Date: 2003-07-08
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: broken clouds

Last night Loser and T-Bird sang and played their guitars for us all. It made me wish (as I always have) for a beautiful voice to share. Several of us listened from our beds on the second story of that great shelter, laying on our stomachs and looking through the railing.There is a song that Loser wrote that I really like and request it whenever we end up at the same shelter. It's a love song called THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING.Granite and Scubaman had gotten within several miles of the shelter and decided to hitch back to Duncannon for the night, so I'll be seeing them farther down the trail.I leapfrogged with Morph, Skittles, and Moon Shadow today. Morph sang to us as we hiked.It was a long day, and difficult on my aching feet. I'm back to taking ibuprofen or Advil on a daily basis and sometimes even that doesn't work to relieve my discomfort. My custom orthotics have cried, "Uncle" and been replaced after 1000 miles with a pair of Dr. Scholl's Sport insoles. I may have to get new footwear in Port Clinton. Although I hate the thought of breaking in new boots, it can't possibly be worse than what I'm going through now.Sometimes we talk about the most ridiculous songs ever written, and Morph came up with, "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I've Got Love In My Tummy" and then I couldn't get it out of my head all day! It drove me nuts until I started singing God Bless America, and that reminded me of the night the Flyers won the Stanley Cup in '73 and how we watched Kate Smith walk out onto that red carpet that had been placed on the ice, and belt out God Bless America. It gave me chills just thinking about it. Anyway, only those of you that know me well could understand how I could get from Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I've Got Love In My Tummy to The Philadelphia Flyers, but you do what you have to do out here to get through 8-10 hours of hiking!We broke for lunch at the top of Stoney Mountain, me, Morph, Gumby and Loa, Moon Shadow, Jimmy, Buzz and his son Pup, and another section hiker who's name I did not get.I left our lunch spot alone, several had left before me, and walked about a half mile singing to myself and happy that the rain had held off, when I heard a strange sound. I looked down and jumped just in time to miss stepping on a big rattle snake that was moving across the trail. He was very upset with me and after moving from the trail, coiled and prepared to strike if I didn't heed his warning. I had never heard a rattler rattle, and it reminded me of the sound a locust makes. I didn't have any paper on which to make a note to other hikers behind me, so I waited for some of my lunch companions to arrive. While I waited, I got several good pictures and a 30 second video using my zoom lens. Morph and Moon Shadow soon came along and we made a note, put it 20 feet before the snake and went wide to the left then back onto the trail. They thanked me for waiting.After one more afternoon stop to rest and eat a snack, we arrived at the shelter around 4:30.I borrowed cell phones from 2 different hikers to call home, but couldn't get a signal with either one.I'm tenting at the big creek before the shelter. It's quiet and peaceful, a nice ending to a long day.