Date: 2004-07-02
From: New Tripoli Campsite

To: George Outerbridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: few clouds

The big surprise for the morning came less than two miles from camp when I came to the "Knife Edge". Imagine a massive pile of foot-thick irregular stone slabs reaching above the surrounding treetops and stretching for over a quarter mile. The Trail ran right along the tip-top crest of the heap! I let my poles dangle by their straps and clampered my way on hands and feet. At one spot I had to scoot along an inclined slab like a spider for lack of anything to grab onto.Finally it descended chaotically back to the forest floor. There it was as usual a bit of a mystery what direction the Trail exited off the pile. Rock scrambles often end up a bit of a scavenger hunt. Either they are not marked well or as in this case, the blazes on the rock were worn away and the ones on trees obscured by foliage.After solving that puzzle, the Trail continued on savagely rocky ground to "Bear Rocks" where it led up into another mountainous pile of slabs. This time it went along the shoulder instead of the crest and I could walk upright and balance with my poles more than before but it was not much easier. Getting down was even harder and I found myself resorting to rock-climbing holds, using grips to force my feet sideways into a foothold because vertical hand and footholds simply did not have enough purchase to support me. Then back to stumbling through rocky Trail to Bake Oven Knoll and another scramble off that to Bake Oven Shelter. Still, it had its rewards. Climbing up into Bear Rocks I found a clump of bushes packed with big raspberries. It was the most raspberries I had seen in days; I had thought they were all gone by now. Blueberries were also more abundant than the last couple days, so I stayed happily fed despite being careful about leaving plenty for those behind me.I stopped at the shelter for lunch and found a southbound young couple with an infant in a backpack carrier. She was only the second baby I had seen on the Trail, with the very cute trailname of "Beep-Beep". I warned them about the rugged trail ahead of them but they seemed confident. I bid them farewell, saying be careful and I hoped they made it safely.Leaving the Shelter I met Goodtimes and Blueberry, a couple we had met at Eckville Shelter. The Trail now was maintained by a different hiking club and totally changed character, running along a well-graded mostly smooth logging road. It was along there that I saw the first truly suspicious people I have seen on the Trail. I came across a man walking towards me who was not dressed like a hiker and who instead of a knapsack carried a bag slung over his shoulder, like those used for gathering plants except it was not open at the top. He avoided eye contact and was silent even after I said "hello" but as soon as he saw me turned and made arm signals as if to someone behind him.As I passed him I could just see another man duck into the woods to the right of the trail. Something was clearly not right. I quickly freed my hands from the straps of my poles so I was unencumbered and could use them as a weapon if needed. Then I kept a wary eye in the woods just in case the man's companion was laying in wait for me. Fortunately, their goal seemed to be to avoid contact rather than confront me. I was relieved that nothing happened but still kept my pace up long enough to put them well behind me. Whatever they were doing there, they simply did not act legitimate so I wanted as far as I could get. After a dirt road came the first signs of the area contaminated by the zinc smelting plant in Palmerton. The vegetation changed to shrubbery and grass, with the decayed skeletons of long-dead trees scattered about. The openness gave a good view of I-476 as it approached the ridge of Blue Mountain from the north before plunging through a tunnel running 500 feet beneath my feet. It has to be the highest I have ever crossed above a freeway without being in an airplane!Among the shrubbery were uncountable blueberry bushes jam-packed with ripe berries. All the starting thruhikers of the year could gorge themselves insensible and hardly make a dent in the crop. The signs of environmental damage made me too worried about residual heavy metals to really pig out, but I still grabbed an occasional handful. Others were less inhibited and later I found that I needn't have worried. Still, better safe than sorry.At the shelter came another surprise, Trail Magic! Two local women had brought a 4th of july treat: hotdogs, chips, carrot sticks, sodas and chocolate bars. Mmmmmmmm! They even topped off my water containers with meltwater from their icechest. They were glad to have the water go to a good use so they did not have to pour it out or carry it back down the mountain. Rocket was there, whom I had helped by adjusting his Auspex Pack back in Virginia, as were Hotrock, Goodtimes and Blueberry, Palm Tree, Socks and I. The women had to leave at three and there was no sign of Boonie, Treefrog and Adam. So we had to finish off the hotdogs ourselves but saved sodas, chips, carrots and chocolate bars for them.With an unexpected meal and no need to purify water, I wouldn't need to go into Palmerton for the night. That eliminated the delay or extra two miles to get back to the trail in the morning, relieving that worry. Things just have a way of working out on the Trail.For several days I have been having trouble with heat rash on my back where the pack rubs my skin. So far I have kept it at bay by loosening the shoulder straps and load lifter straps so the pack rides away from my back, reducing the rubbing and allowing more air circulation. But on the difficult climb up Lehigh Gap I will have to keep the pack cinched tight to my back to prevent it shifting and possibly throwing me off balance at a critical moment. So I took advantage of the afternoon sun to wash my t-shirt, using a ziplock bag filled with water and a pinch of Dr Bronners Soap as a "washing machine" and hanging it out in the sun to dry. Cleaning out the accumulated sweat and dirt should reduce the irritation from my pack tomorrow.About 7 it started sprinkling. I hoped it would stop by morning. Climbing out of Lehigh Gap would be hard in wet conditions.