June 27, 2012- OUCH!!!!

Start: Deer Lick Shelter

Today was a painful day!! Some hills, some rocks, some blisters, some sore neck muscles (from looking down at the rocks for each step) and ending the day with some sun burn... That is the recipe for pain!!! But, there still is no place I'd rather be! Our day started at 7 am. We left camp at 8:30 am and headed 3.6 miles to Tumbling Run Shelter where we pumped some water from the creek. There is nothing like cold, fresh water pumped directly from a spring! We were in for a long stretch without a convenient water source, so this was a good place to stop. We then climbed 1.3 miles to Chimney Rocks. There was a side trail that took us .25 off the AT, but the view was worth it! We ate lunch with a GORGEOUS view of the surrounding mountain ridges and a lake. After the short break, we hiked 5.3 miles to Rocky Mountain Shelter where we cooked some delicious food. Chicken fajita for Brian and veggie lasagna for me. While we were at lunch/dinner, we decided to alter our plans and camp at Caledonia State Park which was 3 miles away to cut down our day by 2 miles. Just before we arrived at the park, we met thru hiker, Machine,who is doing the trail in 100 days. He started May 7th and is already in PA... He is a machine! When we arrived at the park, I had a chocolate chip ice cream sandwich and Brian had a hotdog and fries. We shared a soda. The hiker "food mood" is starting to kick in. We are eating a lot, but burning a lot. The scale at the hostel a few days back was down 8 lbs!!! As we ate this delicious food, we saw a motel that was 2 miles down the road and offered a ride to hikers... We gave in to the temptation. We are spending the night at the Scottish Inn and Suites in Fayetteville, PA. The total mileage for today was 13.2 and for our trip it is 58.6. Tomorrow, we will be at the "less than 1100 miles to go" mark!

End: Fayetteville, PA

Peace Be The Journey
~Flicka