Pennsylvania Appalachian Trail 4-Day Hike

(April 13-16, 2001)

This is my trail journal for the 2001 Memorial Day weekend backpacking trip on the southern section of Pennsylvania's Appalachian Trail.

 

April 13, 2001

My first official AT hike and so far it is everything I thought it would be. This morning we started out at Woodrow Rd. and hiked south. Pieter's parents dropped us off after I left my car at Pen Mar. We hiked at a pretty good clip working our way up to Dead Woman's Hollow Rd. I get a kick out of that name. I wonder what the history behind that is? We stopped there for lunch and I snapped a quick pic of Pieter, Chris and Morgan standing by

My hiking buddies from Maryland Search and Rescue--the sign reads Dead Woman's Hollow Road

the road sign. We set off again with renewed energy and made it to our day destination Birch Run Shelters. I thought today was going to be much harder. The shelters look nice and clean. I haven't decided whether I'll tent it or not. Ahh, the life of the AT--I can get used to this. Today's weather was near perfect--hot with a nice breeze. Right now I'm sitting below the shelters by what I guess is Birch Run Creek. I walked a small distance to find its source but I guess it has no definite exit like many springs. The water is cold, clear and the babbling stream is an excellent place to stop along the trail.

 

April 14, 2001

Destination Rocky Mountain Shelters--we arrived after an extremely long day. I am definitely not use to this long of a hike.
The morning started out nice, eating breakfast and getting started on the trail by 8:00 AM. I learned a new trick with instant oatmeal packets. Pour the hot water directly into the bag after ripping the top off and there is zero cleanup. I can handle that. We passed many many primitive camp sites between Birch Run and Quarry Gap Shelters. There was also a beautiful pine forest through this section. We met a very nice Canadian North bounder. He had raving reviews about Quarry Gap. Once we got there, over the layers of rock on the trail, we saw it for ourselves. There are two shelters tied together with a single roof giving you a covered cooking area. In front, there is a gushing diverted

Another hill and more rocks along the ridge line leading towards Rocky Mountain Shelters.
stream and dense shady vegetation everywhere. When we left Quarry Gap we were met with giant Rhodadendrum bushes. It makes it feel like you are walking through a tropical forest. Mostly along the trail you see a low-story underbrush--I think it is Mountain Laurel. Descending into Caledonia State Park is a huge hill. We saw many hikers puffing away at it. Speaking of which, one interesting trio was taking a break maybe a quarter of the way up the hill, smoking cigarettes--smart. Broke for a long lunch at the park and called home. As we left the park we saw a sign stating Rocky Mountain Shelters were only 3.3 miles ahead. No problem right? We were soon into inclines and bolder dashing but lots of small breaks got us to our destination. Although not the best of AT shelters, Rocky Mountain proved clean and sturdy. Once

you get down the blue blaze to the shelters, it is another 0.3 miles to the spring. The spring is located directly next the road. I am listening to the traffic right now. The spring is not really a gusher--covered completely by a cage lined with wire so that debris will not enter. Unfortunately, the water is still not very clear. Well that's it for the day. I think tomorrow we are going to try and push a little farther than planned. I'm very tired writing this with the headlamp.

 

April 15, 2001

I watched the sun come up this morning--how long has it been since I have seen that?

Yesterday's word was rocks--today it was blow downs. Luckily the blow downs were not a problem thanks to the PATC. We started our hike this morning continuing to ascend the hill we started yesterday. We passed by Chimney Rocks. What a fabulous view. I snapped a couple of pics of course. From there it was all down hill to Tumbling Run Shelters. This was where we originally intended to stay but we knew the hike was way too short. These shelters are extremely nice with water near by and even a couple of clotheslines out back. After a short break we headed on to Antietam. We crossed a road and passed through a very boggy area. Within a few minutes we came across a park with a ball field. The cool part about the park is that they have tap water (year around). We stocked up. Walking just past this place you will find the Antietam Shelter. Let me just say this--it is a beautiful area. I ate lunch on the bridge (which is actually

Rocky Mountain Shelters

Chimney Rocks
the AT). But the single shelter seems to have been treated badly by the locals. The shelter is only a hop and a skip from the park. We thought hard about moving on. The group decided to hike on to Deer Lick Shelters. After a gradual uphill and a nice wooded walk, we made it. The shelters right down to the privy were identical to last night. It was early afternoon so we still had the rest of the evening to chill. I scrapped the pack and hiked the blue blaze to the spring. On the trip back I

decided to gather some firewood since it seemed plentiful. We heated dinner and enjoyed the fire. Everyone decided to jump in their sleeping bags early as it looks to be a colder night. Ohh and it's raining. It sprinkled a little on us coming up to the shelters but now it is coming down hard. Hopefully it will quit by morning for our trek out. Tomorrow will be it for us. I'm a little sorry to leave the trail. I can see how thru-hikers enjoy it so much. However, it will be nice to sleep in my bed and clean up a little.

Lunch break near Antietam Shelter

April 16, 2001

The hike out was short and scenic. There are quite a few roads between Deer Lick and Pen Mar. Playing frogger was not a welcome activity. You cross two roads in a matter of a mile but right after that is a state park complete with dense forest and plenty of rocks to climb over. The awesome scenery inspired my tired legs and feet. It was misting and cool but a couple of uphills warmed us up. Before you reach the old rail tracks leading to Pen Mar, you cross a beautiful river. This is what the hike was all about.

 

 

 

 

Chuck Huenefeldt is an avid hiker and volunteers for the PATC. He lives and works in Maryland. All photos were taken with a Fuji disposable camera.

River north of Pen Mar State Park