Let me tell you a story

On Wednesday I was slack packing the 20 miles into Harpers Ferry with a friend, Sisyfus, I've made on the Trail. She had read in a guidebook that one of the shelters we would be passing was a "feat of engineering". So of course we had to see it. We walked down the trail and it was a very nice shelter but initially it was hard to tell what was so impressive about it. Upon closer inspection we realized that it was built without nails! The timber they used to build it was cut at the ends so they fit together like lock and key. Pretty neat. 

At the shelter was a pack and some gear and on the picnic table was a bunch of half eaten food. There was a pot of rice with a fork still in it and a fuel canister. And as a creepy side note, there was also a machete and hammer. It looked like someone was halfway through their meal and just vanished. Sisyfus and I both had the same thought. "What the heck happened to this person?!" Afraid that someone might have either had a heart attack or been murdered we decided we probably should check around to make sure.

Both armed with a trekking pole we bravely sauntered over to the privy to check it out. Sisyfus goes in front and I follow close behind. When we arrive at the privy she opens the door and peeks inside. The next moment she screams and jumps back. I am now convinced that there is a body in the privy and my heart starts pounding. I slowly open the door and peek inside. 

This is what I find:

Yes friends, that is a black rat snake in the privy. I was thankful it was just a snake. 

We didn't end up finding anyone, thank goddess. We called the nearby trail conservancy office and letting them know. A day or so later we learned that it had been there for 4 or so days. Apparently someone had planned on sound a week long hike, but on his first day out he decided he hated it and quit and didn't want to carry his gear the 12 miles back to town. Why he decided this halfway through his dinner or how he expected his gear to get packed out I'm not sure.