Date: 2004-12-09
From: Eagles Nest Shelter, Pa.

To: 501 Shelter, Pa.
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

15.1 miles today501 Shelter, Pa.Hippie evidently had enough sleep and woke up at 4am to make her tea. I layed in my sleeping bag and could think of nothing else but just how good a cup of coffee would taste right now, so I got up and started heating up my water. We have another short day planned today, so we just sat and ate breakfast and drank our coffee and tea. The weather forcast is for rain tonight and tomorrow. We finally got our lazy butts moving about 9am. It was cold enough to freeze the puddles in the trail again last night, but it feels pretty good out today with mostly a lite wind. There is only three hunting days left here in Pa. We started out seeing a few hunters this morning. The climbs today were small with the biggest one only about 400 feet. My feet are still trying to get used to the extra weight on them. They were sore last night, but feel great today. We crossed Pa Rt 183 and saw a few more hunters. That area was very wet. The trail had water and mud in it for several miles before we walked back onto dry rocks. I would hear Hippie behind me naming some female rocks every once in awhile. She said her feet were soaked and cold. The trail runners that I'm wearing now seem to take water just a little higher before my feet get wet. That's nice and the extra stiffness for these rocks are nice, but I can't wait until I can wear my road running shoes again. They are like walking on air. We hiked on to Hertlein Campsite and took a lunch break. There was a register in a box on a tree, so we signed that while we were eating. The last half of the day was on alot of rocks. We got closer to the 501 Shelter and I saw two big dogs come around the corner. They were wearing blaze orange and the doberman came up first. He was a real lover and just wanted to lick us and play. He even tried keeping the other dog away from his new friends. The two women that were out walking them came up and we talked to them for a while. The one lady said that her husband wouldn't mind giving us a ride to town in about an hour. I asked her what his trail name was and she said Honey Boy. I had run into him and a friend of his by the name of Carolina Scout up in Maine last year. I remembered them well because they said that when I got to this area last year that I should give a call if I needed anything. It couldn't have worked out any better today if it had been planned. Honey Boy's wife and the other lady came up on a side trail. It just happened that we crossed paths at the same time. She said her husband would be at the shelter in about an hour and he would give us a ride into town and back. We got to the 501 Shelter just as the rain started to come down. I think I got half a dozen raindrops on me by the time I walked in the door and then it started raining harder. I was glad to get inside without getting wet because the temperature never got out of the low 40s today. Hippie and I wouldn't have been able to hitch into town in the rain. She had been dreaming of food out loud all day. When we would stop, she would get her camera out and look at the picture I took of the Belgium waffle she had the other morning with strawberry ice cream, whipped cream and syrup all over it. She would just let out a small sigh each time she'd look at that picture. Honey Boy showed up and we talked a while. He didn't remember me, but I remembered him and his friend and I even remember his old external frame backpack. He took us to the grocery store to resupply and then to the pizza place and dropped us off. He had another errand to attend to and came back and got us shortly after the pizza was ready. He brought us back up to the 501 Shelter and dropped us off. He offered us a warm house to sleep in tonight and hot showers, but we were waiting on Tripod and Displaced Hippie who are supposed to show up later tonight. We are all going to the Yuengling Brewery to take a tour and partake in some free Yuenglings tomorrow. Honey Boy, you are a real friend and trail angel...Thank you!!! It will be a while, but I'll get your picture posted on my journal next chance I get. Tomorrow was the day that we were planning on walking through Swatara Gap so that Hippie could finish her thru hike. She flipped up to Maine from there to hike with me last August. It looks like she'll have to finish her thru hike in 10 months and one day because we would much rather drink free beer than walk in cold rain. We ate our dinner at the shelter and fell asleep while we were waiting on Tripod and Displaced Hippie to show up. Tripod and Displaced Placed showed up about 10 or 11pm. I got up and we all talked until after midnight.Another great day on the A.T.I guess I should mention that Goosebump The Snow Princess made Hippie and me oatmeal, raisin cookies while we were there. I didn't want to mention it because I thought I would get in trouble and get an email scolding me. I didn't get that email and I was starting to get worried about what she was planning, so I thought I would defuse the situation before it got out of hand...Thanks Goosebump!!!