evening was picking up, Gordy slipped on a rock and aggravated an already sprained ankle. Frustrated, she yelled for a while and then returned to normal. We pushed in quiet over the rocks. The rocks of PA are cool, but they can be dangerous. We saw both of these truths during our last 3-miles, before we reached our campsite and found a reward in the creek-a cold can of Dr. Pepper.It was awesome to have my first caffeinated beverage in several days. I¢m an addict! Still, I was tired and dusk was approaching. Gordy set up her hammock that has a tarp that is too short. I gave her my bear rope to cut up in order to secure her tarp. It still looked rough. I set up my tent with the broken back pole. I used two sticks as extra stakes and duct tape for a patch, but my tent is lopsided and simply looks ridiculous. If anyone happens by, our campsite looks like it houses the two worst thru-hikers ever. To finish the night, I returned to zombie mode. I said goodnight to Gordy, cooked lasagna, rinsed out my pot and put it in my food bag that was not hung because Gordy had my bear rope. I think I wrote about eight lines in my journal and passed out. Ahh! (I'm writing this in the morning so all is well. No bears came to maul us during the night). I always write more if I walk more. My next entry should not be as long. We have 18 more fun-filled miles to again reach Duncannon and The Doyle, the end of my brief, but enjoyable, 70-mile soundbound experience. Gordy will meet her mom in Duncannon and with regrets we will split up. My hope is that I will see my singing friend again before Maine. Until I write again, God bless.Beatbox ttt