Date: 2003-06-22
From: Wind Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: light rain

I open the door first thing in the morning - pouring down rain. I shut the door, and open it again. Rain, still.Show me another door, please...Today, I grit my teeth and vow to do it - put PA behind me. Delaware Water Gap is on the New Jersey border. If I walk the 15.6 miles over wet rocks, including the testy Wolf Rocks, just hunker down and do it, I can spend the night in another hostel. Imagine, spending six months in the woods just to crave a night in the hostel. It's come to that. It can happen. Just add rain.Alas, the hard rain this morning slows my ambition. I catch up on my journal, and sip coffee. Notes and Carry leave about 10 a.m. I collect my pocketmail, and whoop out loud. My outrageous, whacked-out friend Curtis Balls offered to escort me across the Bear Mountain Bridge, then spirit me away for a whirlwind tour of NYC. You'd have to know Curtis to know why this was an offer not to be missed. Ha! To say the least. Stay tuned.It is nearly 11 a.m. when I stagger out the door of the Gateway Motel.The first half-mile is up, and comes easily. I am really feeling strong lately, yesterday excepting. I love it. I am kicking butt up these small mountains. If we stay on rocks today, I might even keep my shoes reasonably dry.Heh. Heh.The swamps begin. The river AT returns. After a few heartfelt "Aaaaargh!'s", it is done. My dry feet and shoes are completely soaked. I HATE when that happens. I have issues regarding wet feet these days. I think my feet will need therapy. They are starting to babble. Nonetheless, I feel bionic today. I am charging along the rocky path, my faithful, abused feet just nailing every single gap between the uneven rocks. Despite the damn rain, I feel sure-footed as a bighorn sheep today, and full of energy. C'mon, Pennsylvania is THAT ALL ya got?Ooops...I charge right into the formidable Wolf Rocks, a jumble of stone plowed up by glaciers. You can look down and imagine the land below filled up with ice. The POWER in a glacier is driven home here.This is roughly the southern edge of the last glacial period, and our "footpath" goes right over this stony, broken crest.The rocks are wet and lichen-covered. I work slowly, with full concentration: Three points of contact. Crouch low. Be ready to sit down and butt-slide the hell out of my new shorts - pants are easier to replace than wrists, tibias and femurs. I am alone, and the rocks are icy, wet glass. Should I bust something out here, it would be one long, wet, chilly night before someone came upon me.And then, suddenly, they are behind me. The worst PA has to offer is behind me. There are still more pointy, ankle-twisty little buggers on the trailbed, but I am back in charge mode. I stop at Kirkridge shelter, and learn that Paparazzi, Michele and SunPig DID accept the Naked Hiking Day challenge, for a full .1 mile. Ha! They barely got dressed before a Scout group turned the corner. There is B-Roc too, fresh from his conjugal visit. "B-Roc!" I tease him "You have a smile on your face."He falls in and we swing along. He smells too clean. "I don't want to go too fast. I don't want to sweat," he complains. "I've just had a shower."He's fallen to The Dark Side: "Ha!" I pounce. "That fluffy, perfumed life is addicting, eh?"He charges along with me for about an hour, when we meet up with Notes and Carry. B-Roc falls back to "chat," but there is no stopping me today. I continue my charge.The rain tapers off as I climb Minsi Mountain, and then - could it be? - did I just see my shadow? Like Punxsutawney Phil, does this mean six more weeks of water? I root for the sun - c'mon, baby, you can DO it...It comes out for at least five seconds, and I let out a yelp of pleasure.On the crest of the mountain, the clouds clear just enough for a dramatic view of rocky Mount Kittany across the gap. The clouds swirl around its middle with a speed that startles, then curl around a stony flank. It looks stage-managed.I charge down the stony descent, the scent of town in my nostrils. About a quarter mile from the mountain, I see a dayhiker, and ask the pleasant brunette how far the Trailhead is. Then... "Are you Jan LiteShoe?" she asks.Oh geez...But it's Eileen Brail of Kenai, Alaska, a prospective thru-hiker who had been emailing me from before I left for the Trail. He parents live about an hour away, and she had tracked me down with Commander-In-Chief's help.I liked her immediately. We chatted about the Trail, and also Alaska, another place on my Life List. We walked down to the hostel that the Church of The Mountain so generously provides, and I snagged the last bunk. Itchy Foot and the Commander were here too. Life was good.Eileen and I went to a toney cafe for a supper salad, and B-Roc fell in with us. Delaware Water Gap is a charming town, well-kept on the venues I traversed, with many restaurants. "On the edge of the Poconos resort area," B-Roc explained. We had a lovely supper with jazz music in the background, and I ordered a loaf of bread to carry on the Trail, it was so good. "We order it from New York," explained our hostess. I knew that if we lived in the same town, Eileen and I would be buddies, and I told her so. She left me with an invite to Alaska, and treated us over our protests, which was above and beyond. As we left the restaurant, we were exclaiming and pointing- there was BLUE sky above! No rain! Can you believe it? We were giddy with the blue sky, ready to run and take pictures of it.Eileen walked me back to the hostel, snapped some photos, met Itchy and was gone. Trail magic, once again. Oh yes, and she left some bakery-fresh crumb cakes!It was a very good day.