Day 80

Ankle was better but still sore. I decided to just go ahead and walk on instead of staying in the shelter since I didn't know how long it would take for the ankle to heal. I wanted to head to the Doyle in duncanan but that was 48 miles away. So i could do it in 3 short days or 2 long ones. Since I was in Pennsylvania and had just taken a zero I decided to go for two long ones. I wanted to do a few long days to prep myself for hiking the Maryland challenge once I got down there. The hike went fairly well considering my ankle hurt anytime I tried to use it. When I got to about mile 23 I had a fun encounter with a Rattlesnake. This guy here was hanging out sunning himself next to the trail.

I didn't see him since he was black on black behind a log and some shrubs, he didn't know I was coming so when I stepped right next to him he was as scared and jumped for the bushes. At which point i saw him and jumped 5 feet backwards. I bushwacked around the snake since he didn't seem inclined to move anymore and got another picture of him without a log or bush hiding him from me.

At this point I decided to call it quits for the day. My ankle was starting to hurt bad and that snake made me decide to wait for a better time of day to hike in. There was an old abandoned town a half mile further on where camping was allowed. As soon as the sun set I heard something large hopping around in the canopy of the trees. I have no idea what the creature was I didn't get a good look at it but it was bigger then a squirrel, about the size of a racoon, but it was jumping around in the tippy tip of the trees. I figure it was someone's pet monkey that got loose or freed.