Date: 2009-04-24
From: Apple House Shelter

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

I was awakened by a turkey gobble from not to far away. It was 6:00 and barely light. I had to get up and answer the old boy. I do a fairly good hen in heat call that I learned a long time ago. I started out using a call but eventually gave that up and just used my own cords (vocal). I called from the shelter and got an immediate response. This definitely got the attention of my shelter mate. Left the shelter and tried to get uphill a little. Seems Toms are more inclined to go uphill from roost than downhill. Couldn't get high enough though. I had taken my camera with me in case he came in but that didn't happen. I continued calling and eventually another tom on the hill behind me joined in the discussion. Soon I began hearing the putt putt putts of a hen turkey and since I was looking on the ground was startled when a big tom flew overhead through the tree tops. Never got a picture but enjoyed the conversation. Much discussion and amazement from Paul my shelter mate. He hunts and had never heard anyone call turkey without any calling device. I guess I am not as sexy a turkey as I thought though because I never got the toms to come in very close.I left the shelter about 9:00 and moved at a leisurely pace since it was going to be a relatively short hike.It was a different type of hike today. A lot of meadow and pasture. Passed along a cemetary fence and through some rural housing areas, and by several streams. Only one significant climb up a pasture hill. Short but fairly steep. Half way up the hill there was a big apple tree in full blossom and there were so many bees buzzing in it it sounded like a generator was running nearby. It was hot and humid today, a harbinger of things to come I suspect. I did not enjoy the hike as much today due to the weather and many others in the shelter expressed the same feeling. We went through a lot of water today.Jones Falls was a short way off the trail and it was beautiful. Definitely worth the extra short hike to get there. Ate lunch and enjoyed the sounds and sights of the falls.Quiz time.We have come to several fences the past few days and have encountered a variety of ways to get people over, through, or around the fence. What is the term for the device that allows people to get through the fence but not the animals? We sometimes see a slightly different variety of this device at subway stations, ball parks, or someplace that we want to count people as we pass. This is an older term and we don't use it to much anymore.They are called stiles and they are quite interesting. We see them more today as turnstiles.Got a hotspot on my small toe and will have to monitor that. Neck and shoulder ached today too for the first time, surprisingly, on the trip. Had the small headache again today too. Am I a whiner or what.A fellow named Gary gave me a little fuel so I have the option of staying on the trail an extra day before resupplying. Thanks Gary.I told Wishy Washy the story of how the chipmunk got his stripes. She enjoyed it, as did the few others sitting at the campfire. It rained just afterward and we all went to bed and listened to the rain on the shelter roof. I really like that sound.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses.