[at-l] Ready's Journal: June 23 Saturday

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

Looks like june 22 pt 2 may have been lost in the pocketmail problems

>TD18
>
>We woke up to the sound of breaking sticks early this morning. During the 
>night a group of scouts had come in, and all along the exterior of the 
>shelter grounds were tents.  "Mom" from the family we'd met the night 
>before explained that they'd come in "after midnight, with all the thunder 
>and lightning."  I'd recalled no storm; I'd slept soundly, missing extreme 
>weather for the second night in a row.  I think I've discovered the cure 
>for insomnia - Hike the AT!
>
>We learned that the family had the trailname, "Oh Oh Spaghettio," earned 
>because that's what they'd uttered on their first night out when older 
>son, William, had overturned the pot.
>
>We gathered our things and were on the trail swifly this morning - our 
>earliest start so far: 6:50.  It started with a climb, but we had energy 
>to burn today, and none of the climbs, of which there were many, felt very 
>difficult.  We hiked in cool, and sometimes, downright chilly temperatures.
>
>It ws humid, but the coolness made that bearable.  Only the wet rocks, 
>found all along most ofthe treadway, were obstacles for us.
>
>We hiked into Pen Mar Park just before 11AM.  There was to be a wedding 
>here today, we noticed.  As we walked through the park, we heard our names 
>being called.  It was Rambunny!  She and her hiking buddy, Fossa, were 
>waiting for a ride from a friend with who they would be spending the night.
>
>We chatted with them as we waited for the concession stand to open.  Hot 
>chocolate, chicken, fries - Spur added a cheeseburger and a cheesedog.  It 
>was very chilly, so we moved to a pavilion nearby to eat our food.
>
>After about an hour, Rambunny's friend had arrived and they went off with 
>her. Spur and I left shortly after. Within a few minutes, we'd reached the 
>Mason- Dixon Line.  I'd completed my 200th mile and had returned to the 
>land of "Yankees."
>
>We hiked strong after lunch, stopping briefly at most of the shelters to 
>sign and read the logbooks.  We wanted to leave some encouraging notes to 
>Gitter Done, who'd only days earlier struggled with the temptation to 
>leave the trail.
>
>With lightened gear, she was leaving Harper's Ferry in a better frame of 
>mind.  We were rooting for her.
>
>We hiked on past all the shelters and springs.  My feet were not giving me 
>any pain and we weighed our options.  We finally decided to hike on up the 
>next climb  and stay at the Rocky Mountain shelter, which we could reach 
>by 7, we estimated.  This would put our mileage at just over 4 today.
>
>We got to the shelter about 6:30.  A large group of scouts was there, but 
>no thruhikers.  We found a nice tent site nearby and went about our 
>routines - Spur pitching the tent and I prepping for dinner.  We both 
>walked down to the spring, which was a good distance away, then returned 
>to our chores.
>
>After a supper of spaghetti, hot chocolate, and a dessert of fine Danish 
>choclates, we were ready to journal.  We were asleep by 10 PM.
>
>'Wonder what tomrrow will bring?  Just in case, I took 3 ibuprofens!
>
>
>rain
>Walkie Talkie
>ridgerunner, Jenni
>mud
>skirt
>
>
>
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