Monday morning (5/25) the shuttle driver dropped me off at the spot that I was picked up on Saturday. I had a great stay at the hotel. I got a lot of rest and filled my belly with town food. It is 16 miles to the town of Delaware Gap from the trailhead. Once in town you walk across the Delaware River Bridge and it’s goodbye to PA and hello to NJ. My plan on Monday was to hike 10 miles to a shelter and then hike to and past Delaware Gap on Tuesday.
I started my hike at 6:15 in the rain with a climb out of Wind Gap. My pack was heavy with five days worth of food. The hike up was strenuous and once at the top I had to work my way through a couple of boulder fields. Some parts of the trail were easy going, but mostly there were rocks. I met a ridge runner named Little John. You may remember that ridge runners are out on the trail educating hikers on ‘leave no trace’, how to store food and how to stay safe on the trail. These are seasonal jobs and this is Little John’s fifth season. About a mile up the trail I came across a NOBO hiker taking a break. I decided to join him, his name was Denver and he did not have a trail name. Break over, back on the trail.
I arrived at the shelter at 2:30, where a couple of other NOBO hikers, Lorax and Spreadsheet, were having their lunch and then heading all the way to Water Gap. I was trying to decide if I was going to stop my day’s hike early or push on another six miles to town. My mind was saying push on but my feet were saying no. This time the mind won. I had a quick lunch, got water, and off I went.
The last six miles were tough going, but at least the rain stopped and the sun was shining. Of course, there were more boulder fields to cross. The last 2.5 miles of the hike was all downhill into town. My feet were wishing they could have stayed at the shelter. I finally got down into town and walked to a church that had bunk rooms set up for hikers. Lorax and Spreadsheet were also at the church staying for the night. It was a long 16 mile day but now I was set up to cross into NJ just one mile into the hike the next day.
Tuesday morning (5/26) was perfect hiking weather. As I was crossing the bridge, King of Hearts passed me. He was one of the hikers I started with at Harpers Ferry. I got across the bridge and it was time to say goodbye to PA and hello to NJ. Two states down and twelve more to go. I was walking through a park to get to the trail when Spartacus and Fire Ant came by, they also started with me at Harpers Ferry. My goal for the day was to hike 10.5 miles to the Mohican Outdoor Center. Coming out of town as usual was a long climb up. Early in the hike I came to Sunfish Pond. This pond was formed by a glacier and there was no swimming allowed due to it natural acidic composition. I crossed a large boulder field that ran along the side of the pond. I was hoping to say goodbye to those boulders when I left PA but no such luck. There was a section of the hike that went along a ridge with outstanding views of The Water Gap National Recreation Area. I saw my first Copperhead snake along the trail in the rocks. The only reason I saw it is that it moved off the trail when unknowingly to me it was about 3 feet in front of me. I made it to the Center. They had two different bunk houses, one had two full baths inside the building and the other one you would have to walk about 100 feet to the bathroom. The second one cost much less and I chose that bunk house. It ended up that I had the whole bunkhouse to myself. Spartacus and King of Hearts were staying in the other bunkhouse. In the morning I saw Spartacus and he told me that he had decided to leave the trail and go home, due to personal reasons. He will be missed, he was always encouraging everyone around him. The next day I planned to hike 7 miles to a trail head where Melodie would be picking me up. I am very excited to see my wife and looking forward to spending some time with her.
Wednesday (5/27) was a sunny and very humid 7-mile day. There was plenty of rocks on the trail to gripe about. I have been told that the rocks lighten up when you get about 20 miles north from the PA border. We shall see about that. There were a lot of great views today. I met a dad and his young son that are up from GA. The young man seemed to really like being on the trail. About 4 miles into the day’s hike I ran into about 100 students hiking south, broken into 5 separate groups. They were the incoming freshmen class from Saint Benedict Academy. The hike was a requirement for all freshmen. I spoke with most of the groups and encouraged them to stay strong. One of the chaperones told me that most of them were from the inner city. They were out for 5 days and hiking 55 miles. Most of them seemed to be having a good time.
Melodie picked me up and we went to check into the hotel. It was so good to see my wife and get a hug and kiss.
Melodie dropped me off at the trailhead (5/28) for a 10.5 mile slack-pack hike. It felt great to carry only 8 lbs on my back. I am still dealing with very sore feet which really slows down my already slow speed. There were great views along the exposed ridge. It was a windy day and on the ridges the wind had to be blowing at least 20 to 25 miles an hour. I tried to sit a while and admire the view but it was too cold because of the blowing wind. There was some parts of the trail that were very smooth but the rocks were always lurking around the corner. I stopped at a creek to filter some water, as I was finishing up I was joined by Toga up from GA . He is hoping to complete his thru hike in four months, which is about a month faster then the average five months. As I came out of the trail at my pickup point there was a group enjoying a picnic. One of the hiker’s moms came from her home in Gettysburg to share some trail magic with her daughter and some of her friends. Her daughter’s trail name is Piph and with her was Slim Jim and Not Yet. You may remember Not Yet who was the hiker I met a while back when I was accidentally heading south. We also stayed at the same hostel last week. I forgot to mention I hit my 300 mile mark just about at the end of the day’s hike. Melodie was waiting for me at the trailhead and took me back to the hotel.
Melodie and I did a 6 mile hike Friday (5/29). We drove to the trailhead and a shuttle driver took us to a trailhead further up the road and we hiked back to the car. It was a beautiful day to be hiking. At the beginning of the hike we came to an area that had a beautiful view and on top of the mountain there was a large pavilion that was built by the Civilian Conservancy Corp sometime in the 1930s. There were plenty of nice views to admire during the hike. We met Tyler, a ridge runner. He was from Colorado and was just starting his ridge runner job. Melodie and I stopped at a shelter and ate our lunch. Toward the end of our hike we came to an old fire tower. Back in the days someone would always be at the towers to watch for fires. We made it back to our car and went to check in at our retro roadside motel. We stayed at an old-style motel that reminded me of the places I stayed as a kid while traveling with my family.
Melodie will be staying here with me at least until Tuesday. She will be dropping me off and picking me up each day and I will be enjoying slack-packing. I will be spoiled by the time she leaves. Until next time Happy Trails!
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