Sourball at Eckville Shelter
J: 7/14 - A wet one today. Awoke to the crew up and packing. A first for Memphis and Sourball, up and out before the rest of us! I hung out and waited until the post office opened. No package - bummer. Called Allen to have packages sent earlier, but he wasn't in. All else seemed well in the 'burg. Mike said we had a change of fortune and the dudes don't have to move out of the house. So far, so good.
Mailed off some gear to Delaware Water Gap. The radio is history until I get more earbuds. Other stuff that I just wouldn't need for a while.
Didn't get out of town until 10:15. So much for the early start. Climbed the hill up and up ... and up. Past Pocahontas Spring, down and up and down again to Windsor Furnace Shelter with weather moving in, and caught up with Sherbear and Jeffbutt. JB's heels are raw from the new boots in PA. Rough walking for him. We three headed out and back up the hill to a surprise astronomical observatory on the Pulpit. Just then, the ominous rumblings we had heard all afternoon turned on us. See, it wasn't my stomach. The winds picked up and the water came down. And I was worried about running out and too dry to hike! Man it came down. Just not a drizzle but a steady drenching rain for five hours.
We slogged through the pinnicle and down toward Eckville. Passed a boyscout troop looking pretty miserable, passed a search and rescue training group (Laurie Watson's folks) looking just as soggy and unhappy -- and on to Hawk Mountain Road. For stupidities' sake, we passed the blue blazes and continued on!
Walked for 0.5 mi through the 'ecologically sensitive' area clear to the other side before we realized our error. This is the _only_ time I have turned around and headed south on trail for a mistake -- had to happen sometime, accidental purist. Back at the road we found the bunkhouse right where the book said it would be. Soggy boots -- hell, everything I wore or carried was wet. Pack cover only so useful.
Sourball says, 'A guy finds a way to revive dead porpoise using gulls. Goes out of state to capture some gulls, brings them back and steps over his pet mountain lions and is arrested. Reason: transporting gulls across staid lions for immortal porpoises.'