Date: 2016-04-29
From: Deer Lick Shelter, PA

To: Trail of Hope Hostel, Fayetteville, PA
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 1913.2 miles in 7 hoursDeer Lick Shelters, PA (1069.0) to Trail of Hope Hostel, Fayetteville, PA (1082.2)Weather: Fog, drizzleDinner: Chicken, noodle casserole, coleslaw, veggies, chocolate cakeWildlife: Only birds heard in the mists of MordorHikers: For the first time, I passed no one all day; A bunch of Flip floppers here at the hostelNumber of falls to date: 1 (a surprise slip of the foot in any area with no real obstacles, that landed me on my bottom)The whippoorwill only called twice and my bag kept me (mostly) from shivering, but it was still a cold night and I still woke up regardless of the lack of noise. There are a few reasons (besides the obvious snorers, that point in time the ladies of my age find ourselves and of course the lack of my bed buddy of 32 years) that prevent me from soundly sleeping. One: I¢m stiff. The soles of my feet still tighten up at night; not in a Charlie horse way, but they still say things like ¢stretch me!¢ or ¢what the heck are you doing to us?¢ My hips will also tell me to roll over and when they do, I wake up. Second: I¢m attempting to rest fitfully each night confined within a burrito. I¢m a side sleeper and it's not unusual to have Sam roll over and find my knee near his face. A mummy sleeping bag doesn't provide that same kind of, shall we say, mobility. Many hikers have been switching from sleeping bags to sleeping quilts. Nera has one and showed me how she sleeps right on her Therm-o-rest (air mattress) and the quilt is on top of her. The theory is that you get little to no insulation factor when the bag is compressed under you. I¢m not sure if Nera actually sleeps right on the mattress, which strikes me as being potentially hot and sticky in summer, or as recently as ONLY TWO NIGHTS AGO, but last night I thought I give it a try repurposing my mummy bag. I took the equally restrictive, but added warmth of the silk liner I¢ve been carrying and inserted my air mattress in it, creating a sheet. I unzipped my bag fully and inserted the mattress into the box toe, allowing the bag to now form a top quilt and my legs to move much more freely. Even though I could see my breath, I do think the bag kept me as warm as if it had been all zipped up. Unfortunately, my hips kept waking me up. After several cups of hot protein broth and coffee, I was ready to find that hostel. I¢m liking Pennsylvania thus far. Besides yesterday's trail magic, the forests in this first section are coniferous: red and white pines, spruce, balsam. The next two shelters I passed today were in pretty locations adjacent to clear running brooks. I'm also fairly certain they would have been just as cold last night. Tumbling Run Shelters in particular were gems. A caretaker visits the location often and it was spotless. Two shelters designated ¢snoring¢ and ¢non snoring,¢ clotheslines, landscaping and stone stairways leading to the covered picnic table and a clean privy complete with toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Five stars! Alas, I only stopped for a snack and privy visit. Next was the 1.3 mile climb to Chimney Rocks, up into a cloud. Without wind, the occasional bird songs were muffled. It was so peaceful, and as yet, not too cold, that I even took the extra .2 mile blue blaze trail to the overlook even though I couldn't see anything.The trail then descended into more pine forests, over more rocks, into colder drizzle and finally to U.S. 30. I thought the hostel was a bit closer than it turned out to be, but it was still under a mile¢only that I walked against some seriously fast oncoming traffic. I can get a ride back to the trail head when I return. Laundry is done, dinner was served to me and my phone is again recharged. Tomorrow I am taking my first true zero. Maybe I can figure out a faster way to upload a few more photos. No blisters. No knee pain. My cough might finally be gone. All is well.