May 16 Windsor Furnace Shelter, PA to Eckville Shelter, PA 9.4 miles

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No rain last night. No snoring (except for me) as we were the only people in the shelter. Temps stayed in the high 50s to low 60s. My light weight bag worked fine and I slept like a baby all night. We were up at 6:45 with the oatmeal cooking soon there after. We took our time packing as the mist was thick and we were not real excited about walking in the rain that might come.

We did make it out onto the trail by 8:45 headed up to a view point called "The Pulpit" an 800' climb. The rain held off but the water coming off the trees as the wind blew was nearly as bad as rain. It is Saturday so the weekenders and day hikers were out. This part of the trail cuts through PA Game Lands and it is turkey season, we even saw a couple of Game Wardens walking today. We had planned to make today a short day. The next shelter is only nine miles and change, we have been knocking down 14 + miles each day and our feet are tender. We poked along and took our time today trying to enjoy the flowers and not sweat too much. With the humidity near 100% any sweat we generated was not evaporating and our cloths were soaked. The weather forecast had been for rain last night and today, but no real rain has fallen yet.

We met many southbound hikers today and made the shelter by 1:30PM. Randy, a fellow we have been leapfrogging with for a few days was here taking a break. He too decided to make it a short day and was staying for the night. We made it here before the rain started and got settled in. Two young ladies and their father walked in a couple of hours later to stay the night and they walked in the shelter minutes before the rain came. We all sat inside (this shelter is like the "501" and is a complete building) talking trail talk until the rain quit. We looked at the shelter register which went back to 2006. Going through 2007 we found familiar names of friends we met on our first hike, Fuzzy Monkey, Slinkey Dog and of course The Bag Lady. Then everyone tried to get a few things dry while the sun made an appearance. Randy talked about not taking any pictures or doing a journal of any kind. He said he could not talk to other people about the trail and have them understand the AT experience even with pictures. He said it might be selfish but he was keeping his walk to himself and only shared it with other hikers who knew what the trail was. I hope somehow through my words and our pictures you might glean some of what the AT and the journey really is. After supper things quieted down quickly with all getting comfortable with the warmth of a sleeping bag.

Coming in from the privy I heard the distant rumble of thunder in the west. After going to bed the thunder slowly moved our way. Lightning started to light the edges of the sky then the interior of the shelter. Louder the thunder pealed brighter the flashes became as the storm bore down the mountain at us. Lightning is making the sky bright almost constantly, the thunder sounds like an artillery barrage pounding an enemy position. Our little building trembles like a child before the storm. Most everyone else is sleeping through the weather as I type by headlamp.

This is a much better place to be tonight than our tent up higher on the mountain. Snoring is a minor issue compared to riding out an event like this one in a tent.

Patrick, Deborah Mooney aka OD & CC
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

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