Date: 2003-07-25
From: Smith gap road

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: scattered clouds

It has taken me a long time but I've found the perfect recipe for getting up and out in record time, drink all your water the night before and camp three miles from the next source. I had worked up quite a thirst by the time I got to the shelter we had planned on for the night before and walked a long ways downhill to find the spring. The rocks of Pennsylvania reached thier worst today. It was almost impossible to find a place to put your foot and not be on a rock. I could feel them through my boots which by that point had become shreds of their former selves. The sole was worn through in some spots and coming apart in others. They provided little protection to my battered feet. I still raced forward without concern for where I was stepping. There was no way to avoid the rocks at this point with the possible exception of flying. I had to admit that I had been laughing at everyone for complaining about the rocks in days prior, but in this my last day hiking in PA was finally starting to get to me. I started muttering to myself and cursing under my breath. I was ready to be in Delaware Water Gap but not to hike the last 20 brutally rocky miles to get there. I grew closer and closer to my goal as the rocks slowly imposed thier will over me, first my feet and now my brain. I was ready for the rocks to stop. It took much pain and mental anguish but we had made it to the rocky overlook into town. It was all downhill from there. My body was very tired. I had pushed the limits in the last several days over some of the most brutal trail I could remember. I was hobbled. I was bent over as I walked, and I could feel pain with each step. My knees hurt, my ankles hurt, my legs hurt, my feet were in bad shape, I was totally exhausted. We knew we were almost in town, it had to be close I could even smell it we had gone all the way down to the level of the town and could see a parking lot ahead when a man approached us and asked us if we had seen a little boy wandering around on our way down. That was just what I wanted to hear right now, all I can think about is the town I was on the edge of and had pushed toward for days and this guy lost his kid. We of course were obligated to drop our packs and slowly hobble around shouting this kids name. We looked high we looked low we looked everywhere he should have been and found nothing while dusk was setting in. The man was remarkably calm and even joked his son was in for a long scary night. We finally found him after a half-hour, he had gone the wrong way down a trail. With the missing person search called off we were free to go into town! The hostel was full and there was a nice little place called the Deer Head Inn that only charged 40$ for two beds. We went down to the town pizza place for dinner and found most of the other hikers in town there. A few of us ended up at the Deer Head which was the only bar in town, a jazz bar. The place was way too classy for the likes of us. There was a well-known pianist there who had the attention of all the well dressed people in the place who clapped after each song. I wonder what they all thought of us.