HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN

AT Day 066:  Monday June 12,  2023

Mile 1082 + 26 miles /42 km

Total Distance Hiked:1108 miles/ 1783 km

Rocky Mountain Shelter  – US Route 30 – Caledonia State Park – Quarry Gap Shelter – Middle Ridge Road – 3 Points Road – Millsburn Road – Ridge Road – Birch Run Shelter – Shippensburg Road – Dead Woman’s Hollow Road – Woods Road – Woodrow Road – Tom’s Run Shelter – Michaux  Road – Pine Grove Road – Pine Grove Furnace  Store – Pine Grove Furnace State Park – Camp

A: 3307ft /1009 m  D:3595 ft /1096 m

I woke earlier then usual this morning. From the shelter  I could see a star shining through the tree canopy and realize that the 4:00 a.m. rain prediction was not going to eventuate. I checked the weather report and the rain was now excepted to  arrive at midday.  

So that was a relief and we could hike rain free for at least half a day.  We packed and were ready to go just before 6:00 this morning.  It was beautiful to see a red sun rise through the trees. It  felt like a real bonus on a day that we were expecting to be a wet start. 

Within an hour of leaving the shelter the cloud seemed to roll in,  it got dark around us and the pretty soon the best part of the day was over, it started to rain. So much for weather predictions. 

We soon entered a long stretch of trail lined by masses of Mountain Laurel in absolute full glory.  We have not seem such dense masses of plants in full bloom. We have been told that this is peak Mountain Laurel flowering season in Pennsylvania, they are followed by blueberries in fruit and then rhododendron flowering.  So much later then the southern states we passed through so far. 

We crossed the very busy US Route 30 and soon after entered Caledonia Park. The park was deserted, it was still very early in the morning.  We topped up with water, used the bathrooms and headed out to a very steep  climb out of the park.  We walked through a tunnel of dense rhododendron which started and ended abruptly.

The rain arrived hours before it was predicted to arrive and it pretty much rained all day varying in intensity threatening to almost stop and then not stopping and intensifying.  The hiking hasn’t been unpleasant despite the rain the terrain was not overly challenging and not too many rocks, so overall the trail has been good.  The Mountain Laurel has been absolutely stunning and that made up for the rainy weather.  

We got to the Birch Run Shelter where we planned to stop for lunch. We were so looking forward to taking a break on the covered porch out of the rain, thinking we’d have it to ourselves.   

When we got to the shelter there there was a group of about 12 Englishman in their late 20s early 30s. We were surprised to find such a big group of people out considering we’d not seen any out today.   They made room for us under cover. It was nice to take a break and get out of the rain. Hammer filtered water and I made lunch. 

We thought the Englishmen had a military background but did not ask. In fact there was conversation at all. And despite being English they looked not happy about the rain. It was fascinating watching their dynamics while we had lunch. We were in and out of the shelter in half an hour.

We were on a mission to make it to the Pine Grove Furnace Store to get some hot food and some supplies for the next two days. It was 10 miles away and we were not sure what time the store closed. 

The trail was not overly  challenging apart from the rain. I stopped a few times to take some more photos of the Mountain Laurel flowers which I still find so fascinating. I’m imagining making  glass lights or sculpture in the shape of these beautiful flowers. 

Highlight of the afternoon was spotting a small tortoise by the trail. It did not like having it’s picture taken. 

By late afternoon the rain had really set in and instead of easing as was predicted,  it had actually intensified. It made the last couple of miles to Pine Grove seem to really drag on.  Hammer was feeling really tired and really just wanted the day done and he wanted the rain to stop. We were soaking wet.

At some point in the afternoon we passed the halfway mark which had no official half way post. We had passed various other half-way marks for older AT routes. At this stage we really didn’t care about the half way mark.

We made it to the store just after 4pm, cold, wet and hungry. After a couple of hot burritos and delicious Idaho potato fries we were feeling almost normal. We were at the store for a couple of hours, waiting for our batteries to charge and for the rain to stop. Hammer was a bit disappointed that it was too cold for the half gallon ice cream challenge. 

We left the store just after 6 and hiked another couple of miles before finding a camp spot. A nice spot high on a ridge. I even saw a sunset through the trees. .