Day 26 - 13.5 - Appalachian Trail Railroad Station - NY - Home

Sir Winton Churchill best captured my feelings today when he said,  "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

 

Today, June 7th, is the last day of my hike for this Spring.  Sadly, I am officially off the trail.

 

The problem I had with the pain and numbness in my right thigh (Meralgian Paresthetica) has returned.  I had high hopes that the custom padded belt that Su Burdette helped me fashion would stave off the onset of the problem but that was not in the cards (Su - I can't thank you enough for your help).  The belt did its job for a period of time, but as I once again lost a fair amount of weight, and my pack began to press lower on my hips, the belt became less effective.  The decision to stop my hike was a difficult one, particularly since I was only 12 miles short of reaching Connecticut, but one that I have been wrestling with over several days.  I love being on the trail, meeting wonderful people and seeing America in its natural glory, but I must put my long term physical well being first. The episode from last year kept me in pain and discomfort for many months and I am not willing to pay that price or potenially an even higher price just to complete the trail this year.

I don't think this is the end of my AT hike, but rather a re-grouping point where I need to evaluate alternative approaches to achieving my goal.  There are still many options open to me so I have not thrown in the towel quite yet!

Well, enough of that.  Let's talk about the hike this last day and my trip home.

Mr. Sunshine and I knew it was going to be a scorcher today so we got up by 5:15am and were on the trail by 6:00.  With the low humidity and temps in the morning we were able to make fast mileage.  We reached Morgan Stewart Shelter by 7:20 and got a fresh supply of water from a hand pump well.  Very iron-like taste.  That is why we carry powered drink flavors, they help to mask the taste.

We reached Nuclear Lake about the time things started to get steamy.  I could not find my Deet (insect repellent) to save my life. It turned out that in my rush during the morning, I had wrapped it up in my tent.  Needless to say, I was a favorite target for the bugs today. 

 

The miles flew by and by 11:30, I reached the Telephone Pioneers Shelter.  Having made my decision to head home, I gave all my food supplies to Mr. Sunshine.  He decided to call it a day and let his feet rest.  I headed on down the mountain to the reknowned Appalachian Trail Raiload Train Station, one of many stops on a commuter rail line to New York City.  I guess I'm not the first to opt to come off the trail at this point. 

 

Telephone Pioneers Shelter

The walk to the train station was interesting but hot.  A lot of it involved walking through tall grass (amazingly no ticks - guess that Permetrin was working) and then through a long marsh where they are working on replacing the crude board crossing with a nice deck.  As I came out of the marsh, the Appalachian Trail Railroad Station appeared!

THE ROAD HOME - Much to my dismay, after reaching the station, I realized that trains only stop to pick up and discharge passengers on the weekends.  Seems there is always a catch that can mess up your plans, even on the AT.  I tried to get a ride to the next town but did not have any luck.  Thank goodness for my new Droid X phone that I bought just before setting out on the trail - I was able to ask it to locate a local taxi and in seconds, I had a ride.  I got to the next station down the line with only 5 minutes to spare. 

 

It took two hours to get to New York City and then the real fun began.  The commuter train pulled into Grand Central but I needed to get to Penn Station to catch the Amtrak train that would carry me to Maryland.  As luck would have it, I arrived in Grand Central right at the outset of rush hour so it was bedlam and no easy task to maneuver to Penn Station when I had no idea where I was going! 

 

Grand Central has tunnels coming from all directions and there were huge masses of people rushing about.  I asked a couple of people how to walk to Penn Station and they looked at me like I was crazy.  Everyone told me to hop the shuttle (subway) and then make a transfer.  Thinking, "OK, here goes nothing," I headed toward the shuttle.  Fortunately, I met a local at the fare card machine who offered to help me get to the Amtrak ticket office at Penn Station.  Even when we got to Penn Station, there seemed to be tunnels in all directions and barely any signs.  The place was a mad house.  My trail angel (who would have thought, an angel in NYC) stayed with me all the way to the ticket office!  I don't think I would have made it without his help.  Hikers will tell you, when you want something, you probably won't get it but when you need something, the trail will provide.  My trail luck was still with me. 

 

As we pulled out of NYC I was finally able to relax and catch up on my e-mail.  Sandy was there to pick me up at the Shady Grove subway station and we were home by 10:30pm.  Not bad.  Traveling from the AT just 12 miles from the Connecticut border to home in just nine hours.

Hot meal, long shower and a soft bed - a good end to a tough day.  Tomorrow starts my recovery and evaluation of how to conquer or at least compensate for this problem.

Thanks to all for the love and support you have given me - it is deeply appreciated.

Day 25 Monday June 6th. - 16.6 Miles to Stealth Camp near NY 52

I have never thought of deer as being clumsy, but over the last several days I have come to realize that the New York deer may need some lessons in being graceful.   Last night, around dusk, I heard from in my tent a lot of cracking of twigs and rustling of leaves.  The intensity of the sound made be think that possibly a bear was snooping around camp.  Wrong - out walks a deer who stares at our tents like they were alien beings.  Days earlier on Bear Mountain as I came around a cliff side on a narrow ledge, a deer jumped out from a little ledge to my right not more than four feet in front of me and tumbled down the mountain.  He was alright after he shook off the initial fall.

Was another hot and steamy day.  Thank goodness our starting point had nice clean potable water.  Sure makes a difference in taste.  Our first climb of the day brought us to Shenandoah mountain which has the notable feature of a US flag painted on the rock surface in honor of 9/11.  It was a great spot for a lunch break.

Lunch on Shenandoah Mountain

As the temp's continued to climb we arrived at RPH Shelter.  Nice facility.  Cinder block walls, bunks, hand pump and very few flying bugs.  Time for a hiker nap.  As the weather get hotter, many hikers will take several hours off during the mid day to rest and continue to hike after 3pm when the sun starts to decline.

 RPH - Looks nice - but has only three walls.

Tough haul out of RPH.  The mountain kind of made us feel like returning to the shelter and taking a longer nap.  The one good thing was when we reached NY 52 there was a deli waiting for us just .4 miles down the road.  Nothing like a nice hot pizza to re-energize the body.

We hiked another 40 minutes after dinner and settled for a spot just off the trail.  Unfortunately the interstate was about a mile away, so we were serenaded all night long with the sounds of big rig trucks cruising the highway.

Day 24 – 15 miles - Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park

 Hurray for Trudy the trail angel.  We woke up this morning to the smell of warm waffles.  Our laundry was dried, folded, stacked and ready for us to grab and go.  We had a lively conversation around the breakfast table and then Trudy drove us from West Point back to the trail to drop us where we left off yesterday.  What a wonderful gesture and wonderful person!

One of the many beautiful vistas on the AT

First milestone of the day, we crossed the Hudson River over Bear Mountain Bridge.  It was spectacular, a breathtaking panorama.  We could see Fort Montgomery and Bear Mountain looming over us as we crossed.  Unfortunately, on the other side of bridge, as is the case whenever you leave a town, we had to pay the price we always pay – climbing altitude to get back up the mountain ridge.

New York is an interesting place (aren’t all the stops on this journey?), it seems that as you reach many of the road crossings, if you pay close attention and you look left or right, you’ll probably see a deli!  In our case, after hiking about 8 miles, we reached a road crossing at lunch time.  There we found a gas station called the Appalachian Café and inside was a full deli that made hot and cold sandwiches.  What a treat to be able to sit down to lunch at a picnic table and have a fresh hot chicken sandwich and a cold green tea!

As I mentioned yesterday, one of the typical highlights of this leg of the hike is visiting Graymoor Monastery, home of Franciscan Friars.  The monastery has welcomed AT hikers for decades.  In the past, you could stay in the rectory building and be treated to a sumptuous meal but nowadays, you are offered the ball field as a place to pitch your tent and a picnic pavilion where you can eat.  Mr. Sunshine and I determined that visiting the monastery was going to take us a mile out of our way so we bypassed it.  We also decided to skip the Trailside Wildlife Refuge since we got there at 9am and it didn’t open until 10.  It is basically a petting zoo so no big deal.  Plenty of other sites to see!

As we pushed deeper into the woods, the wind died and we became the target of every mosquito and black fly in the area.  At the end of the day, we both looked like pin cushions and I think we’ll be eating dinner inside our tents to avoid the bugs.

Tonight we are camping at a State Park.  At least this place has a potable water well down by the road. At our current rate, we hope to be in Connecticut in 3 days.  The states are speeding by.

Day 23 – 13.4 miles - Trudy's House, West Point, NY



Trudy, Our Wonderful Trail Angel

 Today was National Trail Day so there were many interested hikers and helpers on the trail.  Mr. Sunshine and I were lucky enough to run into a wonderful trail angel (Trudy) who offered us the opportunity to stay at her house for the night.  Wow, what a shower, shave, clean clothes and a bed can do to revive you!  We will be forever grateful for Trudy's kindness.

Mr. Sunshine and I are now hiking together.  Mr. Sunshine is a 51 year old Californian who hiked a bit of the trail last year and is back for more this summer.  He started in Harper’s Ferry and hopes to make it to Katahdin this year. 

The AT's version of Disneyland



The day was full of ups and downs.  We walked over three peaks, the last being Bear Mountain.  Bear Mountain was quite an experience, it was almost like being in Disneyland!  Because it is a popular tourist hiking attraction, stone steps have been built to help you climb the mountain with gravel pathways where there is bare trail.  I found myself wondering whether I was still on the AT!  The view from the top is magnificent with the skyline of New York visible on a clear day.  It was hazy but I could make out the skyline if I squinted my eyes.  Of course I took lots of pictures which I am hoping will show the skyline.  We were tour guides of sorts when several confused/lost Trail Day hikers needed directions back to town!

Water on the trail was terrible.  Yesterday, we had to hike a mile just to find a water source and I loaded up with 5 liters just to be safe – this load is a huge weight to add to the pack.  The water was yellow, not very appetizing.  I gave the water a double treatment of both my steripen (ultraviolet water purification device) and aqua mira (chemical tablet) to make sure it was properly sanitized.  Today we added 1.5 miles to our hike to get to a State Park where we were able to get fresh water. 



A happy backpacker - beautiful weather on the AT  -
Can you see NY in the background?

  Tomorrow I will be hiking through a zoo and after about 8 miles, will come to a monastery.  The monks let hikers set up their tents on the monastery grounds and feed the hikers if there is interest.  I may or may not stop depending on the weather (thunderstorms are predicted) since I want to keep putting on the miles.  Connecticut is in my sights – I hope to cross the State line within the next 3-4 days!



Day 22 – 14.3 miles – Fingerboard Shelter



Staying In Shape To Scramble the Rocks

Today was another fair weather day which always makes for pleasant hiking.  Unfortunately, the good weather was counteracted by a brutal day along the rocks, so I am proud to have covered 14.3 miles.  It was a Herculean effort!  Rumor has it that there are only 8-10 miles of rock left ahead of me – hallelujah.  I won’t miss this part of the trail!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, today I encountered one of the more challenging parts of the hike, Lemon Squeezer.  The rocks in this area of the trail are so close you have to take your backpack off and push it ahead of you as you thread through the rocks!



Light at the end of the tunnel



Fitzgerald (no relation to Bill) Waterfall



I did see other wonderful sights today.  I encountered the Fitzgerald Waterfall and got to see a mother turkey with 12 little ones walking along the trail.  When the mother saw the hikers, she gave out a call that caused her chicks to scatter in every direction possible.  When we had safely passed by, the mother gave another call and all the chicks came back.  There is always something unexpected to see as you’re hiking.



Tomorrow I should be climbing Bear Mountain.  If the day is clear (which it’s supposed to be), I should be able to see the outline of New York City from the top of the mountain.  Oh goodie, my favorite sight (for those who don’t know, I am not a fan of the Big Apple!).  Sunday I may have showers . . . boo. 

Nothing like a beautiful Spring day on the trail

Day 21 – 12 miles – Wildcat Shelter

Today was a good day on the trail.  The temperature was only in the 80’s and there was a breeze throughout the day.  This kept down the bugs and kept me from sweating all day.

I ran into quite a bit of wildlife today.  I woke up to a turkey trotting by my tent, saw a small copperhead crossing the trail (only about a foot long), and ran into a second turkey moseying along the trail.  I also encountered an unusual SOBO (southbound) hiker - a large black bear who was oblivious to my presence.  He was busy walking down the trail and looking down, the wind was blowing in my direction so he didn’t pick up my smell and he didn’t seem to hear me until I called out “Hey, Bear!” when he was only about 25 feet away.  I raised my walking sticks above my head into an X when I realized the bear wasn’t just crossing the trail, he was following the path of least resistance – walking the same path as I.  The bear took a good look at me and then moved off the path.  I tried to shoot a video, we’ll see if I caught anything.

Today I officially crossed into New York and climbed Prospect Rock.  There were lots of rocks along the path – I swear the designers of the trail went out of their way to make sure we have to hike over every rock.  Sometimes I had to move hand-over-hand with the full pack on my back.  Tomorrow I will tackle Lemon Squeezer, a very tight fit where I will probably have to take my pack off in order to move ahead on the trail.

Mr. Sunshine caught up to me at the shelter and we will probably be hiking together for a while.  We have 12 people at the shelter tonight so I will be tenting out so I can get some peace, quiet and sleep!  Tomorrow is a 14+ mile day if all goes well.

Will upload pictures when I reach a town where I can recharge my batteries!

Day 20 - 5.1 miles - Wawayanda Shelter

Today was a short day.  The heat (over 95 degrees) and the threat of storms kept me at the Wawayanda Shelter for the majority of the day.  The storms, accompanied with warnings of potential tornadoes (and a touchdown in Massachusetts) did not materialize - the storms blew around us.

Not much "on the trail" news to report.  Thanks to Wizard who warned me to watch the trail markings carefully.  No problems and no bears but I'm glad I knew to keep a careful eye!

I was on my own today since Mr. Sunshine needed to stay in town to get his camera repaired.  He and I are planning to reconnect tomorrow at a shelter that's about 12 miles from where I am staying tonight.  I have company with me for the night - Avatar, a 6'4" cell phone power inspector (he climbs the cell phone towers to do his inspections), Protein - a young guy who eats powdered protein on the trail, and Country Gold. 

The heat is supposed to break tomorrow and it looks like it will be beautiful hiking weather.  Keep your fingers crossed!

Pictures will be added when I reach a town and don't have to conserve my battery power!  Stay tuned!!

Day 19 - 6.3 miles - St. John's Hostel - Vernon, NJ

Another sunny day.  High 80's and 60% humidity.  Woke to the calls of the birds.  What a great alarm clock.  Heard my first coyote calling last night.  Met a hiker who started last year, like me, and is back to finish the 400+ miles he has to go.  His name is Country Gold.  Nice fella but very talkative.  Also met one of the "greyhounds" (young hikers) by the name of "Yikes".  She started from south of Harpers Ferry on May 11th.

Out early to beat the heat.  The bugs are terrible.  After 2 miles, I had to put on my bug net just to keep them out of my eyes, ears , nose and mouth.  We reached a great overlook that showed the NJ Highpoint tower in the far distance and made us appreciate how far we had come in one day.

NJ High Point Tower in middle on far horizon

Lots of bogs today.  We walked over one that is kind of famous in AT lore.  It is a very nice wooden walkway that goes a half mile over marsh land.  Two years ago they had a fire that almost burned the walk way.  They used helicopters to keep dropping water on it to save the walkway.

When we got to the road it was a 2.4 mile walk to town.  Hot walk, but we lucked out and found a trail angel a half mile down who offered to run us to the St. John's church hostel.  By 11 am I was starting to feel human again.  Nothing beats clean clothes and clean skin.

St. John's Hostel & Church

Resupplying in town for four days on the trail and eating everything we see.  Have already arranged a ride to the trail head at 8 am.  Just need this heat to break.  The climb out of town is a 1,000 foot climb over bolders.  Guress it could be worse.

Today we lose Leadfoot from our hiking group.  He has taken on some bad water and needs to go home and get better.  Mr. Sunshine will be hiking for awhile.

No update on Shakin.  Last I heard he left the Water Gap on Saturday.

Day 18 – 12.4 miles – Pochuck Mountain Shelter

Today started with a thunder boomer that rolled in around 5:30am.  As a result, I was late hitting the trail and didn’t roll out of camp until 8:15.  Fortunately, it didn’t rain the rest of the day.  Unfortunately, the rain didn’t bring down the temperature so it was at least 90 degrees during the day.

Today I was walking in a valley between two mountains and as a result of all the rain we’ve had, there were a lot of bogs to walk through.  There were also a lot of mosquitos to contend with.  My shoes and my legs picked up mud throughout the day.

I did make it to Unionville and was able to take care of my Memorial Day picnic cravings from yesterday.  I chowed down on pizza, lemonade and ice cream.  No watermelon but I felt very satisfied. 

Mr. Sunshine

I spent the day hiking with Mr. Sunshine and Leadfoot, so had some company both along the trail and at the shelter.  We walked along a road during a part of the day and saw an interesting use of an old cranberry bog.  New Jersey turned the bog into an estuary/waterfowl refuge.  We saw swans and a variety of geese swimming.

Tomorrow I am planning to take a “nero” day – I will walk a short distance (approximately 7 miles) and stop in a town to get a shower and a day off the trail.  After putting in lots of miles over the past few days, in all the heat, I need a day to refuel my batteries (both in my Smartphone and my body!).

Day 17 - 13 miles – High Point Shelter

Sunrise Mountain Pavillion

Tough day, in the 80’s and 62% humidity.  Water sources were really scarce so I had to camel up (a term for packing extra water during the hike).  Reached my first high point early at Sunrise Moutain Pavillion.  This place has a sad history in that a couple of years ago, a solo NOBO (north-bounder) female hiker was first to get there in the morning and she found a young man who had hung himself from the rafters the night before.  She almost quit the hike but she did finish it and wrote a book about her trip.

Lots of PUDS (pointless ups and downs) today.  Came across a deer that snorted at me like he was trying to scare me off.  Today’s hike really zapped my energy levels. I got to camp by 3pm and took a camp bath in an effort to feel human again.  My clothes can now be classified as hazardous waste! 

One of many vistas on the trail

I reached New Jersey’s highest point today.  It was so unfair – I could hear the sounds of the nearby lake/beach and could only think of hot dogs, ice cream and lemonade as I drank my warm water. 

This is my second night camping with Mr. Sunshine from California and Leadfoot from Kentucky.  I may go to Unionville tomorrow with them for lunch, hope the restaurant doesn’t throw us out because of our stink.  Unionville will be my first stop in New York - I will be crisscrossing the New Jersey and New York borders for the next couple of days!

Day 16 – 18 miles - Gren Anderson Shelter

Big one, 18 miler today, sunny, humid but lots of breezes so that helped out.  Out by 7:10am and at the first shelter, which was 11 miles out, by 12:40 so that was really pushing it.  What a dump it was.  It was right next to a green mosquito-filled pool of water, and they were all over the place.  I quickly got my water, ate a quick snack and got out of there as quick as I could.  The next camp looked a lot better even though I was going to have to put additional miles on the boots. 

Shelter where I stopped for a break

Just a little information about my camp mate last night.  His name is Orange Bear.  I had met him back at the Gap.  We caught up with each other toward the end of the day looking for a campsite.  He is a self-employed carpenter from Belgium on a six week tour of the AT and jumping around sections.  He started at Waynesboro, Virginia and at New York he plans to jump up to Vermont so he can see as much as he can during his six weeks off.  He’s a rather brave soul in that he has minimal English skills.  He has done this on other vacation hikes in the US before, he said.  He went to Aspen, CO the first time and he said he went with all the wrong gear, too heavy.  He learned his lessons when he was doing that.

Today was just a tunnel of green with occasional walks on exposed ridge lines.  Not a very exciting day, I saw various lakes down in the valleys but just endless, endless trees.  Surprising for New Jersey, huh! 

It's great to be back on the trail!

The shelter, fairly nice, a great water source.  You wouldn’t believe some of the water sources along here, you just kind of close your eyes and drink it.  This was nice and clean.  The shelter is kind of full tonight, there are about 15-16 hikers here.  They must have some real bear problems in the area because they have some are signs up and at this shelter, they have a metal bear box to put your food in for the night instead of hanging it from the trees or the foolish ones who put their food in their tents.

That’s it, I’m kind of tired after an 18 mile hike today so once again, I’m heading off to bed early.  Again an early rise and hopefully we won’t do as many miles tomorrow.

Day 15 – 13.4 miles - Rattlesnake Campsite

AT Version of Stonehenge (in the backgrond not foreground!)

Hurray, in New Jersey today.  Unbelievably long, hot walk across the bridge going over the Delaware River just to start the hike up a mountain.  Lots of snakes today, must have scared up about 10 of them but none of them dangerous.  Passed an unusual natural pond - Sunfish Pond - where just about the only fish in it are sunfish.  The water is so acidic that most fish can’t live in it except a few species.  You can see the handiwork of idle hiker hands along a particular section of the shoreline where they have created their own version of Stonehenge in a shallow section.  Personally, I think most would be too tired to do that but youth has its energies. 

Last night, a fierce storm came though the valley and knocked out all the power in the Water Gap township.  The power didn’t come back on until about 2am.  I was at the Church hostel and it didn’t bother me or other thru hikers, we were already in bed. 

Too Tall and Whole Wheat

I was fortunate enough to run into section hikers Too Tall and Whole Wheat as they were hiking Southbound.  Last I saw them was Tuesday in Lehigh Gap.  They hiked to Delaware Water Gap, shuttled to the NJ border and were hiking back to the Water Gap today.

The water in NJ has a lot of tannin in it so even though it’s clean, it’s not clear, it has an opaque look to it.  Don’t look at it, just drink it!  The last couple of days have been so hot and humid, I am consuming large quantities of water as I go. 

Shakin and I have headed our different ways.  Was in touch with Shakin in the morning and his back is hurting badly. He may need to take several zero days at Delaware Water Gap. Hopefully he made it there today and will be able to recover enough to come back on the trail.

Day 14 - 15.8 miles - Delaware Water Gap, PA

To continue from yesterday . . . Shakin' got to the motel around 8:20pm for a total trip of 12 hours and 40 minutes.  The trek beat him up pretty good.  Nothing like a hot shower and an order of pizza to try to revive one's spirits.

Got a little later start (9am) this morning.  Shakin' was telling me his back was hurting him but to go ahead and meet at the first shelter.  Unfortunately, when I got to the first shelter (9.6 miles), Shakin' texted me to tell me he had only gone about 4 miles.  His back was hurting him so much he had to stop to camp for the day.  I decided to go ahead and make the push for the additional miles to the Delaware Water Gap.



Looking Down Into the Delware Water Gap

It was a hot, humid day.  I drained 72 ounces from the bladder along with additional water by the time I got to town.  That was with the temperature just in the mid eighties.  It's going to be harder as the temperatures continue to climb. 



I met another interesting trail character today - he goes by the trail name of Kentucky Geologist.  He is section hiking and slack packing.  He is with two other friends but he latched onto me as I passed him and we talked for the next 3 miles leaving his other friends in the dust!  He was quite the chatty traveler.  He has his doctorate in Geology, a master's degree in Physics and an Engineering degree.  Every summer for the last 5 years he has gone to China for the summer to teach English to high school students.  His conversation made the miles whiz by.  We parted company at a point where we took a break.

I then ran into four young hikers from University of Notre Dame.  They had placcards attached to their backpacks that were approximately 2 feet x 3 feet proclaiming that they were doing the whole AT to raise funds for a hospital in Tanzania.  Nice guys and committed to their cause.  I only had a brief moment to snap a picture since they were flying so fast.



Church of the Mountain Hiker Hostel



At the Water Gap, I'm enjoying the hospitality of the Church of the Mountain Hiker Hostel.  It was so nice to feel air conditioning when I walked into their Center.  I hope to get a good night's sleep, I've covered a lot of miles over the last two days.





Day 13 - 20.6 Miles - Wind Gap, PA



Hallelujah, a sunny day!



Sunny weather, mid 80’s today.  Well, I wish I could say I had a good night’s sleep at the Fine Lodging Hotel but unfortunately that would be a lie.  The hotel had no air conditioning so we had to keep the windows open and the windows faced a bar that stayed open until 2am.  The bar had lively patrons along with a cooking exhaust fan that sounded like a machine gun. 





View from Lehigh Gap



Got a good breakfast and headed off to climb the trail out of Lehigh Gap.  Some say this climb is the most technical climb anywhere south of the White Mountains.  Interesting views, and a little hand-over-hand climbing, but with a nice sunny day, there was a spectacular view all the way around.  EPA Superfund has been working on this area for a number of years due to problems caused by the zinc industry.  Many areas were fenced off and hikers were not allowed to venture into them because of safety concerns.

  

The next five miles we had to go through were mostly open grasslands that were being reclaimed by Superfund.  We encountered a large number of ticks! 

Water was rather challenging today so we had to ration our consumption.  I resorted to asking day hikers for an extra bottle of water (called “yogi’ing on the trail”) which I shared with Shakin’ and The Professor.  Score one for Yogi!  

Not much in the way of animals on the trail, I scared up one turkey and one buck (deer) and hundreds of chipmunks!  Turkeys are very active right now and I could hear the guy gobbling along the trail because it’s mating season.  



A rockin' good time!

Ran into another interesting section hiker, a Navy Captain who goes by the trail name Captain Max.  He is turning 78 this weekend and he first started doing sections of the trail in 2001.  It seems every year he gets injured somewhere, for instance, last year he said he went from Harper’s Ferry to just south of Boiling Springs when an unattended cut on his leg caused his leg to swell twice its size.  After $14,000 of medical treatments, they were able to save his life from the infection in his leg.  His goal is to get to Vermont where he will hopefully have finished all the sections on the trail.  There is determination.

Looks like only two more days of the Pennsylvania rocks before we reach New Jersey.  Hurray!

Day 12 - .9 mile - Slatington, PA - Fine Lodging Hotel



Fine Lodging Hotel

You never know what to expect on the trail.  We left camp at 7:10 am and by 7:40 am were being whisked to Statlington for a Nero day (day with some trail time and some in town).  As I got to the road and was looking at my map, a car pulled in and the driver said he had just dropped off a hiker called The Professor (I met him two weeks ago) to start the climb out of Lehigh and offered a lift to town in Slatington.  We landed up at Fine Lodging Hotel, an old hotel that serves as mostly a modest apartment complex.  The few vacant rooms are rented to the hikers.  Simple with common bathrooms, but clean and plenty of hot water.

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Took a walk around town.  Sad to see all the vacant little store fronts on Main Street.  I can image how nice the town once was during its heyday.  Seems that the town is the historic center for the production of blackboards!  And we all know where that story ends.  Wandered into the local hardware store and could have stayed for  hours. It was the old fashioned type with a little bit of everything tucked away in various nooks and corners.  The owner said that the only thing that kept them in existence was that they sold ammo and guns on the second floor.  WalMart has put the hurt on small stores in this town.  What a shame.  The town folk are very friendly (unlike in Port Clinton) toward hikers.  I am at the library right now and they immediately welcomed me in and asked how they could help.  I like small towns.

Well time to get some rest and plenty of food.  We are debating on taking on a 20 mile slack pack tomorrow.  It will be the one sunny day in ages and could be a tough hike if it gets to the high 80's.

Day 11 - 16.7 miles - George W. Outerbridge Shelter

Long day on the trail today.  Out of camp by 7:30am and didn't reach the second shelter north until 6:30 PM.  Today's interesting trail trait was hiking over the Knife's Edge and Bake Oven Knob and of course untold boulder fields.

First the Knife's Edge - the hiking clubs in this area have a mean streak in them.  Imagine walking along the top ridge of a mountain where it is all stone angled at 45 degrees.  Here they paint the white blazes on the stone and go along the toughest routes.  With a full pack, it was tough.  At times I had to ride on my butt to get down some wide spans without falling off the cliff.  And just to make it a little more challenging, there was a drizzle all day with constant mist.

Now the Bake Oven Knob - which they call a loose gravel bed.  Loose gravel my foot.  This was a never ending strech of microwave-sized boulders heading to the top of the moutain.  Not as bad as the Knife's Edge but the challenge was trying to find where the path was.  White blazes were few and far apart.  Most hikers got lost in this section.

We reached the first shelter at 10 miles but decided to move on when we read in the journal that it had a large population of mice, racoons and snakes.  It was built back in the 1930's.

We lucked out with the storms today.  Got into camp 45 minutes prior to a big thunder storm.  Looks like another night in a shelter.  Will this rain ever end.

Met a new thru hiker couple from Yellowstone Park.  Trail names are Strech and Zippers.  Both work as year round employees at Yellowstone for the concessions contractor.  They had very interesting stories about the park.  One interesting one was that you can experience 2.5 hour traffic delays due to bison blocking the road.  Into Palmerton tomorrow for resupply and a shower.

Day 10 - 10.7 miles - Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

Arrived at Allentown Shelter at about 1pm.  Had to wait until around 3pm for Shakin’ to catch up with me.  Tough rocks that we had to climb for the day.  When I got there, there was a kid called Lone Wolf, apparently he’s been camping there for a week, had no supplies, was begging for food so he’s in a tough way.  Nice shelter, five others stayed for the night so it was safe to stay there with the guy.  It rained during the night so that’s why I slept in the shelter. 

Day 9 (Picking Up Where I Left Off!) - 12.5 Miles - Unknown Campsite

 Well, it’s Saturday morning (May 21) and Sandy (Base Camp) and I have driven from home (Banner Country Court) up to Port Clinton (2.5 hour trip).  We arrived around 8:30 to reconnect with Shakin.  He’s still having some issues with his back but he said he’s willing to give it a try.  We are going to try to hike to the first shelter (Windsor Furnace Shelter).

We made it to Windsor Furnace Shelter by about 1pm and after a rest, Shaken felt well enough to try to go further.  We went up some pretty rocky stuff which had a combination of heat and snakes.  I ran out of water in my bladder toward the end and was looking for water as quickly as possible.  We settled in after about 9 hours of hiking into a campsite up along the ridge in the watershed area.  The insects were pretty terrible, it was so bad I put my mosquito netting on my head and ate my Power Bar underneath it.  Then I climbed into my tent to escape the bugs.  In the morning we woke up with a mist.  Our goal is to hit the first shelter.

Zero Days - xx Miles - Banner Country Court

Well enough of a break.  Shakin got to Port Clinton on Thursday and wanted a zero day on Friday.  I have been waiting at home until I could re-link with Shakin. The time has given me a chance to get everything dry and to shake down my pack a little more.  Pack weight with four days food and one liter of water is coming in at 33.5 lbs.  Still not under 30, but manageable.  Our plan is to leave out Saturday May 21.  Hopefully the aches and pains that Shakin has been experiencing will rapidly decline.

Weather seems to be finally letting up a little with just an occasional shower predicted.  I sure look forward to a little more dry times, especially as we approach the northern PA rock fields.

Day 8 - 3.6 miles - PA 183

Short hop today.  Shakin is still not caught up to me and I have not heard from him as to a status.  Base Camp (Sandy) agreed to come pick me up and I will have to re-link with Shakin in Port Clinton.

Woke to heavy rain which continued while I broke camp. Nothing like putting back on those very damp clothes, socks and boots in the cool morning.  Better than a cup of strong coffee.  Had everything packed with the wet tent being the last item put in its stuff sack, only to suddenly realize that I wasn't wearing my glasses.  Yup - left in the tent.  Luckily I didn't break them, but they were so smeared with dirt that they were half useless.

Yes - that is the AT trail.

I have come to understand the wisdom of the PA trail designers.  They make AT hikers trod the mountains' drainage routes.  The surface is durable due to the ground being washed away from the rock. It's a perfect erosion control design, but it sure beats the heck out of the bottom of one's feet, and in heavy rains you are always in a small stream either hiking up, over or down. Some of the water on top of the mountain was big enough that I was tempted to stop and drop a fishing line and see if I could catch some dinner.


My boots are now totally saturated.  I swear that I  have seen spores similar to these growing inside my boots. If you can't tell, the wet is starting to wear a bit on me.  Well, maybe the sun will come out tomorrow, tomorrow...

Day 7 - 9.7 miles - Heartline Campsite

Interesting events happen every day on the trail.  This morning, as the group of us were packing up for the day's hike, suddenly Well Woman let out a scream and dropped her pack as a mouse went scampering.  A little more searching found that the mouse had turned her rain pants into rain shorts.  It didn't end there.  The mouse was an expecting mouse and had built a nest that night in the pack and delivered what we thought were two babies.  This mother mouse was a determined soul.  She ran back into the shelter and near our feet, searching for her babies.  We placed the nest and two babies in a dark corner, which she quickly found and ran with each baby out into the woods.  After a few minutes she was back searching everywhere.  We were puzzled until we found a third baby in the pack.  Once momma retrieved the third one, she made one more dash into the shelter to retrieve the nest.  The lesson - NEVER underestimate what a mother is willing to do for her children.

Early start out onto the trail and four miles later I had one of those "if I only had...." moments. I came to the famous 501 shelter.  This place should be reclassified as a palace.  It is an enclosed building about 30' x 25' with twelve bunks (and probably no mice), and a huge picnic table in the center under a massive skylight.  Pizza delivery was available as evidenced by the stack of empty boxes by the recycling bins, a care taker who lives next door, well water and a port-a-john next to the shelter.  It would not surprise me if they didn't put a mint on your bunk each night.  But for four miles I could have been sleeping the prior night in the lap of luxury.  Oh, well.

More wet rocks to hike across.  I swear my balance is getting better with all this practice.  Just waiting to meet up with a rattler in all that rock, of course, they don't come out to play in the rain like we do.  Made good time to the campground.  Tenting tonight but looks like we will be getting downpours by night.  Won't and Well Woman set up camp nearby.  Again the rain at least waited til dinner was done.  Wet tent to pack in the morning.