Date: 2003-08-01
From: Palmerton, Pa

To: Kirkridge Shelter beyond Wolf Rocks
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: light rain

We left Palmerton yesterday, when the town had even more than its usual bustle. It seemed to be the equivalent of market day, and most of the shop-keepers were setting up tables and displays outside on the sidewalk to promote sale goods. Tommy was busy with one of his children setting up a freezer and table outside his parlour. Even the Citizens bank sported a large banner promoting a "Loan Sale". On the way back out to Little Gap, I looked at the north side of Blue Mountain more closely. Much of it was green. No trees but revegetation does seem to be happening, if not yet up on the summit. We all tented at the Leroy Smith Shelter last night, which set us up for an assault today on the seven mile stage after Wind Gap to Wolf Rocks, our introduction to Kittatinny Mountain. By reputation, this is the toughest, most feet-killing, ankle-breaking, temper-fraying section of Pennsylvania.Maybe we have just become accustomed to rocks, but it didn't really seem worse than some areas we have already encountered. Until Wolf Rocks itself. It was made a lot more treacherous by the heavy mist and light rain that had been falling all day. "Two Speeds", in advance, had already taken a heavy fall, and it was obvious we needed to tackle it as a team. The boulders were lethal, as slippery as soap, so we generally sought footholds round the base of slabs or on fissures between them. Exactly where you wouldn't want to place your feet in normal circumstances. But we talked each other through it. At the top of the last rock outcrop, I just reached the summit when something large landed on the boulder about six feet from my head. Did I jump!! It was a buzzard, a large mangy creature, and was quickly joined by its partner. As "Thistle" and "Two Speeds" came up, the ugly pair hopped off on to a ledge out of view. I moved on another six paces or so, and now heard an unmistakeable rattling sound behind my back. That was chilling, for I had nowhere to step out of range. I whipped round expecting to see the rattlesnake in the act of striking, but instead I saw his lower half disappearing under a slab. He was big. I must have been inches from him two paces earlier, and remain puzzled why he didn't strike or rattle then. By now I was a little rattled myself. The situation required a nice cup of tea to calm us down, but that wasn't practical here. Instead, I settled for a volley of foul language on the theme of "Whatever next?". Under my breath of course since "Thistle" was nearby. About fifteen minutes later we had negotiated our way down and beyond the rocks and, apart from "Two Speed's" graze and bruises, we were unscathed. I was elated. I've picked up the high-fiving habit from those infernal boy scouts (see earlier entry), so it seemed just the right moment to high-five my companions. "Two Speeds" responded in a still dazed kind of way. "Thistle" gave me a feeble, limp-wristed response, saying "There are a lot more rocks to come". Well there weren't, and we are at Kirkridge Shelter tonight with a very friendly trio of high school seniors from Bethlehem. Tomorrow we will reach Delaware Water Gap and will say goodbye to Pennsylvania. We are planning to meet up with "Two Speed's" sister who lives in Fairfield, New Jersey, and stay with her family for a couple of days. I put my tent up in the hope that it might dry out overnight, but right now it's raining hard.