Date: 2013-06-27
From: Duncannon

To: Peters mountain shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: light rain

6.27.13 - day 88Stardust Motel - peters mountain Shelter11.3 miles - 6 hours- met Trail Angel Mary, quite a colorful character, literally, with tye dye rainbow shirt, in '90s era vacation van complete with tv & vcr, with a nice selection of vhs movies. Blaupunkt speaker system blasting Pink Floyd. Gave us a hug as we were leaving, said if we ever think of quitting, think of her standing behind us saying quitting is not an option! Very friendly & helpful, thanks! - hiked out of town & over the Susquehanna river. Last time i saw this river was July 4 last year visiting Pittsburgh (where the great Mike Ditka originates), where the river originates. Pitt was awesome, saw the Cubs play Pirates@ PNC Park, cool stadium, nice view of bridge & town behind the outfield. Cubs lost when bases loaded bottom 9th 2 outs, pitcher balks in winning run, blah! I wish they had a Primanthi Brothers restaurant next to the trail, they'd make millions off hikers alone. Wish Philadelphia was closer too, cheesesteak would be so nice right now. Anyway, nice to see Susquehanna again.-Climb up to ridge after crossing famous canal railroad. Nice views of farms & rivers from the top. Rocky at top of ridge. Lunch at Clarks Ferry Shelter, the Beast from Houston who we met at Woods Hole hostel is there, Doc Bob shows up also. Continue on, sky darkens, slight drizzle grows heavier, we cross over PA225, I see the Beast & RR took shelter near parking lot under trees with another fella. As i approach to take cover, the white haired gentleman says to me would you like a Coke or Mountain dew? Coke please! He is trail angel Iceman, section hiker from nearby PA. He was going to do trail magic in another part of the trail, took different exit & set up shop here instead. Cool thing is he recognize me from this trail journal site which he read the night before, awesome thanks for reading & for the trail magic also Iceman! - Another car pulls in, it is Ursa Major (cool hiker girl) & Ursa Minor (her dog trail mate). Zero day for her today, visiting parents are doing trail magic with her. I learn they are from 2 towns over from where i live. Small world. They offer grapes & peaches, thanks!- Rain stops we continue to shelter, after 10 minutes, thunder can again be heard, dark skies to the west approaching. I speed up, quickly looking at overlooks & viewpoints, trying to make it to shelter before approaching storm. The Beast & i make it there first, safe & dry despite the wind & rumbling thunder. Very dark out for this hour. PL, RR & Doc Bob arrive, 5 minutes later strong rain drops fast & hard, lasts for a while. We set up bags & make dinner while rain falls outside shelter. I make mash potatoes, albacore tuna with chipotle peppers & dolmas. A stray cat wanders close to the shelter, can be seen once in a while. Plan out tomorrow as best we can knowing whole week calls for hot, humid & rain. Patchouli & Barbosa show up just before dark, raining on & off now, should rain overnight too. Early curfew for early start. Listening to Richard Pryor greatest hits comedy standup album, he is my fav by far, timeless, edgy, original hilarious material. -BLACKHAWKS PARADE & celebration occurs tomorrow, wish i could be there to join in this moment of Chicago history. So proud of the victory, so much fun to watch last game. What a great win for the team & the whole city!