Date: 2009-06-28
From: Little Gap, PA

To: Delps Spring, PA 
Miles today: 4.7

Cell goodOG notesWe're back in the saddle again, out where a friend is a friend. Okay I'm not Roy Rogers and I can't sing worth a darn. We drove back from Penn State where we attended the wedding of two wonderful people, Kathleen and Matt. Congratulations Kathleen and Matt and may God bless you.One thing I had hoped to do was go to the creamery. This is an ice cream lab/store where you can get some great ice cream. However, at the wedding reception in the Nittany Lion Inn on campus they served the creamery ice cream. Our time was so jam packed that we didn't have any extra time.I am happy to report I did not get any speeding tickets while I was away. In 2006 I felt strange driving after being on the trail. This time I'm not having a problem with it.Thanks again to Trail Boss PA (Chris) for slackpacking us on Friday. It not only made Friday easier, but also today. We started with an immediate climb up a rock formation. There we were with clean clothes, and within the first half hour we were sweating and stinky again. Fortunately the climb wasn't very long and then we were on top of a ridge line. From there on we were able to move out a little and we made good time. We decided to stop at 5:30 pm and set up camp. We are awaiting a rain storm this evening and wanted to have everything secure before it comes. Even though we are near a spring we decided to have a dinner that didn't require much water. The spring here is unreliable With the rain we've been having it probably is running, but we didn't want to chance it. Our dinner consisted of ham and swiss subs from a local shop in Palmerton. Neither one of us could finish a whole sub so we have some extra wrapped up and safely secured in our bear bag.As I sit here typing the temperature is dropping and the wind is picking up. Penn State is further west than here so we were actually in the storm that is heading our way a few hours ago. Hopefully it will pass through during the night and we won't have to pack up while it is raining.We're starting to feel a little more comfortable with these remote sites. We like being around people as it comforts us to know they are there. Being remote requires a lot more self reliance which we are building with each night we camp like this. We're trying to get used to hiking the miles we are able to do each day and not be trapped by shelter spacing. This allows us a lot more flexibility as to when and where we stop each day. C6 notesWe got to the hotel at 2:30pm yesterday, and I'm thankful that our room was available immediately. I had to iron all our dress clothes because they were squished in a suitcase at our son's house since we started hiking in March. Then I wanted to curl my hair and put on some makeup. All of that used up every minute of the time we had before we had to leave to go to the Chapel. (The wedding was at 4pm in the Penn State Eisenhower Chapel.)I got everything done, but I was stressed and ended up in tears (Again? Sheesh!). Our daughter helped me finish and loaned me a necklace and earrings (I was sure I had packed some, but obviously didn't). Our son loaned OG a belt because we didn't find one in the suitcase even though we were sure he had packed a belt, too. Whew! With the weight OG has lost on the trail, he really needed a belt! The outfit I wore only needed one safety pin to fit okay because I had bought it before I had gained the extra pounds I had on me when we started hiking. Whew!Our children and their families are such fabulous people. I love you guys more than breathing! Thank you so much for all of your help and support! The wedding was beautiful, the reception was wonderful, and we enjoyed the time with family at the wedding recepton and at a brunch this morning. After a quick run to a local Outfitter, we're back in the car on our way back to Little Gap. OG wanted to get new socks, and I've been trying to find a smaller pair of hiking pants. Not many Outfitters carry very small sized women's hiking pants. I was lucky today...I found a pair that fits better (XS). Yay! That's one good thing about an outfitter in a college town...many female students are small. It was raining in State College, PA when we left, but we've driven into sunshine, so I hope we'll be able to start hiking in sunshine. It's 7:20pm now and we're in our tent...warm and dry. It is beginning to rain, but not much yet. The wind picked up shortly after we got here and set up our tent and the temperature has dropped a lot. As OG says above, I, too, hope this storm just blows by us overnight. We thought the weather predicted was a couple of nice days (Mon, Tues), and then rain for the end of the week. Maybe it's arrived early. Oh well. Our weather stats as of today are now 55 sunny days and 54 other. I was surprised to have no reservations about getting back on the trail today. The last two days were in a very luxury setting, so I thought I might have some anxiety about returning to the trail. Not so. In fact, it feels good to be in our tent in a camp area where there is no one else around again, I never thought I'd ever feel this comfortable in the woods. (Being alone...just the 2 of us.)   It's nice. When we got out of the car at the trailhead I said, "We're home!" The trail is our home until we finish this wonderful adventure.Old Goat & Check Six