7/12/99 Freddy's House   Miles Today : 17.9 Miles to Katahdin : 991.8

What a weird, wacky day today was! There was definitely a mix of the good the bad and the ugly all wrapped up into 24 hours.

First, this morning we awoke to find that piped spring outside the shelter that had been dry as a bone yesterday was dripping well. In fact, overnight, it had filled up a large steel tub below it, so we had plenty of H2O available in the morning.

Secondly, Pending, an 18 year old from Maine left at 5:00 this morning and snuck out without so much as eating breakfast. DB had warned him to be quiet since 2 nights ago he and Rockfish were up at 5:30 chatting right outside the shelter with their "outside" voices. Also, this kid does not take any advice well. We asked him to move his horrible smelly socks outside. His response was he washed them yesterday and it may rain. I was less polite with my second request.

So enough complaining, we did finally find the famed PA rocks today! They were difficult and did slow me down some, but nothing to bad. On one really bad stretch of rocks, however, I stepped right over a sleeping rattlesnake! Yikes, only inches away from that thing and it didn't make a noise. Don't worry though, I woke it up so that I could get a good picture of the thing with rattle in action, seriously.

For a lunch break, DB and I stopped at the William Penn shelter. This place is a huge waste of wood! It is very nice but the structure is tall enough for 3 sleeping levels but only has 1.5. No need at all for a form before function shelter out here!

Around 3:00, DB and I arrived at the 501 shelter, our destination for tonight. There we find Bible Bill and wife, Faith Walker, who has Lyme Disease. So I listen to her whine and complain about how she feels, etc.. First of all, if you have lyme disease, you should go home, no matter how many times you read the bible. Secondly, it's unfair to stay at a common shelter and expect other hikers to respect your "quiet time" at 3:00 in the afternoon. If you have a problem like that, get a hotel. Also, I walked out of the building and she thought both of us left, and said to her hubby, "why did they have to come here, all I want is peace and quiet." DB refrained from laughing and I refrained from the whose-god-is-stronger-gets-the-shelter contest. Oh, yea, did I mention this place is right on the road, 3 miles from Pine Grove?

So Colorado shows up and found a peaceful alternative for all. A local, Jim, was out by the road and offers to let hikers stay at his place a few miles away, SWEET! So we hop in his truck, swing by the grocery for fresh meat and goodies and off to his cabin we go. His place is very simple but nice. Turns out that Jim is an avid hunter. After talking to him for a while, we find that he 1) only uses bow and arrow since a gun is too easy 2)eats everything he kills. Pretty cool I think. I can respect a guy who doesn't waste an animal for so-called sport.

Don't get the idea that Jim is the nice guy by any means. He is absolutely obsessed by hunting and has claimed to have killed a neighbors cat that wandered onto his property. I have not seen such close-mindedness and negativity since back in the deep south. He no longer talks to his once best friend over a sum of $160. He is single, chain smokes, and talks about his kills constantly pointing at his trophy wall to show us the head of the game he is talking about.

He even put in a hunting video, tree lounge trophies, for us to watch. The narrator was describing in detail each of the kills he was filming and even would show the instant replay in slow motion. To say that video was bizarre and extreme can only begin to explain to display.

But all and all, Jim was great to us. He let us drink his beer, use his grill and even did a load of laundry for us. He let us shower in his place and sleep on his sofas. In the end, even though I don't agree with his type of lifestyle, jim was a true trail angel.

Tomorrow, back to the 20+ mile days again and into Port Clinton. Ciao!

-Chomp

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