Date: 2007-08-07
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 675.0
Weather: haze

Okay, sorry it's been so long since the last update everyone... now let me try to pick things back up where I left off. Last time I updated was in Palmerton, PA, today I'm sitting in the library in a quaint little New England town called Salisbury, Connecticut. July 20.Today's hike out of Palmerton started out with the infamous climb out of Lehigh Gap, a popular photograph which ya'll should look up since I decided not to take a picture (a chore that I've been telling myself I'd do better with all along...taking more pictures). It was quite the challenge, very fun!... a part of the trail where all four limbs are needed for climbing. Today's miles = 23... a large number, but PA is really not a tough state. Other than the rocks, which are not that bad, it's flat ridge walking. July 21.Made it into the town of Delaware Water Gap (DWG), the final town in PA and the gateway to New Jersey! Had a great time in DWG. First, I settled into the hostel which was in the basement of Church of the Mountain Presbyterian, then a group of us (Sweetwater, HeMan, SheRa, and myself) got a ride into Stroudsburg, PA where we went to see the new Harry Potter Movie, ate a cheap dinner, and picked up groceries. July 22.A relatively short first day into NJ, did @ 10.5 miles. Stayed at the Mohican Outdoor Center where I was able to tent for free and stay up almost all night because there was a curious BEAR that wouldn't leave the camping area, needless to say I was frightened when I looked out my tent to see him literally walk within 15 of my tent, nothing between the two of us but that distance and two thin layers of nylon (my tent!). The reason I only hiked 10.5 was because I felt tired and in need of rest. July 23.An unseasonably cold day for July, even in the north. I woke up to a chilly morning of @55 degrees, the sky looking like it was ready to unleash its rain any time, which it did 20 minutes after I started walking. Put the temperature together with the rain and you get a dangerously cold & wet day that I'm not prepared for. 7 miles into the hike, the rain was coming down harder, the temperature was not budging, and though I tried to hike faster in order to keep warm, my hands remained numb and I noticed that if I didn't find shelter soon, I could be in danger (hypothermia). So, luckily it turned out that those 7 miles placed me at a road that led to a YMCA camp called Ken-Etiwa-Pec which had two shelters specifically for AT hikers. Turns out this was a place I would have hated to miss! This camp had a dining hall that was operating! The Director of Camp said they took donations and that I could eat as many meals for as long as I stayed there. So I coughed up 7 bucks and ate up!... Lunch, Dinner, and Breakfast for the next day's hike!July 26-28.Since computer time usage is so limited for me, I have to write quickly as usual.July 26, I stumbled into Vernon, NJ feeling extremely sick... fever, aches, stiff neck and back, unable to concentrate, all the symptoms of what I feared all along... Lyme Disease. I went to urgent care in Vernon, got a prescription to treat and knock out the disease, and stayed at the Hostel for nearly 3 days. I'll go ahead and skip to the present... Tuesday, August 7th. I feel great! I have about 2 days left of the medication and am plugging along just fine once again. Tomorrow I'll be walking into Massachusetts! Much love to all my friends and family, I'll take more pictures and write again soon!Oh yeah, total mileage so far is 1,482 and counting, less than 700 to go.