6/11/06 Sunday: Stony Mtn spring/rhododendrum patch to 501 Shleter (25.5mi)

PICTURES:

1&2. I passed a couple of Ghosttowns up on the mountain... I have a hard time believing people actually lived way up here year round... Must have been a tough life...
3. I met this volunteer after I had restocked myself with water... He was retrieving some mulch for use in a privy at a different location and drove his truck up to the shelter to carry the 60lb bag out of here.... Thank God for the wide trail.... LOL...
4&5 Some views descending the mountain on the way to the 501 shelter...


I had a wonderful nights sleep listening to the babbling brook put me right out... Besides, the previous day had been long and grueling.. I was on my way by 0730, leaving this bivouwac as pristine as when I had arrived, and once again I was on my way north with nice weather and another long hike with benefits upon arrival...:)... The 501 shelter is within .1mi of a major road and there is a pizza parlor that delivers out there... :).. The incentive of pizza for dinner always helps to push me along...;)... The day included a few steep decents and ascents but mostly ridge walking over and around rocks and boulders... I made the 8 mile trip to Rausch Gap by 1000, which was pretty good considering the footing along the way... I didnt stop into the shelter which was .3mi off the trail, I still had plenty of water from the stream at my overnight camp spot and had planned to get water while passing through Swatara State Park. I had passed through a few state parks on this trip and looked forward to using their "facilities" quite refreshing... Unfortunately, I walked through the park without coming across any facilities. I had planned to get water to cook lunch and find a picnic table to lounge at, but I ended up walking through the ouskirts of the park, never seeing any sign of civilization... The park was surrounded by roads including I-81 which cuts right through it, so I coninued on my trek, having come about 15mi so far today, hoping to stumble across a nice lunch spot and water source. I decided to climb the other side of Swatara Gap and eat up on a nice breezy overlook... At this point I was conserving water for my dehydrated lunch and would get some drinking water at the next shelter about 5 miles away... I found a nice spot for lunch and set up, only to find I had about 1.5 cups of water available for lunch, about 1 cup short of the recommended amount... Just then, "Free" and "B" walked by and I bummed a cup of water from them for lunch... I had passed them earlier in the morning, and they were gracious enough to stop and give me some... I kinda felt bad, not use to asking others on the trail for essentials like this but they assured me they had plenty to reach the next source... I spent an hour and had a relaxing lunch and was soon on my way north again. With no more serious climbing today, the ridge walk ahead was quite enjoyable. I soon came to the William Penn Shelter which had a wonderful water source as well as fine camping spots. There I met a couple of young south bound section hikers carrying everything but the kitchen sink in their packs for their 4 day outing. A couple of noteworthy items promanently displayed was their full sized machete, and a pistol strapped to the leg of one hiker... I didnt ask what these items were for, and watched them lumber off slowly down the trail... I also met a member of the local trail maintenance club, David Crosby (no relation). A nice fellow who is a fine example of what keeps this trail open and pleasant for the rest of us... After chatting with David for a bit, I packed up and headed for my ultimate destination... I was looking forward to pizza but also just before my arrival at the 501 Shelter, I finally had some nice vistas, something missing from the days hike up to that point... Always a nice way to end the day... I arrived at the fully enclosed shelter and found 4 other hikers there. I picked my bunk for the night and another hiker and I ordered pizza and we both went out to the parking lot to get it... After finishing the large pizza and pop, we concluded our day with journal entries, some friendly conservation and lights out for a restful nights sleep...