Date: 2007-06-06
From: Pen-Mar Road

To: Caledonia State Park
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at 6 AM to the sound of rain hitting my tent. I had resealed one of the seams in Waynesboro, VA. The tent did not leak anymore. It was also a bit cold this morning (in the 50s). I decided to stay in my tent for a while. I was warm and dry and had no desire to change that. The rain stopped and I was on the trail at 9:00. I hiked with Walking Cowboy for a while this morning and Chill Out caught up with us at a spring. Chill Out and I ate lunch at Old Forge Picnic Ground, while Walking Cowboy continued north. I stopped again to sign a shelter journal and Chill Out continued north. I hiked the rest of the day by myself. I stopped again at Chimney Rocks. I took the side trail up to the rocks and sat there for about 30 minutes enjoying the view and lazy afternoon. I had to hike steady the rest of the afternoon. I passed Walking Cowboy and Chill Out at Rocky Mtn Shelters, where they had stopped for the evening. Shelters is not a misspelling. There have been sets of two shelters at several locations in Pennsylvania. The Tumbling Run Shelters had signs designating one as "Snoring" and the other as "Non-Snoring".I continued on another 3.4 miles to Caledonia State Park. As I entered the park I saw the swimming pool and snack bar and headed straight for them. It was 6:30 and it looked like the snack bar was opened. As I approached it I could see it was closed. There was a schedule posted that said it was suppose to be open from 11 to 7 on June 6th. It should have been open, but they closed the pool and snack bar early today. They will be open 7 days a week starting next week. The pool is huge and I am sure a lot of hikers will get to enjoy it in the next few weeks. Oh well. I went to the office and got a campsite for $14. I set up my tent and took a shower. The shower water was cold.I walked a mile down to an Italian Restaurant and ate too much food. Tomorrow I should reach the half way point at 1087 miles this year. Less than a mile later I will arrive at Pine Grove Furnace State Park. This is the home of the traditional Half Gallon Challenge. The challenge is to eat a half gallon of ice scream as fast as you can to celebrate completing half of the AT. I don't know if I'll attempt this. I am guessing most people would not feel very well if they completed this challenge.Here is a quote from my thru-hiker's handbook: "...a thru-hiker will climb and descend a total of about ninety-one miles, the equivalent of going from sea level to the summit of Mt. Everest and back more than sixteen times!"So next time you here someone make a big deal about climbing Everest, tell them that's nothing. You know a guy named Diesel that thru-hiked the AT.On a side note. I was bothered today when I noticed the incandescent light bulbs burning in the restroom here at Caledonia state park. Compact fluorescent bulbs use 1/4 the electricity compared to incandescents. The compact fluorescent bulbs also last much longer. The benefits of using compact fluorescents are: 1) Using 1/4 the electricity which results in less pollution and 2) they save you about $20 over the life of the bulb. So go change your bulbs if you haven't already done so. I will complain to the park office tomorrow. I know some one who removes and breaks incandescent bulbs when they see them. By the way how are things going at the coop Rachel?