Date: 2003-06-07
From: Devils Racecourse Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelters 
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: moderate rain

The shelter last night was quite old and crappy-looking, but I didn't have any of the mouse problems I thought I would. Devils Racecourse is a boulderfield where water runs under it, heard but not seen. It was pretty cool, but the effect was ruined a bit by the sound of a lawnmower off in the distance. Another thing about Maryland: the AT always seemed to be near houses and roads, and along with that comes lawnmower noises, dogs barking, and traffic. Oh well.I thought I'd get through ONE state with no rain; that state being Maryland. And staying the night less than 5 miles south of the Pennsylvania border, I thought I had a good chance. I was horribly, horribly wrong. Around 3:45 this morning, the rain started falling lightly. I jumped out of my sleeping bag, so I could put my rain cover on my pack, which was hanging just under the overhang of the shelter roof. While I was up, I went pee, then crawled back in my bag. I had a headache and didn't sleep really well for the rest of the morning. The rain kept falling, and none of the five of us in the shelter were excited to get up and moving once daylight came. Well, near-daylight anyway. I was the first to venture out around 8am, when I went to the privy. I put on my rain jacket, but the rain was hardly falling. The big drops were falling from the soaked trees when the wind blew. Back in the shelter, the rain sounded a LOT worse than it was, due to the metal roof. Relu! ctantly, we started doing our morning chores, such as fetching the now-wet food bags from the trees, eating breakfast, putting on stinky, wet hiking clothes, and stinkier, wet shoes and socks. Mule left first, followed by Paparazzi. The rain picked up, as Hotdog and I left next, with B-Roc not far behind.The "trail" was a stream. At the junction of the shelter's blue-blaze trail and the AT, there was a pool of water 30' in diameter, and no choice but to go through. It was only an inch or so deep. But that wasn't much compared to what I'd see later. On the sloped parts of the trail, which most of the trail is, the AT was a stream, flowing rapidly downhill, bouncing and falling over and around rocks, roots and sticks. I started out trying to keep my feet as dry as possible, but after slipping a few times, decided I'd be better off if I just plowed through the water. So I did. For the rest of the day. No rock-hopping. No stepping over puddles (mostly because there weren't JUST puddles). I splished and splashed through the middle. At one point, the trail was a major drainage path for the over-abundance of water, and I found myself walking through water 6 inches deep, and rushing past me. This was within 0.2mi of leaving Maryland. No escaping Maryland dry. That was ! for sure!We all knew there was a county park within 5 miles of the shelter. Pen-Mar Park supposedly had a snack bar, open on the weekends, and we were all headed there. Hotdog and I arrived, located the snack bar, and found our information to be incorrect. The snack bar was only open on Sundays. At least we got to sit at picnic tables under a pavilion. Soon, Paparazzi and B-Roc joined us, and we sat shivering, eating lunch. We all stayed for almost an hour and had to get moving to warm up.We crossed the state line, and therefore the Mason-Dixon line too, and made sure Paparazzi, an Alabama resident, had his picture taken there. It didn't mean much to me really, and with the rain, my camera was buried in my pack anyway. I was glad another state was behind me. And glad to be leaving Maryland.The four of us cruised on, coming to PA16 shortly before 2pm. Paparazzi suggested going into the little town of Blue Ridge Summit for some real grub. We hmmm'ed for a while, and all but B-Roc decided to go for it. We stuck out our thumbs, looking for the kind soul who'd take three smelly, soaked, dirty hikers into town for food. Cars passed. Some drivers waved. Truckers honked, but Paparazzi and I were asking them too anyway. Hmmm... cross the Mason-Dixon line and all of a sudden no one will stop for us??? Hmmm... Finally, a truck coming FROM town pulled into the lot near us. I recognized it as a truck that had just passed us by. He came back for us, and we gladly hopped in the back for the cold ride to town. He dropped us off at a diner, and even told us he'd give us a ride back to the AT when we were through, as he had some things to do right next door. His name was Joe Benchof of J&B Real Estate, and said he'd like to hike all or at least part of the AT somed! ay. We were very grateful! At the diner (Mountain something Diner), I had a 1/2# cheeseburger, fries, hot chocolate, and peanut butter pie. Not only was the food excellent, but it was so nice to be somewhere warm and dry. It was difficult to walk out the diner and get into the back of the pickup truck. Somehow, we all managed to do so, and once back on the trail, kept up a brisk pace to warm up. It didn't take long. It never does really.My big lunch/dinner was being digested rapidly, and I was thankful when I saw Deer Lick Shelters. Actually, I was most thankful when I saw the privy at Deer Lick Shelters. As it turns out, Mule and B-Roc were there, and they were staying. Hotdog and I were fueled by beef, and decided to go on, despite the rumors of a Boy Scout troop headed to the same destination as us.The trail, once in Pennsylvania, seemed to have much better drainage, and there were a lot less wet parts. It seemed strange to me, since the PATC takes care of the trail in Maryland and Pennsylvania, that there would be such a marked difference in the condition of the trail. I was thankful, whatever the reason, but still wasn't avoiding any puddles. My feet were wet anyway, why avoid water? At one point I did, though. Just before Antietam Shelter, there was a creek to cross. Actually, it was a raging river at this point. We looked at the footbridge going across the "creek." There was water several inches above the bridge, speeding by. We also noticed a "high-water route" and decided it was safer to take that route. I'm all for following all of the white blazes, but in this case, I'd rather have the opportunity to continue my hike than to take a chance at a mishap that could've been prevented. The blue-blaze reconnected with the AT about 1/2mi later.When we got to Tumbling Run Shelters, indeed there was a Boy Scout troop here. A pack leader asked if we were staying, and when we said 'Yes', she asked 'Snoring or Non-Snoring'. "Uh... snoring." She went to the shelter marked 'Snoring' and told the boys to move out. They grabbed their stuff and soon the shelter was empty. The floor was quite wet, but we waited for a couple of hours before setting our beds up, and it was mostly dry then.There is a section-hiker in this shelter too, and it's nice to have only three in a shelter. It's good to have room to move. The Boy Scouts have been good, not too rowdy, and are quiet tonight. As I am in the "Snoring" shelter, with two snorers, I cannot say the same for my sheltermates. It's a good thing I have earplugs. I'm ready for a good night's sleep, as I didn't sleep much after the rain started early this morning, and had a headache from them until lunchtime today. The weather is supposed to clear, and supposedly summer temps are on the way. I'll believe it when I see it.