Date: 2004-07-11
From: Rausch Gap Shelter 

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Two hours ago we crossed a major landmark, one to which I've been looking forward for several weeks --- the 1174.1 mile goal, or, stated in a more exuberant way, less than 1000 miles remaining! We sit here tonight having reached the three-digit mark of 995.1. Only illness or serious injury will keep me from Katahdin!It's been an okay day. The woods of Pennsylvania through which we are marching do not fall into the spectacular category, but they are pleasant nevertheless. There is one particular weed with a five-inch white plume stretching up four feet off the ground. The plant is quite prolific and lovely. However I was mighty bummed today to realize the somewhat noxious odor we encounter on occasion is originating from these blooms! On the more positive side of vegetative growth were the rhododendron blooms we passed by yesterday and the ripe red and black raspberries we picked and devoured today. The woods are full of raspberry bushes loaded with berries which only just now are ripening. Many of today's miles have yet to be weed-whipped, so we also received a good deal of scratches from those same bushes. One monstrous climb greeted us just before the noon hour. I find myself singing corny campfire tunes with 129 verses to help boost my body to the top. It works, but the steeper the climb, the slower the tempo. My brisk, cocky allegro was a ponderous largo by the end! Did I really climb the mountains of Georgia and the Smokies?! And am I really going to be able to climb the Presidentials and the Whites in New England?! We're getting spoiled with the easy, flattish terrain of this middle section. But then, we're doing from 16 to 20 miles per day too. We'll be cutting back to 10 or 12 in a month or six weeks.Rattler country!! Ursa Minor stopped abruptly and backed into me. Then I heard the rattles. Right smack in the middle of the trail six feet dead ahead was a gorgeous fat rattlesnake. I'm so glad God thought to give it rattles as an audible warning before we are in striking distance! It didn't want to move so we beat a path through the weeds and went around. The lovely creature didn't coil; after we were safely around, it slithered off the trail. I had been hoping to see and hear a rattlesnake in a closer proximity than I've experienced to date. This was it ... and I appreciated the magnificence of its presence.As we were setting up our tents I told Ursa Minor how grungy and negative I was feeling, probably the yuckiest I've felt the entire hike. I was hot, sweaty, smelly and scratched up, and my tent stakes kept hitting rocks or tree roots. But once again, the Lord doth provide. Coming into this lovely shelter we found Trail Dog and Spin Cycle enjoying pizza and calzone and salad. We devoured their proferred leftovers and proceeded to phone in an order for Caesar salads with Sampson and Father Ounces's pizza order. Between the two courses I took advantage of the outdoor barrel shower. Yeppers -- the Lord doth provide and I really didn't have to grumble that much. 501 is about 32' x 24' with 12 bunks and an 8-10 foot octagon skylight in the center. But it's warm in here. The air outside is cooling, so it's off to our tents with full tummies, clean bodies, and smiling faces to end a pretty nice day.