Date: 2014-06-13
From: Raven Rock shelter

To: Caledonia State Park
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: light rain

June 13Last night was only the second time in a month I have been in a busy shelter. Of of the guys made a comment how they have all been busy. Three of the last four I have stayed in I have been alone, the other I shared with one other person. I prefer to tent, but with all the rain lately I have been staying in shelters. Anyway, last night was noisy since I think we ended up with 12 inside. People getting up to go to the bathroom and a couple of snorers. In the morning Putter was up before 5 and hiking by 5; 30. J5 was right behind him followed by Wrecking Ball and Pack Rat. I left at 6:30 and was the fifth one out. Normally I am one of the first.Putter was meeting his parents at Pen Mar state park. They were bringing trail magic. Pen Mar was just over 5 miles in. Maryland has been full of beautiful state parks. I arrived at the same time as Wrecking Ball and Pack Rat, but no one else around. Where is Putter? I pulled out my ohone and read and replied to emails. Also sent an email to our now 24 year old son wishing him a happy birthday. A car pulled up and sure enough, there was Putter and his parents. Very nice people, thanks for the food. I was there 45 minutes and no one else from our shelter showed up. Where are they? I planned a 23+ mile day, so I moved on.Just .2 miles north of Pen Mar we crossed the Mason Dixon line into Pennsylvania. The terrain continues to be pretty agreeable, nothing too steep, some rocks that slow you way down, but not that big a deal.I pulled in to the Tumbling Run shelters right at noon for some lunch. The volunteer caretaker was there checking on things. Everything looked great. He is rightfully proud of the shelters. For some reason in PA there are often 2 small shelters at a location. At this location one of them was labelled non snoring. BearJuice stayed here last night so he is just a half day ahead of me. Skittles had stayed at the same shelter as me the night before, so he is a full day ahead.Again saw only a handful of SOBO section hikers till I caught Spot near the end of the day. He is attempting his fifth thru hike. We walked the last 4 miles together till I reached my pick up point. He moved on a couple wore miles. I got a ride to a local motel for the night. I left my shoes outside my door to dry. About 6pm there is a knock on my door. Two hikers headed to dinner and wanted to know if I wanted to join them. They saw the shoes and figured I must be a hiker. We had a good meal then I planned to walk to the laundromat, but it was raining, so rinsed my clothes in the sink. Probably still be damp in the morning, oh well.Tomorrow I should cross the halfway point in the trail. Just after that there is another state park with a general store. The tradition is to eat a half gallon of ice cream to mark being half done. I certainly plan to give it a go.Heard from Slim today. He is doing well, unfortunately his son got the noro virus the other day while hiking with Slim. He should be in Harpers Ferry by Monday.That's enough for today. I am shooting for a hostel tomorrow night. Only 19 miles and fairly easy terrain. The forecast is sunny and dry, should be a great day.