6/13/06 Tuesday: Port Clinton,PA Pavillion to Allentown Hiking Club Shelter (22.6mi)

PICTURES:
1. Views from Pulpit Rock
2. Turkey buzzard resting on the rocks of the Pinnacle
3. After the buzzard flew off, I stripped off some clothes and got some sun on the rocks and rested a bit..
4. Apparently its a tradition here a the Pinnacle to grab a rock and toss it up on this pile of rocks... Apparently they have had a few visitors over the years...LOL
5. On my way north I came across this sign reminding me of what I had accomplished and what was to come...
6. Another view from Dan's Pulpit just a few miles from my shelter for the night
7. Yup more rocks, this trail leads to the top where apparently 3 counties converge...

It was pretty mild over night and quite comfy at the pavillion... PA61, a rather busy thruway passed within 100yds above the pavillion providing all hikers with the not so pleasant sound of 18 wheelers passing in the night... LOL... I woke early as usual, about 0530 and walked the .4mi to the restaurant for breakfast... After a nice meal I returned to the pavillion to find most of the other hikers getting up an ready for the day... I finished packing and was again headed north by 0730... I took a short break at the Windsor Furnace Shelter, enough to fill up with water for lunch later.. The walk thru the Windsor Furnace State Park was pleasant but soon changed to a climb up to Pulpit Rock with magnificant vistas of the valley below... I met Matt there, a local college student out for the morning. We chatted about our good fortune on this day before I continued on to my next stop of the morning... The Pinnacle... More vistas were to come on this perfect hiking day... With temps in the 80s, low humidity, and plenty of sun, this was a hikers dream day... When I arrived at the Pinnacle I caught a couple of turkey buzzards by surprise on my camera... They were perched on the rocks taking a break from their usual soaring above the valley... They soon caught me eyeing them and flew off.. I broke out my stove and cooked lunch and spent an hour lounging in the sun, eating, relaxing, and enjoying the moment... A few other day hikers passed by, all enjoying the marvelous views and birds buzzing about... After lunch, I joined another day hiker, an teacher on summer break, for a walk out of the park... We chatted about all sorts of thins, our careers, the beauty of the park, thru hiking, to name but a few... He turned off on another trail to head for his car while I continued toward my objective for the day... still 12 miles off... I reached the side trail leading to the Eckville Shelter, another supervised shelter right on the road... I chose to continue passed it, having plenty of water and aware of the still 7 more miles yet to be done before I could stop for the night.. The afternoon hike proved to be very unpleasant with a 1000" climb worstened considerably by the black flies swarming about my face, repeatedly landing in my eyes... I cant begin to tell you how much I hate that...LOL... By 1615 the climb was over and I had reached Dan's Pulpit, another vista. About an hour later, I checked out the Tri-County Corner, a marker placed in a rather high pile of rocks signifying the point where the border of 3 Eastern PA counties lie... And finally at 1830 I arrived at the shelter, joined shortly after by 4 other hikers who had taken a 4 hour break at the Eckville Shelter earlier in the day... The four had been hiking together for a while, Sleeper (An anesthesiologist) Bushwacker, Tricycle, and Bonesaw. After chatting for a bit and going the .3 miles for water, we all turned in for the night...