[at-l] PA hike

[wb4pan at mindspring.com (Chase Davidson)]

Hi Gang,

	Well I finished up PA Thursday. Saturday my shuttle (the Judge who 
just returned from a Mnt Rainier climb) dropped me At DWG. I met one 
SOBO at the Hostel and ended up hiking my last day into Port Clinton 
with him. Bluegrasshopper has a journal on Trailjournals.com.
	On my way to the Kirkridge shelter I got to see some para sailors 
take off. I had to wait an hour but it was worth it. Unlike hang 
gliders who run down a steep slope and launch themselves into flight. 
The para sailors just stand there and inflate there parachute and take 
off almost vertical!
	At Kirkridge there was a sobo SanJanero who did Maine, took a month 
off and started at DWG. Also a family of three on their first 
backpacking trip. One kid packed in a folding Cot  haha. They had a 
good time.
	I tented a couple of nights after that. Mostly I only walked half a 
day each day. I enjoy the early morning and beside it rained every 
afternoon at 3:00 promptly. So I laid around a couple of hours midday.
	I recommend the free service in Palmerton over the ones I used this 
trip. I sent a food package to Fine Lodging in Slatington. Strange 
place, the hotel that is. But I did have a new mattress. The Shack bar 
had really cold beer with a burger and fries and a coke $6. The 
italian place had good subs and the Breakfast place was good too. One 
thing though the ALDHA companion says you can phone Ira Fine for a 
shuttle from the Bowling Alley. Its closed and there is no phone 
there. On the good side its probably less than two miles all the way 
to the Hotel. Besides I aint going back there anyway hahah. Others 
said Palmerton was real nice.
	I stayed at Eckville shelter. I skipped this one my first time thru 
PA. I missed out.  The club owned shelter is on private property with 
a Caretaker. They have Ice Cream, Cookies and Sodas for sale mmmm. No 
smoking or drinking on the property. So I had ice cream for lunch. The 
Solar shower was nice too! I talked with White Beard for a while. He 
was the club president last couple of years. He had some interesting 
hiking stories from Ireland and other cool places he had been.
	Bluegrasshopper and I did the 15 miles into Port Clinton by noon for 
Lunch at the Hotel bar and a couple of cold Yueglin Lagers :-). The 
have a giant thru hiker size burger and the small fries are a dinner 
plate piled high!
	It was nice to get a shower and wash those stinking cloths. It has 
been a good while since I walked in the summer. I had a good time even 
with the mosquitoes, rain , sweat, rashes (gotta love that Bag BAlm). 
I gave a few nobo's a ride to Hamburg. Boomhouser, Slideshow Bob, cant 
remember the other names.
	One south bounder had come off the trail with West Nile Virus. Oh and 
that neat looking RailRoad Station Museum like place at Port Clinton 
on the AT. Well That aint a museum and they don't like for me to use 
there big parking lot! Its a private RR with 350 miles of track. All 
those Pullman cars that seem to be on display are the owners private 
cars. Its kinda like a rich guys toy train set.
	Next time I will make it to the Yueglin Been museum 17 miles up the 
road. But that will be on my third AT hike, gotta finish this one 
first. Still have WV and MD to fill in a gap.

chase