Date: 2005-06-05
From: The Pavilion - Port Clinton, PA

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Miles hiked today : 16.315.2 AT miles + 0.7 miles of side trail + 0.4 wrong way milesI woke up at 6:10 a.m. to the sound of the southbound section hiker talking at full volume. There was nobody else in the pavilion, so I imagine his exclaimation of "The neighbor has chickens!" must have been directed at me. As I packed, I deftly fielded questions such as, "Will my socks dry overnight?" and "Are there any campsites between here and Duncannon?" While packing, I noticed an occupied bird nest lodged in one of the support beams of the pavilion and was able to get some close shots of what appeared to be a robin. I headed out at 6:55 a.m., eating breakfast on the go.On my way out of town, I saw the sobo section hiker walking toward me on the piece of trail that I was about to cover. I didn't have time to ask what happened, as he was already telling me that he'd accidentally walked back to the highway rather than proceed through town.Around 8:30 a.m., I passed a couple of sobo section hikers talking with Shades of Blue. They told us about the amenities available at the Eckville Shelter, specifically a solar shower, as well as donation based soda and ice cream. That was certainly good news and I continued on my way, arriving at the Windsor Furnace Shelter at 9:55 a.m.Upon my arrival, there was a group of overnight campers packing up to leave. They offered me apples, bagels, oatmeal, and a big box of packaged fruit snacks. I declined the oatmeal and bagels, but took the fruit snacks and ate 3 apples. I stayed for an hour total, chatting with Shades of Blue before moving along.I reached Pulpit Rock at 11:40 a.m. and spent 5 minutes taking in the view before pushing on to The Pinnacle, arriving at 12:50 p.m. The Pinnacle is a pile of huge rocks with an excellent view of Lehigh Valley. I also was treated to my first sightings of both rattesnakes and copperheads. Interestingly, there was a group of day hikers searching for snakes and pulling them out from under the rock ledges. I managed to snap pictures of both the rattlers, and the copperheads and, in all, I believe that I saw 3 of each, though I may have confused the identification of one of the rattlers. On one of the adult rattlers, I was able to count 6 buttons on the rattle. I stayed at The Pinnacle for 30 minutes before continuing on at 1:20 p.m.I had a 5.3 mile walk from The Pinnacle to Hawk Mountain Road, which leads to the Eckville Shelter. I reached the road at 3:15 p.m. and turned left to walk 0.2 mile up the hill to the shelter. After 5 minutes, I arrived at a driveway with what looked like a shelter, so I dropped my pack and pulled out the data book to see if there was a street address listed. I quickly saw that I'd walked the wrong direction, put my pack on, and walked back down the hill, arriving at Eckville Shelter at 3:30 p.m.Eckville Shelter is actually on the property of a gentleman who goes by "Lazee" and acts as caretaker. Upon arriving, I put my pack in the shelter and was looking at the site map of Lazee's yard, when I noticed a sign regarding a mess left at the 501 Shelter. The note said "The following hikers left a mess at the 501 Shelter" followed by a list of names and concluded with "plus others that did not sign the register." My name was among those listed and I was shocked to see such a note. I had stayed at the 501 Shelter until 10:00 a.m. and had made sure that all the trash in and around the shelter was picked up before I left. A few of the names listed on the note hadn't even been at the 501 Shelter the night I stayed, which made me uncertain as to whether I was even there for the mess in question.Shortly after my arrival, Lazee came out of the house and I asked him about the note. He asked my name, to which I replied, "Senator," and he shook his head back and forth disapprovingly. Lazee said that the caretaker of the 501 Shelter had called about the fire pit being left in shambles and a pile of beer cans laying around, neither of which was obvious when I left. He asked whether I was staying the night and I said, "If I may." Lazee didn't reply, though I promised him that there wouldn't be a mess when I left in the morning.After talking with Lazee, I headed to the solar shower. Although the water was very cold, it felt extremely good, as it had been humid today and the high temperature was near the mid 80s. After my shower, as I sat journaling, Lazee asked whether there were any more hikers listed on the 501 Shelter note that would be passing through. I told him that I was the last and with that, he tore down the sign. That made me happy, as it would have been somewhat embarassing for my friends behind me to see that sign and speculate. Regardless, I still left an entry in the register defending myself. Around 5:00 p.m., I was joined by Shades of Blue and some section hikers.After journaling, I made myself dinner and then settled in to read. I'm feeling good today, as the trail wasn't too rocky and the weather was rather nice. While hiking today, I heard from locals and SOBOs that the 8.6 mile section between Wind Gap and Fox Gap is the worst in terms of rocks. I suppose that gives me something to look forward to in a few days.Bedtime at 10:00 p.m.