Date: 2009-07-27
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 17.7

Big Zen was sleeping next to me last night and kept snoring away. So, I quickly gave him a karate-chop to the back and let him know that he was snoring. Normally, when I snore, it¢s because I¢m on my back. To stop it, it is as simple as turning over. Big Zen was already on his stomach, so I¢m not sure how he was snoring. Fortunately, he just turned in the other direction towards Big Camera, which I suppose is the main reason why he left in the middle of the night to go sleep on top of the picnic table. Everyone started rustling their belongings at 6:00 am, around the time the sun was coming up. I was up relatively quickly and one of the first out on the trail. I¢ve learned that I can go quite fast on regular ground, but when you throw in some rocks and steep descents, I really have to take my time. I managed to get lost on several occasions today, as it was very difficult to navigate my body and my pack through the assembly of rock boulders scattered throughout the trail due to periglacial erosion in the last ice age. Most of the PA trail has been an assortment of smaller rocks that mess up your feet and shoes, but now I was getting into the massive sharp serrated boulder fields. Horrible, I tell you! At Bake Oven Knob Shelter, I had to make another 12 mile trek each way down to get some water; it wasn¢t as steep as the Allentown Hiking Club Shelter, but it was just as long. The first two springs were bone dry and I was forced into hiking a further 14 mile to find a nice spring. Mac, Buttchinz, and Big Camera caught up to me by this point. We were all cracking up at the fact that Big Camera has taken only four actual showers since starting the trail over three months ago in Georgia. He has washed himself in rivers and streams, but as far as taking an official shower, it has been only FOUR! Big Camera may get the award for griminess. He¢s a good guy, so I don¢t think he will mind the award. Leaving this shelter, I hit some more rocks, which required strategic maneuvering, and eventually made it down to George W. Outerbridge Shelter. I was told NOT to drink from the spring here, as the zinc smeltering plant of the 1970¢s emitted zinc particles in the air, which has since destroyed much of the vegetation in the area. Up on the ridge, however, I did stop for 20 minutes to indulge in some wonderful wild blueberries. On the way down to the gap, I met Jazzman, a mid-50¢s man, who had started off hiking the AT with his wife, but once she went down with a knee injury in the Shennies, she has been supporting his trek by slackpacking him over the terrain. Fortunately, he and his wife, Turtle, gave me a lift into the town of Palmerton, dropping me off at the Police Station. In this instant, a cop drove on up and told me that I had to walk down to the Borough Hall to sign in if I wanted to sleep in the Jail tonight. The town of Palmerton allows thru-hikers to sleep in the old town jail for the night. After signing in with the Frenchie Blah Blah, we checked out the place in the basement. For a jail, it wasn¢t a bad place to be. It had bunk beds, a large collection of magazines and books, high-powered fans, and upstairs, it even had showers! Ahhh, a shower! I immediately headed back upstairs to wash off the dirt residue that I had acquired over the last nine days. It has been a long time since a powered water jet has struck my body! After getting set up, Sweet Lou, a 24-year-old young man from Birmingham, Alabama, and I headed off to the coin laundry. We made some wrong turns and received some poor directions, but after a hitchhike, we were able to find our way to toss in our laundry. We made a quick stop at the library in town and then headed to Bert¢s Restaurant, where I devoured a vanilla milkshake almost instantly and, thereafter, my large portion of spaghetti with meatballs. I quickly made my way down to the Country Harvest grocery store for a short resupply. Delaware Water gap was only two days away, so I didn¢t need too much food to get me there. Afterwards, I called my parents to let them know that I would be in Jail for the night, headed back to town hall, and fell asleep before the rest of the crew arrived to sleep for the evening.