Date: 2013-07-01
From: Boiling Springs

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: moderate rain

Happy Birthday Spike, 49 years young! We were unable to eat the extremely sweet sticky buns and reverted to our less than delicious bars for breakfast and prepared to walk in the cooler hours of the day. The trail gifted us by roaming across the Cumberland Valley through farmlands and woods and across many roads. It was a misty morning and I expected lots of rain, but the weather gradually improved; no sun, but no rain either! Our walk started with a tragedy. DirtDog was in the lead and accidently stepped on a mouse who tried to dash between his legs. The poor creature's back was broken and it lay twitching. Unfortunately, DirtDog had to put him out of his pain. It's hard to feel responsible for hurting the wildlife we rejoice in seeing. Our moods lifted when we ran across many mulberry trees. I'm not sure they weren't elderberries, but they were so plentiful that the trail was stained purple in places. We would snatch a couple of juicy, sweet berries and pop them into our mouths without losing our stride. There were some strawberries and raspberries also, but not really very sweet. We saw a deer just calmly walking down Schoolhouse Road and saw three large snakes on a pile of brush in the Conodoguinet Creek. I'm glad we were on a bridge well above them. Lunch was at the Scott Farm Work Center where we wished the trail runner a relaxing couple of days off. Soon after we walked under PA 944 and Spike suddenly announced that he wanted a bottle of wine to celebrate his birthday. It took some work on his I-phone to find that Carlisle was a nearby town with a hotel/restaurant where you could purchase wine. Spike had no luck convincing anybody in the bar to deliver a bottle to us, so DirtDog and I decided to hitch into town and get one for him. We stood on the side of the road with smiles pasted on our faces, our thumbs held high and reeking of the trail and then it started to rain. Eventually a pickup truck stopped and DirtDog explained our strange request for help in snagging some wine. The driver told us we were going the wrong way and if we just went the opposite way down 944, turned at the first light, made a right at McDonalds...With a big smile DirtDog asked if he would be willing to drive us for a fee. The guy laughed and agreed, so we were soon in Mechanicsburg at a Wine and Spirits store. DirtDog went inside while I chatted with Martin, a very nice man and proud grandfather who was glad to now be considered a "trail angel." DirtDog returned with a very heavy 3 litre box of cabernet and we joyfully made the climb up to the Darlington shelter. The water source was a steep descent, but it was flowing out of a small pipe and we were just glad we didn't have to lug it a mile up the trail. We sat at the picnic table and greeted each hiker with an offer of wine. Conversation with Puddle and Angus was fun and Spike requested that each of us pose for a photo in some tacky, Elvis style sunglasses he had found near the shelter. Unfortunately, the wine ran out and we had to set up for the night. I put up my tent (hard to do when you are a bit tipsy) near Spike and DirtDog opted for the shelter. Both of these choices turned out to be bad because, after we had settled in for the night, a couple of groups showed up and proceeded to have a very loud party until nearly 10:30. Two of them set up their tents right between Spike and I, even though there was lots of room elsewhere. One made a comment that there wasn't privacy on the AT. Pigs! DirtDog had similar issues with those who stayed in the shelter and moved his gear during their partying. In the 9 years that I have been hiking I have never encountered such a disrespectful group. Not a good night's sleep!