Day 86, Monday May 24, 2021

   

2nd Chronicles 

Waynesboro to Quarry Gap shelter - 20.6 miles hiked today -1087.5 total AT miles hiked to date.

After a wonderful breakfast of biscuits and gravy and eggs, Rick’s uncle delivered us back to the trailhead by 9 am and we headed north again.  It felt good to be hiking again after a day off of the trail, even if it was raining.  And rain it did.  Although it never got too severe, the rain was relentless all morning and into the afternoon.  Although I had a pack cover and rain gear, I still got pretty saturated before I’d covered much of today’s hike.  Nevertheless, the terrain was relatively mild, and the miles passed quickly.

I stopped at Chimney Rocks to admire the view (such as it was in the rain), and the pushed on to Rocky Mountain shelter where I met back up with Rick and Pinot for lunch.  The shelters here in Pennsylvania are meticulously maintained, and are some of the cleanest and landscaped shelters we’ve seen.  Even the privy was spotless, with toilet paper provided - a rarity on the trail thus far.

The afternoon hike was a bit more challenging.  Although the rain had slacked off some, we had to face some very steep climbs, combined with some rock scrambles.  They afforded me with an opportunity to sharpen my climbing skills before hitting the real bouldering we’d face further north in Pennsylvania.  Also faced another  interesting challenge when coming across a sign that pointed out we were in an active hunting region.  I made sure my neon green sweat rag was clearly visible.

Late in the afternoon I passed Caledonia State Park, as the trail ran right into and through it. I was able to dump what little trash I’d accumulated during the day at a bear proof trash bin in the park.  Also saw a red headed woodpecker, the first I’d spotted, although I hear them almost daily.  I couldn’t get close enough for a good picture, but if you look closely at the picture of trees below, you can make him out.

Coming out of the park was the steepest climb I’d seen in a while.  The trail even included a warning that I’d not seen thus far.  It made for slow going the last few miles of the day, and put me into the shelter after 7.  Again, a beautiful shelter, well maintained and groomed.  After setting up my tent on a wooden tent platform reminiscent of the chickees in the Florida Everglades, I had a quick dinner and turned in for the night.  Tomorrow we hit the halfway point of the trail.

Until next time…