Date: 2010-05-30
From: Deer Lick Shelters, PA

To: Rocky Mountain Shelters, PA
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: clear sky

From TrailPhone:"Hey. It's Tim. It's been a nice day. I'm at mile 1068. I'm just shy of Caledonia State Park and US 30, my resupply point. I'm doing well. Climbed an 800 ft. set today at about an hour and a half. I'm starting to eat better. I'm probably going to have dinner at Rocky Mountain Shelter, but I may slide down the hill a mile or two to get a little closer to Caledonia, so I can get in there, get my shower tomorrow, hit Henicle's Market, buy some groceries. I'm eating a lot of tuna and soup, can't stand Milky Way bars and Fig Newtons for some reason. I need more lemonade. I'm getting kinda the hang of this, I think. That's about it. I just wanted to give an update. Tomorrow, I'm just going to get into Caledonia, shower, resupply. I'm definitely going to hit Quarry Gap Shelter. I don't know if I am going to press on to Birch Run. I may make it a short day and kinda rest up. I'm getting kinda tuckered. I think I put in like 9 or 10 miles today. That's it. Bye bye."UPDATE: Got up about 8 a.m. and had breakfast with two of the late arriving thrus Mumbles and Peanut. Broke camp and hit the trail by 9.Arrived at Antietam Shelter around 10:30. Antietam is sited along a creek and has two adjoining fields. Go thing as word has it that there were about 70 folks here last night. Good thing I held short at Deer Lick. I had a more intimate evening. Decided to pop off the boots and socks, check for hot spots, and air the toes while reading the log. We also popped a Protonix to ease some low stomach pain. After donning the the footwear we set off across the field to discover a short side trail to a ballfield and a spigot with pure water. Decided to camel up and top off both bottles and our 2-liter hydro. We departed the Old Forge picnic area with a gallon of water (8 pounds) about 11.About a hour later we arrived at Tumbling Run. Tumbling Run is a big creek with several wood bridges and good access to the creek. Camping seems popular here as the forest floor was barren of litter due to all the tent sites. A few moments later and we arrived at a pair of shelters labled snoring and non-snoring. The building were in very good repair and had clothes lines behind each shelter. We dropped our pack at the table and checked the log.About 12:15 we left Tumbling Run and started up Buzzard Peak, and 800 foot climb. We just kept putting one foot slightly ahead of the other. Breath on the left; exhale on the right. We only took one brief stop for our 3 gulps of water on the way up. Our best ascent yet. Our smugness was short lived as just about the peak, we met a young couple with small children walking towards us on the trail. They wandered past while we found a log in the shade and had a wee bit of lunch. To celebrate the highest climb of the day we enjoyed some tuna salad and half our second Pepsi. Just as we were finishing up the husband of the couple surprised us and stuck a large bag of red Twizzlers in our face. "Here. Take a handleful of these." Resisting the urge to mug the man and take the entire bag, we took a handful and stuffed most into a side pocket on our pack. I took a moment to explain that because they had offered a hiker candy they were now trail angels. As they walked off I heard the mother explaining to the daughter what a trail angel was. Hopefully they will remember our encounter and offer trail magic to other hikers wheverever they may be.Setting off on a relatively flat trail with Twizzler in hand we made up some time and distance. Eventually we wound back down off the peak and near 5 p.m. we started our last climb of the day up Rocky Mountain.We reached the blue blaze to Rocky Mountain Shelter about 6:30. I asked some college students, whom I had first seen near Bailey Spring but not met, where the shelter was. They replied it was three-tenths of a mile downhill. Rather than go downhill and back again in the morning, I decided to press on a bit closer to Caledonia SP just 3 miles ahead. The students shouted that I was going the wrong way to the shelter. I said "If I'm going to walk 3/10ths of a mile, I'm going to go 3/10ths North, not East." About 3/10ths North I found a rock outcropping off the right side of the trail with a nice view. Perfect. While too uneven and rocky for a tent, there were two trees 6 paces apart. WE hung our hammock above some low rocks. As there was no sign of rain, we decided to "cowboy it" and forgo the tarp to save time in the morning. Fixed some dinner at the nearby outcropping and enjoyed the view and solitude. After bear bagging our food, we turned in about 8 p.m. We watched the stars begin to appear and fill in the formerly blue sky over the rocks. Sometime near 11, we awoke and saw a nearly full moon rising above the rocks through the trees.Thus ended the seventh day.