Date: 2004-06-19
From: Cowell Shelter

To: Deer Lick Shelters
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: broken clouds

The day started with three miles of relocated trail. An entry in the register complained about it being "all rocks and mud" but it seemed to have no more of either than most sections of trail. The two things I noticed most were that it looked like a footpath through the woods again instead of the wide country lane appearance I have seen so much of lately, and the soil has not had time to wash away so most of it was LESS rocky than usual. The cicadas are still here but their eerie sound is more intermittent. Now it sounds like the fleet of alien spaceships are practicing parallel parking, constantly engaging and disengaging the engines instead of the constant hum that they had before.I took a short side trail to High Rocks, a stone overlook of the Cumberland Valley with one of the highest sheer drops off the edge I have seen so far. Apparently it is even used as a launch point for hang-gliding. I could see traces of an old masonry foundation of some sort with large stone piers.Then down a rock jumble. As is common with rock jumbles it was a bit of a scavenger hunt sorting out where the trail went through all the boulders. Fortunately it was long enough to be interesting but not too long. Scrambling over boulders mile after mile gets difficult. Though, if rumors of northern Pennsylvania are true, I had better get used to it!Next came Pen Mar Park. In the 1870's an old time railroad amusement park was here, complete with rides and big fancy hotels. It closed in 1943 but in the 70's the site was restored as a public park. It has an overlook offering a splendid view of the valley with a pavilion that is apparently a popular site for weddings. A little museum has pictures and memorabilia from the parks' past. There I learned the stone ruins at High Rocks were once the foundation of a three story observation tower.I checked my email and found a friend from DC wanted to come out and see me. She left her cell phone number but her phone must have been off. I called and sent emails for four hours trying to get hold of her but never succeeded. Finally I sent a last message that I had to move on but would be at Caledonia State Park tomorrow and got back on the Trail at 3:00 p.m.I did not mind the delay though. A band of showers passed through and it was nice to be able to duck indoors. More importantly there was a reunion of soldiers from nearby Ft. Richie and one of them was a Trail maintainer and was offering food to thru-hikers. All those times I had missed trail angels' free meals and now I stumbled right into one. Life DOES work out sometimes! I had two big sausages on buns and baked beans and root beer and a can of V-8 and he even talked me into taking an apple for the road. Mmmmmmmm!Leaving the park I crossed the Mason-Dixon line. Woohoo, another state! What is more, I have passed from the Appa-latch-in Trail to the Appuh-lay-shun Trail; from the South into Yankee territory. Having just moved to Philadelphia, I am even in my home state. Ahhh, Home sweet home.As if to welcome me, right across the state line were all those ripe raspberries I had been dreaming about. I picked and ate handful after handful and for a while my pace slowed to a crawl. Yummy!Halfway to Deer Lick I caught up with Ponderer, an older man that I had met in the Shenandoah Park and last saw near Front Royal, and we hiked the rest of the way together.Deer Lick is one of several spots in this area with two small adjacent shelters instead of one normal sized one. I'm not sure what the reasoning of that is, but it does add variety.