Date: 2015-06-30
From: Fox Gap, PA 191

To: Delaware Water Gap 
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

John dropped me off at Fox Gap before 8 a.m. so I could continue north on the AT. I wanted to get an early start to avoid a storm due in the afternoon. I also wanted to make sure I got a room for the night and I had resupply packages to pick up at the post office.Initially the trail was an up and down rocky mess. I spent a lot of time carefully picking my way through the rocks. At one point what I thought was a thick dark root moved ever so slightly. Hmmmm, roots do not move. So I looked more closely. It was a VERY large black snake. The tail was off the trail to the right. The rest of the snake extended into the trail and around a tree at the edge of the trail. I walked widely around the tree to try to find the rest of the snake. There was a hole in the base of the tree and the snake was slowly slithering into the tree cavity. The snake was clearly determined to sneak up on and eat whatever was hiding in that tree. Thankfully the snake never stopped what it was doing as I tippy toed around it.The AT eventually followed a dirt road along the ridge line. Finally a relatively smooth surface!!! Some may think hiking on a dirt road is boring. After all the rocks in PA, I have grown to love dirt roads. But you do have to watch very carefully for the AT white blazes. It is very easy to hike along deep in thought and miss where the AT goes off the dirt road and back into the woods. The dirt roads are also a great place to look for wildlife, which frequently use the roads for travel. Several times I looked ahead thinking I spotted a critter, only to discover what I thought was a critter was only a shadow or tree stump.Suddenly, as i rounded a slight curve, there was a commotion in the brush just off the trail to the left. It was a bear!!! The bear saw me before I saw it, and he hopped off the dirt road and was quickly walking into the woods. He stopped behind a log, perhaps in an effort to hide from me, but the bear was much larger than the log.I stopped to admire the bear. My first bear sighting on my AT adventure!! Then the bear came out from behind the log. At that point I remembered I had some partially eaten food in my pocket. Uh Oh!! I raised my hiking sticks above my head and banged them together. I also told the bear he needed to go on about his business and not follow me. I then hiked on up the trail while watching the bear to see what it was going to do.Thankfully the bear had no interest in me or the food in my pocket. Apparently it was on a mission, and I was merely an interruption. He started slowly walking back to the dirt road, but angled away from me.Photo Op!! I got my phone out and started snapping pictures as the bear made its way to the road and then turned south. On he went. Of course, as i headed north, I looked behind me several times to make sure it was gone and had not decided to turn around and start following me.The AT followed the dirt road for a while longer and then went back into the woods to start the long descent into Delaware Water Gap. It was a rocky descent, but fortunately there were several switchbacks. There were also LOTS of beautiful blooming rhodadendrom bushes. The bumble bees were very busy going from flower to flower. The gypsy moths were also fluttering about looking for mates. The whole area, with all the beautiful flowers and activity, was almost magical.I stopped at one of the elbows of a switchback to take a short break. There was a short trail there leading to an overlook where I took a few pictures of the river. When I returned to my pack I found a deer grazing just 20 feet away. The deer looked up at me with a mouthful of plants and then slowly walked off.The AT crosses a couple of creeks with just rocks as a means of crossing and then passes through a park area before reaching Delaware Water Gap. The first shop I saw was Zoe's Ice Cream. Enough said. I stopped in for hot dogs, a cold drink, and ice cream. The clerk running the place is attending IUP (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) where I earned my undergrad and graduate degrees. I enjoyed talking with her about the campus.Back out on the street I ran into Short Bus, who was staying at the Church of the Mountain Hostel. The church really takes very good care of hikers. I stopped by there with Short Bus to get a stamp for my AT passport book and ran into the area Ridge Runner, Kevin Williams. He offered to take me to nearby Stoudsburg to the urgent care center.Ever since the long steep descent into Duncannon I have been having problems with my left foot. Initially there was bruising and swelling. The bruising went away, but the swelling has remained. I have been able to hike, but had pain when I stepped down at certain angles or hiked a lot of miles. I was concerned that I may have a stress fracture.Since I had medical care available I wanted to get an xray and have my foot checked. Fortunately the xrays did not reveal a fracture. I apparently just have a persistent soft tissue injury that can only be remedied with rest, elevation, and ice. So I will need to take a few days off the trail (similar to when I took time off in Fontana Dam to nurse my Achilles tendon).I got a room at the Pocono. Inn - which several locals warned is a seedy place. They were right. While looking for a phone book I discovered a half eaten moldy meal in the drawer in the nightstand. I also discovered used soap in the shower, which means the bathroom probably was not cleaned. I asked for another room - one that was actually cleaned recently.I met Short Bus and a section hiking couple at the Sycamore Grill for a bite to eat. Likely this will be the last time I will see Short Bus. He will move on up the trail, and I will have to hang out in Delaware Water Gap to ice and rest my foot.The AT is calling. But first I need to get rid of this soft tissue problem in my left foot. I am very grateful it is not something worse, and I will (hopefully) soon be back on the trail.