Date: 2018-08-12
From: Clarks Mountain rd 

To: PA rt 443
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: light rain

I avoid putting My boots on until the last minute if they¢re wet, but this morning I broke down and put them on before I climbed into the SUV. My socks were soaked before I got back out to start hiking.  Today will be a busy day. Hugs and I are filling in our 15 mile gap while Papa Big Swig moves our camper to a campground farther north. We¢re making progress! My favorite 4 legged hiker joined us for some trail fun today. When we entered the woods we were greeted by a bubbly little creek. The water was clear and the sound was music to my ears.  Right past the creek was a marker in memory of Cyrus C. Sturgis Jr. The marker labeled that location as being the end of the Horseshoe Trail which originated in Valley Forge. Also calling Mr Sturgis a linguist, translator, and trail companion.  I¢ll have to do some research on him and the Horseshoe Trail.  After the marker I took the lead and Hugs and I separated. We just hike at different paces. So I was alone with my thoughts again. I found myself hiking through another rhododendron tunnel. I have not seen rhododendrons in some time, but suddenly here they are two days in a row. I watched chipmunks run across the forest floor while I was singing a Blake Shelton song in my head.(Austin) It was getting close to lunchtime so I slowed down to wait for Hugs. Seylor had been looking back for her for quite a while anyway. Seylor likes to keep her pack together. Hugs took the lead to get us to a tentsite for lunch. We were walking and talking when I took a step on a slippery rock, and BOOM!!! Down went McGinney...this one hurt. I took 2 Aleve and just hope it¢s not going to be a step backwards with my back.  I shook it off as best I could and walked on to the tentsite. We pulled up a log and sat on our sit-upons. Papa Big Swig had made me a chicken salad sandwich for lunch.  It was delicious!  I ate some Doritos and drank water with that.  We took about a 20 minutes break and I definitely felt better afterwards.  Once I was back on trail it began to rain. More wet rocks! My coordination skills are being put to the test. I used to think I was really well coordinated!  I used my rain gear but by the end of the day, I don¢t know why I even bothered. As I came into Rausch Gap there were more and more areas of standing water. Rausch Gap has a story too. It used to be a mountain village from 1828 to 1910. Eventually the industry¢s they relied on failed or moved and the village became nonexistent.  Everybody left Rausch Gap except the beavers!  Yep beavers! Soon enough i found myself walking knee deep in water because of a beavers dam. This thing was impressive!  I¢m going to say it was about a quarter mile long, and held back a good amount of water. It was a true beavers paradise, hikers nightmare. My shorts were soaked up past the cargo pockets.  Once I made it past the dam the trail significantly improved. The path was wide and soft. Up ahead I saw a bright orange something.  Was it a tent? I couldn¢t tell. Soon enough I could see it was a sign about the pipeline. Then I looked right and saw excavated land. It makes me so sad. The forest opened up right there, and I hiked in a field for a while. I felt the warm sun and enjoyed watching butterflies fly from flower to flower.  I went back into the woods and had one last creek to cross before my hike would end. There was not a ¢good¢ way to cross this thing. Eventually myself Hugs and Seylor just walked right through. It was up to my thigh!  We had a twenty minutes wait for Papa Big Swig. I dried out a little in that time. Looks  like wet boots will go back on tomorrow.  Our poor feet! Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018) Where¢s your faith?