Date: 2009-07-26
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: moderate rain

I woke up early so that I could get moving en route to the Pinnacle, where I would be meeting Kelly and Megan. It was quite overcast and as soon as I left the shelter, it started pouring. By the time I reached the Pinnacle, Kelly and Megan were still ascending the steep yellow-blazed trail. It was only 500 feet in elevation, but it really did go straight up. So, I left my pack at the Pinnacle, scampered my way .4 miles across the rocks to the yellow-blazed trail and started heading down the steep embankment. I caught them within 10 minutes and, after exchanging hugs, I grabbed their packs and started the steep climb up. With this climb, I¢m glad that they were able to embrace how the trail normally is ¢ for most of the states on the AT. Thus far and aside from the rocks, Pennsylvania has been the easiest state. As my Keen shoes had become completely ripped up, I had glued them back together yesterday, but they were already coming apart again. Fortunately, after a few phone calls on Friday afternoon, I was able to coordinate ordering another pair through Altrec.com and the return and credit of the pair that was banged up. I already had an extra new pair of Keens at my aunt¢s house in Lancaster and with some logistical maneuvering, Megan was able to pick up the shoes in West Reading from Becky¢s house (Kathy¢s sister) and bring them up today. It was quite a relief to have good hiking shoes again. I really enjoyed the Pinnacle view. Obviously, it wasn¢t the clearest of days, but there were these whispy clouds in the distance rolling over the hills and farmland in the distance. It was nice to be breathing Berks County air again. Kelly had brought along some tasty ham and turkey sandwiches for me and Megan. We sat on the rocks to have lunch and managed to catch up on life and happenings. Kelly had just purchased a ¢three-story closet¢ in downtown Philadelphia, a sign of the success that she has had in the pharmaceutical marketing industry. Megan has been living in Los Angeles over the past five years, although she has recently become disillusioned with the entertainment industry and decided to move back to the East Coast. As we packed up to leave, we met Dreamcatcher on the way out. She kept telling Megan and Kelly that she had some pretty naughty stories about ¢Tully¢ and kept asking Megan and Kelly if they would like to share any with her from our youth. Both M + K were very impressed that Dreamcatcher, at 60 years old, has been out here hiking since Georgia ¢ all on her own. As I said in a previous post, Dreamcatcher is the sweetest lady from Tennessee. The next five miles were some of the easiest miles on the trail. It was a lovely low-graded decline down to Hawk Mountain Road, where we went to check out Eckville Shelter. It was one of the nicer shelters on the trail, so Megs and Kelly didn¢t get the best feel for the griminess that is out there. Megs had brought along some small scissors and I proceeded to cut my mustache, as it continued to grow and tickle my nose every time that I went to eat or move it. Now, the mustache is almost entirely bare, but with a full-out beard over the rest of my face. In the shelter register, we signed with our trail names: Me, Tully; Kelly, Freckles (Jugs); Megan, Hollywood (or something else that I can¢t remember ¢ maybe Mulberry or something). Thank you, Megan and Kelly, for meeting me out on the trail and special thanks to Megan for helping to bring my new Keen shoes!!! Big ups to Megs! We parted ways and I filled up my water bottles in preparation to go. Macaroni had arrived when Kelly and Megs were still there, and I met the Frenchie Blah Blah crew (Dorian and Virginia), who are from the French Alps and talk a lot, hence the reason for their ¢blah blah¢ trail name. Buttchinz and Big Camera arrived shortly, thereafter. Originally, I had planned on pushing on to PA 309 (867-5309 ¢ you know, the song), but after flirting with some nasty thunderstorms, I decided not to risk it ¢ especially with these rocks. Instead, it turned out to be a very full house at the shelter: Buttchinz, Big Camera, Dreamcatcher, Rufio, Hot Chocolate, Frenchie Blah Blah, and Big Zen. The water source here was 12 mile down a steep embankment, which I had to do in my flashy orange crocs. Ohhh, the joys of finding water on the trail.