08 May. DWG (zero day)

Spent the morning preparing a plan for the next few weeks including mail drops and town visits. Also going through my pack to find more I can do without since my new pack is about 12% smaller.

I have arranged for us to get a ride tomorrow and again on Tuesday (Mon. if the pack arrives early) so that we can hike tomorrow. We will spend the night here tomorrow and wait for the pack on Mon.

The Slatington 7:

Boo and Scout (Robert and Debbie) are from Texas; recently hiked in Dominican Rep; in front by a day; getting off trail temporarily later this month. They are doing a flip-flop thru-hike of the AT, similar to us.

Outside Dog (Steve) is a retired lawyer from Minnesota; experienced hiker all around; also temporarily getting off the trail later this summer. He is in his second week of a flip-flop thru hike starting in Port Clinton.

Wool E. Mammoth (Lance) is a nurse from Binghamton, NY (as is Jennifer); section hiking the AT for a couple of years and now less than 90 miles from completion. He will finish next weekend.

Jaybird (Jay) is a network TV audio engineer from Nashville, TN; previously lived in Charlottesville/Waynesboro area in his AM radio days. He fell and injured his leg/ankle and had to slow down his planned hike. This allowed us to meet him. He is section hiking GA-ME since 2002 and has completed 1165 miles (including all of PA!) He has finished this year and we celebrated and said goodbyes last night.

Pics in DWG

07 May Delaware Water Gap (DWG)

Cool night, low 40s. Mostly sunny today, about 70. Good hiking into DWG. (Note that the picture is the view of Indian Head in New Jersey. We won't actually cross the Delaware River until Sunday morning.)

I had a tough day. The rocks were bad as expected. My knee began to hurt and I had to put on the brace. And finally, my pack is done. My repairs help temporarily but the belt is still too loose. Most of the weight gradually ends up on my shoulder as the hip belt slids down off my waist. My shoulders eventually hurt and my back muscles cramp. I just stop and rest a few minutes and fluff up the padding I stick in my belt and I am good for another 45 minutes.

The Slatington 7 all came into DWG but Boo and Scout are now a full day ahead of us and were gone by the time the rest of us arrived. They will take 1-2 weeks off later this month so we might cross paths later. Otherwise, Jaybird is in the hostel and Outside Dog and Wool E. Mammoth are with us in the Pocono Inn.

Wool E. Mammoth was met by his girl friend Jennifer (Often Lost). She had a Car! We were able to drive to town and do laundry.

We all (5) had dinner together last night to celebrate the end of PA Rocks and Wolly Mammoth's birthday. For Jaybird, it is also the end of his section hike this year (back to the real world ).

I checked the outfitter here and could not find a pack I liked so I called Rich at Rockfish Gap Outfitters. He had what I want/need and knows my size so a new pack (Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian) is on the way. It won't arrive until sometime Monday so we are going to fall behind what remains of the group.

New Jersey !

Location Note from #Compass!

Delaware Water Gap, PA
USA

Altitude: 1355 ft
Latitude: 40°57'45.7" N
Longitude: 75°7'36.4" W

06 May. Somewhere in PA Rocks

Little light rain in am, sunny in pm. High in the upper 70s. Good hiking day.

Very rocky all day, as expected. Rocks come in all sizes. The picture shows small ones. They stick up at angles so that they hurt if you fall and twist your ankle when you step on one. Tomorrow we arrive in DWG. After a rest, then it is on to the promised land, New Jersey.

Today the Slatington 7 hiked together to Kirkridge Shelter. Five of us are sleeping here. Scout and Boo moved on down the trail. Traveling together has been fun. We will eventually split up but the five thru-hikers will probably see each other again.

The leaves are really out now so we are really in the Green Tunnel. That is the nickname for the AT because you are mostly under the canopy all day. Finally some protection from the sun.

05 May. Wind Gap

Beautiful day. High around 80 with blue sky all day.

After John dropped us off at Smith Gap, we had a great hike (slack packing) to the Gateway Motel in Wind Gap. I realized that there were 9 of us on the trail heading north to Delaware Water Gap (DWG). There are 7 of us here in the motel tonight. Wendy, me, Jaybird, Boo, Scout, and Outside Dog were all in Slatington. We met Wool E. Mammoth on the trail today. He is the young one on this pack. He is only a 120 miles away from completing the AT.

The PA Rocks were not bad at all yesterday and not too bad today. Only 2 days left!

Blue Mtn. Dome

John and Linda are wonderful people who really like to help hikers.  Unfortunately some hikers take advantage of this but they continue to open their home to hikers anyway (so far). 

Go the mile to their house and you can be sure of a place to camp, water, and a cold shower, even if they are not home.  If they are home and have time, they may help you get town food and provide entertainment including a BMX show, trail stories, pictures and music, and pictures/movies of wildlife.   He also does shuttles and will help in emergencies.  This in addition his trail maintenance and monitoring.

John took us up to the trail after dropping his son John off for school.  He then waited for our call and brought us our packs in Wind Gap.

Thank you to The Mechanical Man!

Wind Gap

Location Note from #Compass

Wilkes Barre Turnpike
Stroudsburg, PA 18360
USA

Altitude: 1099 ft
Latitude: 40°51'45.9" N
Longitude: 75°17'49.3" W

04 May Smith Gap, Linda and John's Blue Mtn. Dome

Hiked most of the day with Jaybird.  His ankle did well.  When we got to Smith Gap, he continued several miles to a shelter.  We went down the west side of the road for about a mile to John (Mechanical Man) and Linda (Crayon Lady) Stempa.  They have a large house and allow hikers to camp in the back yard.  They also provide water and an outdoor shower.  We went out to dinner with them are staying in their basement.  They are both very nice.  They have both section hiked the Appalachian Trail over the last 20 years and John has almost completed it. 

They also have a 20 year history of helping hikers.  After dinner we looked at some memorabilia of those years.  They have pictures of famous and near famous people in the AT world who have stayed or visited here including Earl Shafer, the first person to thru-hike the AT in 1948.  He came here in 1998, the 50 year anniversary when he did his third hike of the AT (his second hike was 1965 and the first ever south bound thru-hike).  In 1998, he also became the oldest thru-hiker at the time.  He set a record on each of his three thru-hikes. 

My pack is dying.  The waist belt is too big because the suspension system is broken.  The weight of the pack is mostly on my shoulders, not my hips, and it makes hiking very difficult.  John gave me some tools and I have made a temporary fix.  Hopefully, I can replace it in Delaware Water Gap. 

Depart Fine Lodging

Ira was ready at 8:00 to take us plus Jaybird to Little Gap to continue our hike.  He was then to return to get Boo, Scout, and Outside Dog to be delivered to a slackpack hike up Lehigh Gap.  Ira will meet them with their packs and they will continue north behind us. 

Fine Lodging was a bit of a flop house but Ira sincerely tries to help hikers and the stay was made more pleasant by the company of the other hikers.  Hope to see many of them again.

Almost forgot . . .

. . . We hear this afternoon that someone died here last night.   Rumor at the laundry was that It might have been a drug overdose.

Hikers at Fine Lodging and Ira Fine

Top to bottom:

Duane
Jaybird
Boo
Sandpiper
Scout
Kite
Outside Dog

... and a picture of Ira

02-03 May Lehigh Gap climb

Warm and rainy.  Upper 80s both days.  Too hot at night to sleep.  Rain held off until Sun. evening and rained hard overnight and more today.

Yesterday we did a "slack pack" (did not take our full packs) hike from where we left the trail.  We crossed the Lehigh River and climbed Lehigh Gap and hiked a few more miles to Little Gap.  Ira gave us a ride to the trail and later picked us up at Little Gap.  Today we took a zero day in Slatington.

This climb north up Lehigh Gap is one of the most feared on the AT.  Wendy did not want to do it.  The blue blaze Winter Trail allows you to bypass it.  However, she agreed to try it on the AT if we did it without the packs.  She did fine...

It is good to have the climb over.  It was not too bad.  There was one spot that I was particularly glad that I did not have a 40 lb. pack on my back.  Here is a picture looking back at Lehigh Gap...

Tomorrow we will continue the hike northeast through the last of the "PA Rocks" and by Friday, we will be in Delaware Water Gap.  Not looking forward to the rocks but the worst is over and the rest will be soon. 

We have met Jaybird, Scout and Bo, and Duane (all fellow hikers) at Fine Lodging.  Jaybird is a section hiker who started in Georgia a few years ago (8?) and has made it this far.  He was planning on finishing across the New York state line but injured himself in a fall.  We are all planning on leaving tomorrow.  Jaybird is still limping so I think he will have a hard time. 

Ira took us as well as Scout and Bo to K-Mart today for some supplies.  They are thru-hiking similar to us - starting in Harper's Ferry and going to Maine, then Harper's Ferry south to Georgia. 

My pack waist belt is almost too big now.  I am inserting items in it to take up belt space.  It also has other problems so it looks like I will need a new one soon. 

First Rattlesnake

We saw this rattlesnake today - Wendy almost stepped on it.  We also saw a Hog Snake - which can puff up its neck a little like a cobra.  

The map has been updated!

Jaybird

I met Jaybird here at Fine Lodging.  He hiked past us last night and kept going into town (I think Ira picked him up).  He headed out this morning for a long hike today starting with a climb of Lehigh Gap.  Somewhere on the way up, he fell and had to limp along until he could get to the nearest road.  It ended up being Little Gap road.

This confirms my plan for tomorrow.  We will do what Jaybird did (minus the fall) and then get back and get dry.

01 May - Fine Lodging, Slatington

Warm night, in the 50s.  Warm and sunny today, high in the mid 80s+. 

We hiked in to highway 873 at Lehigh Gap near Palmerton by around 12:00.  Ira Fine came out to pick us up and we are staying at Fine Lodging in Slatington.  It is a place often used by thru-hikers and Ira helps with shuttles and rides when he can.  He has basic, low cost rooms available and food and laundry are nearby.  It is a good place for hikers.

The weather is turning bad - rain and thunderstorms the next 2 days.  Also, the hike up from Lehigh Gap is one of the most notorious on the AT (steep and rocky).  Wendy is not too happy with this and wants to go around it on something called the Winter trail. 

We do not want to miss 2 days so we are planning a short hike tomorrow.  It will include the climb up on the AT and just a short hike beyond that to Little Gap Rd.  Ira will drop us off where he picked us up today and then meet us in the early afternoon at Little Gap.  So, we will hike but come back to dry out and sleep in a bed.  Monday, we may hike again or take a zero day depending on weather and feet. 

Tomorrow will be 30 days on the trail.  30 days is the time often quoted as needed to get in trail shape.  Well I am in much better shape and much lighter, but I am certainly not there yet.  I guess I had further to go than most.  Looking forward to losing more weight and getting stronger. 

Snake in Bake Oven Knob Shelter

30 April - near Ashfield Rd., Lehigh Furnace Gap

Warm spring day - high in mid 70s.  Cool this morning but who cares.  We were inside.

"PA Rocks" is NOT a compliment but a statement about the most significant feature of the AT in Pennsylvania.  I know there are a lot of rocks in these mountains but I swear they go out of their way make you climb up and over too many of them - when there is perfectly level ways around either side, and when there is no view at the top.  I wonder how many injuries there have been over the years.

The picture is the second snake we saw today.  This one helped Wendy decide we should keep hiking and sleep at a campsite.

We are now only about 5+ mi. from Palmerton / Lehigh Gap.  I think we may take a zero day too since the forecast is for rain and thunderstorms.

The Knife Edge

Location Note from #Compass
Altitude: 1546 ft
Latitude: 40°43'49.9" N
Longitude: 75°46'6.1" W