Expecting a high of 87F today and starting with a climb out of Windsor Furnace (pictured), so got a dawn start skipping breakfast.
Made it to Pulpit Rock after sunrise (pictured), and had frosted blueberry pop tarts for breakfast overlooking the valley (pictured).
Also visited the Lehigh Valley amateur observatory site (pictures), which thoughtfully provided a privy for hikers. Maybe TMI, but found I was chafing from perspiration buildup and did some treatment.
My day's objective was Eckville Shelter at 9 miles. The shelter has a caretaker, enclosed bunkroom, flush toilets, a solar shower (!!!), and tap water for wash and refill. I had real incentive!
There is a beautiful viewpoint past a huge pile of rocks called the Pinnacle (pictures), but I lost the AT trail blazes there and had to use my phone's GPS and AT app to find it again. The trail doubled back and I missed it, but was able to resume.
As Red Squirrel told me the previous day, the trail followed a nice, easy service road for several miles (pictures). It was warm and sunny, and I again gathered cold creek water (pictured) to pour over my head and shirt. I decided not to refill my water until the shelter, which I arrived at around noon (pictured).
I found Tweaker already at the shelter, lying in the sun after a shower and while clothes dried. I dumped my pack and eagerly hit the shower myself - only one water flow knob. It started hot but quickly cooled, which felt great after the hike. I changed into cleaner clothes and rinsed out others.
Tweak took off to resume her hike north, but Cruizer and others rolled in later for the night, each enjoying the amenities.
Cruizer mentioned getting warned by a few rattlesnakes while she crossed the rocks near the Pulpit that morning. Fortunately, I passed through before they got active.
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