Date: 2022-03-31
From: Pa. Rt. 16, near Waynesboro

To: Raven Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I guess I slept thru the stop in Pittsburg, where they split the train, my part going to D.C. & the other to New York by way of Philadelphia.  Anyway, I awoke in time to get a good breakfast & get my excess stuff boxed up for mailing. I soon learned, however, that we would be 2 hours late for Harpers Ferry.  I had to text my shuttle driver to let him know I'd be late. Actually, the delay got me an extra meal on the train!It was after 1:30 when we got there, & everything seemed very rushed ¢ the train barely stopped.  I was the only one getting off at Harper's Ferry.  I got off with everything but my wooden hiking pole.  Too bad, but I can get another one once I get into the woods. My next project was to walk up the long, steep hill to the post office, with my over-loaded pack & two boxes. I tried to stop at the ATC HQ to register, but they were closed.  The sign said to register on-line, but I couldn't figure out how to do so for my "flip-flop-flip" plan. The packages were going far enough that I didn't need priority mail.  One was self-sealing, but the other needed tape.  Post office tape is only for priority mail, unless I wanted to BUY a whole roll of over-priced tape & then have to figure out what to do with it [Yes, I'm too cheap to just throw it away!].  I walked back to the ATC, where my shuttler was awaiting me.  He had some duct tape & was kind enough to stop at another P.O. along the way.It took a while to get up to Pennsylvania Route 16.  We'd been traveling mostly on the West side of the Mtns, but toward the end we crossed over & approached the trailhead from the East. That confused me, so I started hiking in the wrong direction [also distracted by looking for a suitable pole].  It didn't take long to realize that the sun was in the wrong place, & I needed to turn around.  Great start!Pretty easy Trail down to Pen Mar, even tho my pack felt heavy. I did take pictures of a few dead-falls along the way.  I'll send them to the maintainer for this segment. A little rain started around the state line.  I had hoped to stop at the Pen Mar pavilion for a snack, & to enjoy the view; but the wind made that very uncomfortable, & dark clouds diminished the view. So I moved on.  The rain stopped soon enough, followed by off-&-on sunshine, as the daylight gradually faded.  After a piece on an old road, the Trail got down among the rocks & then started up thru more rocks. By the time I got up to the top, near High Rock, I thought I had a little bit of daylight, but it went fast. The last 2 miles were pretty level & vey dark.  Raven Rocks Shelter is one of the pretty, new ones [replacing the old Devil's Racecourse Shelter, I believe], 2 levels, with various colors of wood.  Wood that is very noisy when trying to unpack in the dark when other hikers are already bedded down.  There were 4: a father-daughter combo plus a flip=flopping couple who had started in Harper's Ferry a few days ago.I got to sleep pretty fast.  It felt good to finally be out on the Trail again.<img src="/images/photos/journals/25302/tj25302_122623_184457_1332124.png" class="img-responsive">