Date: 2008-05-15
From: Stealth site 1 mi. from PA-944

To: Stealth site .5 mi north of PA-850, PA
Miles today: 5.8

First, happy birthday to my niece Hannah! She's 10 yrs old today!Well, it rained pretty much all nite, just that light pitter patter that actually makes you calm and that you can enjoy. It was a nice 59 degrees whe I woke @ 6:30, but I was still pretty beat and heard no stirring from Incessant, so I layed there and snoozed another 15 minutes. The rai had stopped, so that was good.Incessant is still getting her camp routine down, so I showed her some tricks and we were off @ 8:53 a.m. to a sunny warm day. I was in shorts all day long. I realized we were actually a bit further tha we thought yesterday, but on our way to PA-944, we saw a toad, a really huge bunny, and this weird fruit ball that was on the ground. I'd seen them before, but never know where they're from.So today actually had a 2 mile climb! It was up Blue Mountain, and it wasn't too bad. Incessant hiked true to her name, not super fast, but she just kept truckin up that mountain.There was a spring about 1 mile up, and a sign saying the spring @ Darlington Shelter was unreliable, so it was best to get water here. We did and noticed a rusty old 1930's truck sitting in the woods. Weird huh? I walked over to it and there was a beautiful 5 ft long black snake lying over the truck's coil spring! I got a great closeup of the snake's head.Almost all the way up, we came up a switchback and there was this totally cool stone bench built right where there was a view! Really neat, so we both sat there and Incessant told me about the Bayeux Tapestry, 1 of the longest pieces of embroidery in the world, that depicts how the Normans invaded England in the 11th century. See the cool stuff I get to learn out here when I'm not by myself?!So we got up and just a bit further was the blue blaze for Darlington Shelter, but we didn't need to stop, so we headed back down Blue Mountain and into this mystical fern forest. Ferns blanketing the forest floor everywhere, and the smells of the forest were again so fragrant and sweet today.While hiking here, I started obsessing over my hunngry stomach, so I told Incessant that at this very moment, if I had my choice of anything to eat, I'd want a #5 (Vito) sub from Jimmy John's (add mayo), 2 bags of Salt & Vinegar chips, a Dr. Pepper, and then oreos for dessert. MMM!!! She laughed and then proceeded to call me a Food Pornographer! LOL I about died laughing @ that one! I (at this moment) would consider giving a pinky finger for that meal.So we stopped for lunch @ 12:30 where I called to check in with my mom, and caled my niece but had to leave a happy birthday message for her. It was PBJ on a tortilla for me and pepperoni on a tortilla for Incessant.While sitting, a hiker named Blackfoot (NH)came through.   He's section hiking sobo, and was just a cool guy. We were planning on going 6 more miles to Cove Mt. Shelter because there didn't appear to be any water until then, but Blackfoot told us there was a stream. Just before heading out again, I dropped my drawers to water the leaves, and found a TINY tick WAY up on my leg (about 4" from where the leg meets the torso!) I remved it and the head, and made note of where it was. It couldn't have been there for long, but I'm keeping an eye on it for sure.we finally moved on and eventually, the woods opened up to this huge farm field again. It was hot (about 82 degrees!) in the exposed field, and I saw some huge thunderheads buiding up which made me question our plan to camp on a ridge tonight.I talked it over with Incessant, and we decided to cut the day short and stay down @ a lower elevation just in case. So the plan was to get past PA-850 and hopefully cmp @ the creek Blackffot told us was there (oh, he's a fellow hanger too!)On the way, we crossed a wooden bridge with a sign stating it was an Eagle Scout project. I died laughing because @ first, Incessant misread it and thought it meant there was an Eagle project as in you could somehow see a habitat from this bridge.   At 2:20 p.m., we found a fantastic spot to hang in lower elevation, near creek so we decided to stop. We both hung our hammocks (and by the way, This is only about the 4th time Incessant has hung her hammock, and because of Bruce's Strap Suspension, she can get her hammock up in just minutes!), and we hung a few ites up to dry out. The little creek was down in a gulley, so we walked down it, and walked down the creek for a bt till we were in an appropriate spot for foot soaking and a bandana bath. Ah....it is SO amazing how much cleaner and refreshed you feel after a simple bandaa bath. We just enjoyed the creek and eventually made our way back to our campsite. We both lounged in the outside of our hammocks and Incessant even fell asleep for a bit ad napped till about 5:00 p.m.Then we decided to play some cards so I rolled out my sleeping pad on this gigantic log that we both sat on and used as a table. It started cooling off a bit, ad whereas I did hear 2 rumbles of thunder way way way off in the distance, storms never formed this afternoon, which I was glad about.We decided to at least throw the bearbag rope up, so Incesant wanted her shot at it. We picked one tree, and neither of us could manage the height of the branch, so we found another. I took her picture in mid-throw and it is THE most hilarious picture..with that look of exertion on her face and her hair flying up. We've been laughing at it all nite.Tonight, Incessant made dinner, Lipton's tomato-parmasean pasta a la cajun (meaning some of it burned to the bottom of the pot and gave the dish that "blackened" taste). We talked about how a campsite initially feels unfamiliar, but after an hour or so, it feels like home.I'm so glad we cut the day short, it was a really incredible afternoon where we got to just enjoy nature and the creek ad the warm air and birds chirping. I'll admit though, I'm so amazed at how Incesant just waltzed into this routine and lifestyle out here. She said it's because she's with an expert, but even still, most people wold be a bit uneasy and she's not. I think it is because she's amazingly flexible and also lives in the moment pretty much all the time, which are 2 characteristics that you either have or you eventually develop out here. I really took a long time to internally feel comfortable.Anyway, just before we turned in, I was showing Incessant yet another one of my tricks w\hanging your pack in the gear hammock and preventing it from getting wet in rain (70% chance of rain tonight and tomorrow), and this guy walks by just as it's starting to aproach dusk.I immediately said hello (I ALWAYS say hello first in order to get a vibe), and I asked him what he was doing out here (there's not really a "place" to be going wih only a water bottle if it's going to be dark soon. He said he was going to the creek and back and I then asked why, was he exercising? He realized he needed to give a better explanation, so he explained he lived nearby, comes out here for exercise, usually has his 13 month old daughter with him, and then I asked him questions about the trail, that he "should" know if he's out here all the time. He did know, and both Incessant and I agreed that George was not a danger. We had a nice conversation, and he came back thru in 20 minutes like he said. He did stop and ask our opinions on girl names becaus he's got another girl due in June.See, out here, I have the right to know what another person is up to. We are all vulnerable in our own way, but the messages girls and women are given of "be polite, don't be too forward, be a nice girl," are total crap to me. If someone thinks I'm being rude or "too forward" because I'll flat out say, "What are you doing out here," then that's their problem. However, many women just feel a huge sense of discomfort with being assertive, so they don't do it, and sometimes they should for the sake of safety. Part of my showing Incessant the ropes of long distance hiking is also showing her how I handle people\safety. She's on the same page though, so she'd be fine out here.Well, it's 8:45 p.m., 61 degrees in my hammock, rain will be coming again tonight. It was a perfect day. Incessant just hollered over to me, "Thank you for all of this." I think I'm going to have a hard time convincing her she has to go home to teach this summer!~Certain