Date: 2005-06-29
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: light rain

Mike and Estee tried to get me to stay one more day with them. It was a really strong temptaion. I really wanted to stay and hang out with them. I was sad to leave but, I have a mission and it's easy to loose sight of it. Taking a zero day is something that you pay for on the Trail. Even last night, after walking 6 miles and driving back to Staten Island in their air conditioned car and sitting in their nice cool house, when I walked outside the heat felt oppressive. I hadn't noticed it until now because I hadn't been in air conditioning. I don't want to fall out of the conditioning I'm in. It's a rough thing to keep going, but it's a rougher thing to take 2 steps forward and 1 step back all the time. So, I made the decision to go ahead and get back to the Delaware Water Gap and walk out of there today and make some miles. I also talked to Vern and I convinced him that I should continue running ahead to Unionville and pick up our mail drops on Saturday morning. Monday is the 4th of July, and if we don't get it by Saturday, it's going to be 4 days before we can get it. He was talking about bumping them ahead to Vernon, N.J. 10 miles ahead. No matter what, 50 miles in 4-5 days is not in our best interest. We do that in 2 days and we would lose 2 days along the way. This morning, I woke up at 5:30 and made coffee. I worked on Mike and Estee's computer. Something is wrong with it, it turned out that it's the power supply fan that's dead. The computer is overheating and it's slowing down to protect itself.Mike woke up at about 7 o'clock and got some coffee. Estee got home from work at about 7:30 and we sat around for a while and chatted. Estee went upstairs to go to sleep. Mike and I took off at about 9 o'clock. We made a stop at the mall in N.J. to the EMS store there to get Estee ready for the hike she will be doing with me in 10 days. EMS ended up being closed. On the way, we pulled into an IHOP, which turned out to be very fortunate. Turns out it was right next to an Outfitter I have never heard of before. After we had breakfast at IHOP, we stopped in there. Mike picked up a Gregory Atmos backpack, a pink Prolite 4 Therma Rest, a spoon and a couple of cans of Permethrin to spray on her clothing. I got a couple of pairs of liner socks and exchanged my O.R. Gaiters that had been messing up on me. I also got a new pair of Crocs. We hopped in the car and got back to driving. We got to the Delaware Water Gap at about 12:30. I walked out of Delaware Water Gap today, Mike took me to the gas station first so I could pick up a Pepsi and cigarettes. He dropped me off in town, I requested to stop at the Bar and Grill there first. I said my goodbyes to Mike and went inside and sat for a little bit. I got a Long Island Iced Tea and a Yeungling. While I sat there, there was a tremendous dounpour, so it was a good thing I stopped there first. It stopped raining so I slapped my pack on and walked to the hostel and hung out there for a little bit. I talked to Forever North and Woody, who were both asleep when I got there. I got up and started walking out of town at 3 o'clock. I ran into Bean Town, who was walking into town. He was getting a room at the Ramada. He was meeting his girlfriend there. She's going to be hiking with him for a few days. I walked across the I-80 interstate bridge and up the hill to the park that's there. The uphill was no where as bad as I remember it was. I must have been alot more out of shape last time than this time. I seem to remember huffing and puffing up the hill and alot of rocks. It was really a pleasant walk, almost parklike the first 3 miles. There are still alot of rocks out here. Still a good blend of rocks thrown into the batch today. But, they aren't as bad as they have been the last few days. It's getting better for sure. By the time I got into Sunfish Pond, it started raining again. I got my raincoat and put it on. the Trail runs you around a good part of the rim of Sunfish Pond, which is the first glacial pond that you encounter going north on the AT. It takes you on these rocks along the edge of the water for a good distance and then up to the top of Mount Mohican, which is very pretty. It has grass and alot of bare and exposed rock in places. Very few trees and good views on both sides in most cases. I got to the Mohican Outdoor Center in the rain at about 6:40. I got to the office and decided that tonight would be a good night to sleep inside. So, I paid for a bunk in the bunkhouse. It turned out to be a very good deal. I got 3 Cokes, a big ham sandwich, chips, a bunk and a shower for $20. Not bad. I washed my clothes that I wore today and put them in front of the fan to dry. I tinkered with some of my gear and recorded my journal. It's 11 o'clock and it's time for bed.   Good night.