Flip Flop Hikers: Sprout Day 28 (Sunday, April 24, 2016)

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Sprout Day 28 (Sunday, April 24, 2016)

PUUUURRRRPPLLEEE RAIN, PURPLE RAIN!!!!!!!

We had an amazing day with Mb and Poppa lip. We stayed about an hour from where we needed to get dropped off on the trail. We were close to Pine Grove park so we stopped there to go to the AT museum, it was closed when we passed on Friday and we really wanted to go check it out.

I'm glad we got to go with the family because it was a cool little museum. They had a shelter that Earl Shaffer built. The museum is right next to the half gallon ice cream challenge so we went over and Jeff killed it, less than 20 min!

It feels good to have the 3 Amigos back on the trail together! We went 8.1 miles today and we started late in the afternoon because we wanted to spend as much time as possible with Poppa Lip and Mb, it's so nice to see family!

We didn't get to the shelter until 9 and it was dark. This is definitely the latest we've showed up at a shelter. It was a different experience hiking in the dark. We passed through two rock mazes today. It was my favorite part of Pennsylvania so far. It was a really tight maze going through the top of a couple mountains. At one point we had to climb up some really tough parts but we all worked together and helped each other, it feels great to be back together working as a team! When we all work together, like we did today, I know there is no mountain we can't conquer, we are the Three Amigos!

When we arrived at the shelter I noticed at least one person in the shelter and one person out in a tent. It's hard to be quiet when you're unpacking, setting up your tent, and cooking a meal before bed but I think we did a good job. Before we got to the mazes we had to go up a pretty steep incline, gaining elevation quickly, with a lot of switchbacks. It was hard getting up the mountain but worth it. I love getting to the top when there are huge rocks like today. There were a couple of spots that looked like there were caves. I love walking through the mountains and looking across in the distance at other mountains. Sometimes you can see where you just came from, it's a great feeling when you see how far you’ve trekked and to see what the profile of the mountain looks like from a distance.