Mile 1,193.7
Elevation 1,460.0 feet
Miles Hiked 17.5
No one came into the shelter late last night, so I spent the night alone. I awoke around 6:00 AM and after breakfast and usual morning chores, I was on the trail a little after 8:00 AM. The plan was to go to a shelter about 13.5 miles away, but I changed that with the 501 Shelter in mind. The shelter has indoor bunks and a solar shower, and I was ready for a shower after the extreme heat of the last few days. Have I mentioned the heat wave Pennsylvania is having? Ugh, it’s hot!
The trail is getting more rocky by the day. Coupled with the oppressive heat, it makes the hiking slow. Other than that, the day was unremarkable although long. I arrived at the 501 Shelter at 6:00 PM. There were several southbound (SOBO) hikers already there.
I’m amazed at the number of SOBO hikers I’m seeing. I probably passed a dozen on the trail today and here are more at this shelter. These hikers are not even at the halfway point yet. Unless they’re able to consistently hike twenty or more miles per day, some of them may not finish until just before the end of the year.
Anyway, back to the shelter. The first thing I did was unpack and then head for the shower. The outdoor shower was nothing more than four wooden walls with two black water tanks above the walls. The black tanks are supposed to absorb heat and provide hot water. Everyone else must have got that hot water, because it was cold. I didn’t care. I just wanted to get semi-clean.
After the shower I ate and got into bed since it was now dark. I was looking forward to a good night’s sleep.
