A Peachy Cabin Weekend

A sign beside the drive leading to the mountain cabin read “Zephere’s Rock: Population 1.” Further down the gravel road, a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag fluttered in the November breeze. This is a place where people come to be left alone, I thought.

I was getting a few of minutes of solitude myself, taking a brief walk on the mountain road to enjoy the yellow leaves and morning sunshine outside of the cabin I was staying in for the weekend.

I’ve often written about how us Lancaster County people drive to Pennsyltucky, the more rural central/western part of the state for relaxation and fun. My friend, Regina Peachy, invited friends to her family’s mountain cabin last weekend before the holidays come and winter weather shuts down the road to the cabin.

Friday evening seven of us—Regina, Ada, Alicia, Ivan, Tim, Jason, and I met at Regina’s parents’ house for the two-hour drive to Mifflin County. The weather was getting wintery as we loaded up the pickups with tubs, totes, duffel bags, and even a four-wheeler on a trailer. (Most of us weren’t much help with that part. Tim, who works in sales for a printing company, tried to help Ivan the drywall contractor and Jason the pole barn builder/hunting guide with the trailer lights, but “they told me they don’t need my help,” Tim reported as he came to stand with the girls. )

Everybody and everything, including the four-wheeler, got safely to the cabin, which was way back on a gravel road on a mountain between McVeytown and Belleville. Regina got the heat turned on and we unpacked our bags and loaded the fridge. “You haven’t been to the cabin until you’ve gained a few pounds,” someone pointed out.

For an evening snack, Regina rolled up mushrooms in bacon and Ada made popcorn in a kettle, and then we settled in for an evening of playing games. Unlike the Mountain Dew drenched sleepovers of teenage years, people started turning in by eleven. The guys slept in the basement, and we girls stayed upstairs, where I was happy to get a room to myself. I hit the sack about midnight, noticed how pitch dark and quiet it was compared to Leola, and fell asleep even as a game of Wizard raged on downstairs.

Saturday morning was my turn to cook. I made creamed eggs to serve on top on toast, coffee cake, and just for fun, baked beans, (which I learned to serve on toast in Ireland.) The Wizard players reported staying up until 3 a.m.

Two more friends, Christina, and later Lowell, joined us in the morning, and then we all went hiking at a trail called Thousand Steps. At least, we all started up the rugged stone steps that once were used by miners. But the cold weather and steep climb convinced a few to turn around and go find a coffee shop instead. I decided to stick it out, just had to stop and rest pretty often. It was like climbing stairs for an hour.

At the top, we took some pictures of the view and a selfie group shot. “You know,” Regina said, “it was all the ones under thirty who went to the coffee shop instead of climbing to the top of the mountain!”

After the hike, we headed back to the cabin, ready for more sitting, talking, and eating. Regina suggested we go explore a nearby cave. “It used be a cave tourists could visit, with lights inside. Then a Swartzentruber Amish man bought the land and removed the electric lights. But you can stop in and ask for a tour anyway. The cave is so big that there’s a canoe inside,” Regina said.

I thought it sounded like great fun, but everyone else seemed more interested in loafing than spelunking, so no cave tour for us.

In the evening another friend, Jimmy, arrived after spending the day hunting in his brother’s corn fields (instead of a cabin, his brother, who’s married to my cousin, owns corn fields in Pennsyltucky.) “Saw three deer, but they were all too small,” Jimmy told us.

We played games like Codenames and Bohnanza. Some of us worked on puzzles as the conversion flowed on— faith, family, jobs, travel, politics, Covid. Ada told me that her father has a treatable form of cancer, Jason talked about his upcoming trip to South Africa, Alicia the barista explained how to make designs on lattes, Tim showed us a picture of his favorite Rush Limbaugh Christmas tree ornament.

Sunday morning we got a lovely surprise— “Snow! It’s snowing and we’re at the cabin!” exclaimed Regina as we all watched flakes falling outside the window for the first time this winter.

The snow didn’t last long. After devotions, a few of us went out for a walk. Christina gave me a ride on the four-wheeler.

Lowell grilled burgers for an early supper, and then it was time to pack up and drive home to Lancaster.

You know, as nice as living in a town with a population of one could be, I think I like being with people better!