Date: 2008-06-23
From: Ensign Cowell Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelters
Miles today: 18.1

It started raining during the night but we were much better prepared and already had the rain fly on so all we had to do was zip the doors closed. Around 10:30 pm (this was finally later confirmed by Rue, as she was the only other one to hear it) I heard this incredibly loud thundering noise that eventually ended with an enormous boom. It was a tree falling down somewhere in the woods, I think. I lay awake listening for any noises, in case anyone was hurt. I stayed awake a long time scared, but I didn¢t hear anything and eventually fell back asleep. I was woken by Red walking by our tent saying ¢see you guys later¢. We asked her to give us a wake up call; she is so gentle about it. It was about 6:30am and we were hiking about an hour later. We have a steep climb up the hill to Devils Racecourse shelter. It was one of the biggest climbs we have had in awhile and it definitely got my heart pumping. We don¢t go to the shelter, but we do stop at the beginning of the trail for it and take a break. We go on to High Rock and get a view of the valley below. It must be a big hangout spot for the local teens because the whole rock cliff was covered in graffiti. It is also a launch site for hang-gliders. We hike on to Pen-Mar Park and enjoy a couple cold sodas. It is an enormous park, and very pretty. The we hike across the Maryland ¢ Pennsylvania border¢¦woo-hoo!!! It is so exciting to be in a new state! The terrain is fabulous, flat and smooth and so we cruise right along. We end up at Tumbling Run shelters and it¢s early, only 5pm. It is Brad, Red and I. We hear a truck pulling up the old cart road and we all panic a bit, thinking it¢s some locals coming to harass us. Fortunately, it¢s the shelter over-seers, George, Linda, Curtis and Tawnya. They bring us a cooler full of cold cokes and crisp apples. Trail magic! The four of them then proceed to clean out both fire pits, leave new magazines in the magazine racks in the shelters, clean up every single tiny piece of trash, clean up all used firewood, move all rocks out of the tent sites, inspect each shelter (there are two) and visit with us. They also clean the privy and put in 4 rolls of toilet paper on the 4 toilet paper holders! They are amazing! This place is absolutely spotless. As we sit and talk they tell us that they come a couple times a week cause they live just over the hill. The floors of the shelters are varnished and have baseboards, so they are air tight. Also, the outsides have been stained and one has been labeled ¢snoring¢ and the other labeled ¢non-snoring¢. There is a picnic table between the two, and even a clothesline! This place is amazing, and obviously the pride and joy of the family that looks after it. Red invites us to stay at her house, coming up, instead of Ironmaster¢s Mansion Hostel. She is getting off for a week or two then hiking south back to her house. So, these are our last days to spend with her. Bilko, Snowplow, and Rue show up and we all share a shelter. It¢s so neat to me that you can be put in a tiny shelter in the middle of the woods with a bunch of strangers and have the time of your life. I laugh so hard I nearly cry. I am blown away by the amount of laughter in my life. I think that is where all the weight loss comes from when you hike. It¢s not so much the hiking, as it is the constant laughing¢¦