She drops me off at Pen Mar at 4:30 PM and the second we pulled in, big fat rain drops start falling. The forecast is for rain starting tonight and rain all day tomorrow. Of course it is. That's the theme of this month. Rain, rain, and more rain.
I pay the shuttle driver and jump out of the car heading straight to the pavilion where I finished my hike a few days ago. A thru hiker is sitting in the pavilion and we chat for a while I pull out my rain gear and fix my umbrella to my pack. His name is Overdone. He started the beginning of March. I say goodbye and head up the trail. In the rain, again. Ugh.
About a half of a mile up the trail I head down from some railroad tracks and see a sign pronouncing that I'm crossing from Maryland into Pennsylvania at the Mason-Dixon line. I can now add Maryland to the list completed states!
The trail crosses a big stream on a bridge and I meander up and down, but mostly up, for an hour. The rain beats a steady rhythm on my umbrella the entire time.
The next shelter is only 5 miles and 1,000 feet of climbing from where I started today. I think I may pass the shelter and head to the next one up the trail, only four additional miles. I may need to night hike for a little while, but that's okay on this easy terrain.
By the time I reach Deer Lick Shelters, however, The ambient light is already dimming under the tree canopy. I look at my watch and It's almost 7 PM. I decide that if there is space in the shelter I'm going to take it. I would hate to pass-up space in this shelter only to get to the next shelter and find it full, which happens often when it rains.
When I said Deer Lick Shelters, that was not a typo. Instead of one large shelter, there are two smaller ones that sit next to each other. I walk by the first one and there are three gentlemen inside with not much room for another person. I go to the next one holding my breath and see one young woman inside.
"I guess this is the ladies' shelter?" I ask the young woman inside, as I start taking off my pack. She smiles and replies that it is for now. I get set up fairly quickly and start on my dinner. She warns me that she gets up really early. I tell her that's fine with me as I wake up early anyway.
I'm making my dinner when Overdone walks up. He asks if he can camp with us. There's plenty of room for another in the small shelter and we both move our beds closer to the shelter walls to make space in the middle.
Overdone tells us how we got his trail name. He is the father of quintuplets. FIVE children at one time! Unbelievable! His children recently turned 21 and he is treating himself with a thru hike!
The young lady's name is Soft Serve. She is a travel nurse who takes off frequently for long distance hikes. She has already hiked the PCT. She hiked 28 miles today!
We are out by 8:15 pm.
Today's Stats: 4.9 Miles, 1017 feet elevation gain, 866 feet descent
Trail Stats: 1072 Miles, 233K feet gain, 238K feet loss
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