Date: 2006-06-28
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: few clouds

Well we all made it through the night without drowning but are all definitely soaked. Every time I woke up last night it was pouring rain and it was still raining when I woke up first thing this morning. By about 7:00am it had finally stopped raining and the sun had actually peaked out for a little while. By 8:00am everyone in camp was stirring and trying to pack totally soaked gear. We planned to head out of camp and if the sun was still out around lunchtime stop to dry a few things out. On the way out of camp most everyone's packs were still dripping wet from all the rain. In the bottom below we crossed Rausch Creek that has basically turned into a river. Thankfully there was a good bridge across it that was left behind from the old railroad bed that was once there. The railroad was used in this area for mining, as it was the main source of income for Rausch Village back in the 1800's. For the next couple of miles we ended up hiking through multiple creeks and a lot of water run off that flooded the trail. When we got to PA443 there was a note detouring us down the road due to Swatara Creek flooding the bottom below making the trail impassable. Baro went down the trail a little ways to check and part of the creek was chest high on him. We decided to detour. When we got a little ways down the road we found a side road that was closed going into Swatara Park so we spread all of our gear out in the sun for a while in hopes it would dry. While we waited we ate lunch and studied our guidebooks to determine our next move. The road we were on took us directly to the old Waterville Iron Bridge that allowed us to cross the river. On the other side of the bridge the trail was completely under water and the blazes were just above the water level. We had to backtrack across the bridge and go further down stream to cross again. When we got back on the road and started hiking we ended up crossing knee-deep water that was standing in the road from the creek below. While we were waiting for everyone to cross Shasta and H-Bomb appeared just behind us. This is the first time we have seen them since Trail Days back in May and were very happy to see them. They have been hiking 20+ miles a day trying to catch us. When we finally got to the other side of the river, we ended up cutting up an old fire road and bushwhacking to the top of the ridge before we could get back on the trail. I say bushwhacking because the old fire lane was way over grown and most of it was by sticker bushes. When we finally got on the trail we caught up with a few others that had crossed I-81 and cut up the hill to reconnect with the trail. Now there were roughly 20 of us heading toward the 501 shelter for the night. We reached the shelter and set up camp right away. Donkey started talking to a guy named Peter Montgomery that frequently visits the shelter and worked out a ride into town for a trip to Arby's to grab supper. So H-Bomb, Jane, Shasta, Donkey, Hot Springs, Baro, and I head into town to get a little bit to eat with Peter. When we returned it was almost dark and we all decided it had been a long day so we called it a night.Tonight: Silverfoot, Shasta, H-Bomb, Jane, Baro, Donkey, Hot Springs, Teck, Cake,Pie, Brain Freeze, Baldy Locks, Bama, Crazy, and a few others