Date: 2005-08-29
From: Eckville Shelter, PA

To: Bethel, PA
Miles today: 15.2

15.2 miles todaySleeping in a real bedHoney Boy and his wife, Dee's homeBethel, Pa. This was only the second shelter I've stayed in since I left Katahdin. I actually slept pretty good. Lazee had stapled a couple thicknesses of carpet on the wood bunks and that made a huge difference. I woke up at 6am. I was in no hurry this morning because I was meeting Honey Boy at the shelter at 8:30am. I made coffee, drank it and made somemore. :-))) I didn't have much for breakfast, just some marshmellow rice krispy things. Honey Boy showed up early at 8am and we sat there and talked about an hour. He's slacking me a couple days. Today will be a short day and tomorrow a little longer if the weather holds out from that hurricane. I started walking at 9:05. The rain had stopped yesterday late afternoon, but now the humidity was pretty heavy. I climbed about 1000 feet and was wet from the high humidity when I got to the top. I hiked to The Pinnacle, but had no views. It was very foggy out and the rocks were slippery. I hiked on the Pulpit Rock and still had no views. I didn't stop at Windsor Furnace Shelter because I was slacking and I left my smiley face stickers in my backpack. I just can't sign a register without my smiley face stickers. ;-))) I hiked by Minnehaha Spring which was hardly flowing and then on to Pocahontas Spring which was flowing ok. There was a short, but fairly steep climb after that. I kept walking and got into Port Clinton at 1:55pm. I saw the second box turtle today that I've seen on this hike. I also heard a big rock move ahead of me when something stepped on it. I hurried to see if it was a bear, but what ever it was had already left by the time I got there. I also saw something about 50 yards ahead of me and I'm not sure what it was. I could only see the legs and they were white. I'm not sure what it was, but it was fairly short. The only thing I can think of would be a wild house cat. I didn't see another soul on the trail today. I wish I would have because there were more spiders and webs than I've ever seen on the trail. Maybe it was the rain that brought them out more. There were webs with spiders in them almost every 5 or 10 steps I took. I spent the whole walk picking spider webs off me and smooshing spiders that were crawling on me. Where's a nobo when you really need one?? I could have used some help with the spiders today. ;-))) I stopped by the outfitter, but he didn't have any shirts I liked. I wasn't sure how late 3 C's Restaurant was open, so I walked about a mile to see. They close at 3pm on weekdays. I ordered a roast beef sandwich smothered with gravy. It was fantastic!!! I can't believe how much roast beef they put on it and it was a real roast, not lunch meat. I walked back to town and stopped at the Peanut Shop. A friend ( ;-))) ) wanted me to check on the bus route from there. I didn't get that information, but I did walk out of there with $5.00 worth of candy. :-))) I walked back to the pavilion and waited on Honey Boy. He got there right at 5pm and we went and ran a few errands before heading back to his home. I headed right for the shower as soon as they showed me where everything was. I've only been walking in wet weather again for 2 days and my shoes are really smelling bad. Maybe I need to just start walking through the puddles and mud instead of walking around them. I stuck my shoes in the garage for the night. The shower felt great and I washed my clothes while I was in there. Honey Boy grilled some very nice ribeye steaks and Dee made a good salad, fresh picked (and delicious) corn on the cob and some other vegetables. She also cut up some nice, ripe melon. We sat outside for dinner and had a long range view from the top of this mountain. It's beautiful up here at their home. We had coffee and brownies for desert. I'm going to have to start walking more miles if I keep eating like this. :-))) That's ok, bring on the miles...right after I have breakfast. Ha!!! :-))) I've really enjoyed this evening and Honey Boy and Dee have been very good to me. I have to say it again. I keep walking this trail because of the people/friends along the way. The Appalachian Trail seems to bring out the best in people. I owe this trail more than I can say. Honey Boy and I checked out a few journals on the computer. We even added some clicks to Moosie's journal...and yes, Moosie, a canoe trip in Canada with Mailar and Goldilocks sounds great. Can I sit in the middle so I don't have to paddle?? ;-))) I checked out the weather while I was on the computer and it looks like I might be wet for a while...so much for that nice walk in the rain thing...I knew I was going to jinx myself when I talked about liking the rain. :-))) I said good night to Honey Boy and Dee and went to my room to write my journal.