[at-l] Ready's Journal: June 28 Tuesday TD 23 Pt 2

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

We filled our water bottles, dropped off some items for
the hiker box and headed out.
En route we stopped for Gaterade at the convenience store,
where we encountered Leopard. Usually an extremely stoic
individual, he was as exuberant as ever I'd seen him, chatting
and smiling!
It dawned on me that he'd just completed that incredible
descent into town and was about to begin the equally daunting
ascent out of town. No wonder he was all charged up! I recalled
how exhilarated I'd felt coming in. It made me feel eager to hike,
but we still had the post office to visit. When we got there
Spur went inside as I waited outside.
We were finally resdy to hike. Infernal town time! It was now 4:00 PM.
Infernal heat! It was still in the 90's as we followed the white blazes
  that would lead us out of town and into the woods.
As we crossed the expansive bridge over the Susquehanna, tiny white
lintlike pollen was flying everywhere, landing and clinging to our bodies
and packs. They itched!
When we got to the other side of the bridge we stopped to brush them
off and found that they were actually little insects - biting insects! We
  furiously brushed at them, but they clung and wedged themelves into
every crevice of our packs and fold of our clothing. It was quite a
challenge, but we finally managed to sweep them all off.
At the edge of the woods, it was an immediate and steep climb up.
We labored along, Spur much more energetically than I. Even after the
trail had reached level terrain, I found my energy was lacking. We reached
a shelter after about 4.5 miles, and I was sorely tempted to stop for the day.
Spur reminded me that our goal had been to sleep at the shelter that Earl
had built. I immediately perked up at this prospect and resolved to hang
tough for the remaining 6.5 miles. The terrain was smoother and the
notion of closing the day there was a real motivation for me.
We hiked on and reached the shelter just before dark. It was filled with
hikers. They welcomed us warmly, and graciously made room at the
picnic table for us to cook.
They were all in high spirits, exclaiming that we'd "just missed the
evening's entertainment!" Spider, who was there with his dog, Girl,
re-enacted his portion, a wonderful little mimed "string act."
This was just the laugh I'd needed.
We found that the little shelter was occupied. White Foot, with a
reputation for being a big snorer, had been waterproof spraying his
pack in the tiny shelter. Neither Spur nor I were eager to share that
space under those circumstances. We cheerfully returned to the
larger new shelter.
Spur made the long descent to the spring to get water for us, while
I began the supper and sleep area preparations.
Rock steps lead far down the steep hillside to the spring. In the shelter
log, many a hiker offered colorful, complaining descriptions. My favorite
was that of "Preacher" who wrote: "It's a long way down. Just before
I got to the spring, I think I saw China just to the right."
It was late when Spur returned. We ate our spaghetti silently, then
quietly climbed up the narrow ladder to the loft to sleep. It was a hot
and humid night, especially under the low eaves of the loft. All around
us we could hear the soft murmurs of deep sleep coming from our
sheltermates - there were at least a dozen of us there, and even
more in tents nearby.
Spur took a short time to write some notes for his journal entry for
the day. I was too tired to write and dozed off immediately, curled
up on top of the thermarest. We'd spent the day with fascinating
people, including a hiking legend; we'd hiked 11 miles on difficult
terrain in only 4 hours, all after 4 PM today! I'm sure I was smiling
as I drifted off to sleep.