What would a climb in PA be without rocks?

I am currently sore from head to toe. I wonder why I feel this way. Ohh yeah! I walked a very long way today.

I was up at 5:15AM, and after breakfast and breaking camp I was on trail at 6:15AM. It always takes longer to hit trail when I have to break down my tent in the morning.

The trail from Stony Mountain to Rausch Gap Shelter was fairly level, although there were spots that were rocky beyond comprehension. Just before the shelter junction, the trail dips down on the approach to the gap.

Just north of the shelter junction is a very confusing detour. The blazes were difficult to spot, and the trail was hard to decipher amidsts the rocks and the thick forest that have become trademarks of the Pennsylvania AT.

It seems that a lot of the area I have been walking through recently was once a thriving mining community, and it's evident with the delapidated stone structures the trail meanders by.

The climb out of Rausch Gap was fairly gradual, but rocky of course. What would a climb in PA be without rocks?

The trail then descends into Swatara Gap. I decided to eat lunch just south of here.

The gap has a rustic iron bridge that takes you over Swatara Creek.

The climb out of Swatara Gap was very in-your-face. There was one false summit, but eventually lead to a ridge that the trail would ultimately traverse.

On this ridge I was inforced by a section hiker that Cookie was at Rausch Gap Shelter last night, and that he intended to go to 501 Shelter tonight. I was determined to catch him today, so onward I went.

A vast majority of the trail on this ridge is easy walking. However, about 1.5 miles tough of 501 the trail becomes quite rocky.

Eventually I stumbled upon 501 Shelter, which is a fully enclosed structure with Wooden Bunks.

Tomorrow I shall march to Port Clinton, PA. I shall take a zero Sunday because my body needs it.

Exaustation and fatigue are setting in.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.