Date: 2008-09-27
From: Shikellimy overlook (stealthed near it)

To: Rausch Gap shelter (stealth right behind it)
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: light rain

Poured like crazy last night again. Kept dry and slept like a baby. I didnt get out of my hammock until 7:15am. Then, I ate and things and didnt leave the stealth site until 9:00am! Slow start but relaxing! I had instant oatmeal for breakfast and of course coffee. I believe it was maple syrup and brown sugar flavored!!! Yum! I think ive got this "rain thing" down now. I have a garbage bag in my pack which keeps everything nice and dry then at the end of the day when Im ready to call it a day, I put the rain cover on my backpack, then place it on top of my boots under the rainfly of my hammock. Works like a charm- My first break this morning was at the 501 shelter. Its an enclosed shelter with a very large sunroof (pretty cool) and lots of bunks. There is a water spicket nearby and of course a privy. Oh-get this- there was a menu and a note on the message board there stating that the local pizza shop delivers!!! haha. awsome! There is an access road nearby. HOw nice. To bad I was to early for dinner. I heard about the 501 shelter for years and it was really nice to finally stand inside it. I hiked on (as it started to drizzle on and off) for about four miles more until I reached the William Penn shelter where I decided to get out of the rain and have lunch. Since I am now down to oatmeal, coffee (a must have for me.. coolaid, 2 dinners, 2 pieces of 12 grain bread and the last of my peanut butter- I decided on more oatmeal. Three packets to be exact! and a cup of hot coffee. It was so relaxing to be in that shelter while it rained outside. I took off my boots and socks to let my feet dry off a bit. My boots are not soaked all the way through and I presume will be all week! I liked the shelter. Pennsylvania has some very cool shelters and the Blue Mtn Eagles club and the other clubs do a great job on them. After lunch I hiked out and somewhere along the ridge 1.3 miles south of the shleter I crossed the 1000 mile mark! Yep. I hiked ONE Thousand MIles!!!Yahooooooo! Now the eight miles suth I deviate from my plan a little. I crossed under interstate 81 (all you drives at E.T.I. trucking know where thats at right..haha) and I come to old state road. All I could think about is how nice it would be to get a little more food (er...junk food.. since i wont get to my resupply point of Duncannon until Monday afternoon. There just happens to be a local named Lyn walking up the road so I asked him how far the nearest store was. We ended up walking and chatting about the trail then he offers me a lift to the store (F.Y.I.- its 2.4 miles to Likedale, Pa. and the store). We picked up his truck a bit up the road at his home and zoomed into town. I resupplied with lots of junk food (thats what I was missing until duncannon)at a Hess gas station mini mart. I was also hoping to purchase something for Poison Ivy since Ive obviously been in contact with this little bastard of a plant. Its o.k. while Im hiking so far but this evening when I try to sleep may be a challenge. Lyn gave me a lift back to the trail then I headed south. Thanks lyn. YOu rock! It began to get dark immediately so I dawned my headlamp and made the decision to get to Raush Gap shelter 6.4 miles away. The one thing I neglected to take into account was the weather conditions. It was fogger as heck. I could see perhaps a little over six feet. Thats with the little headlamp. I pushed on without any major incidents. A few times I had to walk about lookng for the while blazes. I have to give it to Pa. because the trail is very well marked. I eventually came across a sign that read "Rausch Gap Village." Apparently - there was a village of 1000 people at one point years ago that lived and worked on that spot but the village now does not exist. The villages mining went nowhere. I forgot all I read (standing in the forest, at night, in the fog, reading with a headlamp-wonder why I forgot..haha) but it seemed interesting enough for me to want to persue more info online at a later date. Rausch Gap shelter wasnt to far from there. I setup my hammock behind the shelter. Did 22 miles today.