7/08/01
Rain set in overnight and was steady this morning when I awakened. No one was stirring, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. Two hours later it was still raining. Metagator and Jeff had emerged from very wet tents to the shelter and Phantom was packing up his wet tent as well. I packed up as the rain subsided and Phantom and I left the dry shelter just as the rain stopped around 10:30 a.m. Thanks to the cloudy skies and relatively cool weather, we were able to hike at a fairly quick pace and get some miles behind us despite the high humidity and soaked bodies (from wet leaves and shrubbery and grass on the trail). We took a lunch break at the Dennytown Road crossing because tap water was available from an uninhabited building next to the trail there. A late afternoon climb over Shenendoah Mtn. was steep and difficult, much like the terrain back in GA and NC and a lot less like northern VA, PA, and NJ. We arrived at the RPH shelter around 6:30 p.m. When we arrived there were three people already at the shelter we hadn't seen before. After a few minutes conversation I learned that the two young ladies heading south to Delaware Water Gap were from my hometown and live very close to our friend Greg! Small world! They shop in the same grocery store as Greg and eat at his favorite deli often (Gracey and Repel). The third person staying at the shelter was Sea Runner, also a southbound section hiker. Soon Surefoot showed up and two separate frisbee games began and lasted for an hour. Grits arrived and finally Pockets and Beatle. The RPH shelter was formerly someone's small house built from cinder blocks. It lies on the caretaker's property just off the trail. Some people had a party there last night and left us some watermelon, oranges, and apple pie. Pockets and I polished off the watermelon which was tasty. For a change there were very few mosquitos and other flying varmints inside the shelter. Phantom and I both got in our bunks as soon as darkness fell after a long day of hiking. The insects are a constant nuisance now, even during the daylight hours while we're hiking. I'm looking forward to getting back to higher elevations to hopefully escape their wrath. For the record, I have a sore throat and haven't felt 100% today. Today's stats; low 62, high 82. Rainy morning, cloudy afternoon. Today's mileage: 19.4; cumulative mileage: 1409.1.
