Date: 2005-06-02
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Miles hiked today : 18.017.4 AT miles + 0.6 miles of side trailI tried to sleep in this morning, though I was awake at 7:15 a.m. and packed and hiking at 7:55 a.m. Within a mile, I passed the ruins of Rausch Gap Village. There weren't any structures to speak of, though there was a diversion well on site, which was the first of its type built in the United States.Leaving Rausch Gap Village, I had a rocky climb to the summit of Second Mountain, then a 915 foot descent over 4.4 miles to Swatara Creek. At 10:10 a.m., I arrived at the Waterville Iron Bridge over Swatara Creek and I stopped for a 20 minute lunch break with Doc. The bridge was originally over a branch of the Susquehanna River and was saved and relocated by a local historical group.Moving on from Swatara Creek, I was walking with Doc, Turtle, and Street Fighter. Street Fighter is a 21 year old from Kentucky and just about everything he says is extremely funny. We saw a pile of horse manure on the path and Street Fighter commented on how he and his friends used to throw it at one another. Then he picked up a piece and lobbed it at me, hitting the side of my pack! I didn't want to touch horse manure, and was looking for something to throw when I spotted a dead frog. I picked it up by one of its rear legs and threw it at him and missed, even though he didn't move. I picked it up and threw it again and it cleared his head by mere inches. Grr! Then Street Fighter smiled and picked the frog up and was holding it so close to is face that I thought he was going to lick it. He ended up discarding it after identifying it as a leopard frog.A short distance after the iron bridge, I had a steep climb, which was difficult in the heat. After the climb, the grade of the trail was basically level and the only difficulty was the frequent rocky patches.At 12:45 p.m., I tripped on an unknown obstacle and wasn't able to stop myself from falling. Cha-ching, fall #16. I hit knees first then landed on my palms. I thought I was done, but the momentum of my pack kept me going and I hit my head on a rock. Ouch!!! I couldn't get up without unbuckling my pack, as the weight had pinned me down on my chest. I laid there momentarily until Dad's Grin showed up and he checked my head to see whether it was bleeding. Fortunately, I wasn't bleeding and I took a 15 minute break before continuing on with a headache.I reached William Penn Shelter at 1:45 p.m. and stayed for a 65 minute snack and rest break. The William Penn Shelter marked the transition point to less than 1,000 miles remaining to Mount Katahdin.I quickly covered the 4.2 miles to the 501 Shelter, arriving at 4:20 p.m., by which time my headache had dissipated. There were 3 day hikers on site, Kelly, Rose, and Matt. Kelly was kind enough to give us a ride into town and we went to a market called Hornings, which is operated by Menonites. The prices were incredibly low and I believe that they were able to offer low prices because some of the goods were slightly damaged. I spent $11.06 and got two bags of groceries, mostly sweets for tonight and some fruit for the morning.Back at the 501 Shelter, which is an enclosed building with a huge skylight, we ate food prepared by Matt and also ordered pizza. I had earlier eaten a pint of ice cream and drank a quart of chocolate milk, so I was stuffed by the end of my meal.After dinner, we built a fire and sat around it talking and listening to guitar music played by a local, Kevin, who had provided a hitch to Doc and others. Tomorrow is a shorter day, so I'm going to try to sleep in.Bedtime at 10:15 p.m.