Date: 2004-05-28
From: Lehigh Gap

To: Wind gap
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Woah. Semi-Joy and I are both pretty banged up today. In the midst of all of my foot woes I forgot to mention that Semi-Joy has been having pain in her left leg that starts in her ankle and radiates up her shin with nearly every step. Been going on for a couple of days now and she also took a hit with the 25 miler.The shower here is indeed kick-ass. Closest thing I'll ever come to showering in a jail or in the men's locker room of a health club. Just a few showerheads poking out from the tiled bathroom walls - no stalls, no privacy. There is a door to the bathroom that doesn't lock (it doesn't even close actually, it just swings open and shut) so I assumed the etiquette was that if you hear the water running you just don't come in. At least I hoped that was how it would work. I turned on the water and it was intense blasting nearly 100 miles of dirt and bug remnants from my skin and stripping the oils from my hair. And it was hot, steamy hot, so I camped out in there for a good 15 minutes feeling my muscles slowly warm and relax. I kept thinking I was tan but during the shower I realized that I was really just dirty - it all washed off. Definitely the best shower on the whole AT though.We didn't get rolling until around 9:30 or so and we were both pretty shot. After the shower I taped my feet until they looked like rigid, padded, silver mummies. Still, slipping into my boots morning took an incredible amount of discipline and one hell of a mental pep talk. The first steps are always rough, but after a few miles your feet go into a state of quasi-numbness which makes things tolerable until you stop walking and then have to start again. We headed down the street trying to formulate a plot to hitch back to the gap. It was totally overcast and looking like rain and I was honestly dreading the miles that day, not to mention the infamous climb / boulder scramble out of the gap. I just wasn't feeling lucky. We were soon spotted by an older couple walking across the street who gave us the "I think they might be hikers who need a ride" look. Between Semi-Joy and myself, I tend to be the more assertive of the duo - asking for rides or food or other favors but this morning I was not on my game. I recognized the potential ride but only managed a tired "good morning" and kept walking. "Dude" Semi-Joy said as we dragged on down the street, "They look like they would have given us a ride." She was right. "I know" I muttered but didn't have the energy to turn around and ask. Turns out we got another freebie morsel of good fortune. "Hey girls!" we hear from behind us, "Are you headed to the gap?" We stopped and smiled at one another. I don't understand the ways of the trail but I always seem to get just what I need when I need it (except new feet. haven't come across those in a hiker box yet). We turned around and gratefully accepted the ride from the older couple. So glad I showered that morning.Just when I thought it couldn't get any better the old man offered to drop us off a few miles down the trail so we could avoid the climb out of the gap. It had stared raining, I knew those rocks were going to be slick, and this climb is rumored to be at such a pitch as to require you to remove your pack and hand it up to your partner to navigate some of these scrambles. I was all for minimizing misery and Semi-Joy took no convincing either - we headed down the trail to Little Gap instead. I could have kissed this man.The initial plan was to hike to Leroy Smith Shelter, have dinner and then press on and camp about 16 miles shy of the Delaware Water Gap (Penn/NJ border), making for an 18 mile day today. Pretty soon I realized that 18 miles was going to be really rough - not impossible but most definitely miserable. We were both hiking in pain and cranky as a result. About every 2 miles or so we needed to stop and rest to relieve the aches. Then I'd have to psych myself up to get moving again - the dreaded first steps. After the rain let up we put on our music for distraction, but for me it was only a soundtrack for foot torment (don't mean to sound dramatic but my feet were really all I could think about). Around 2pm I decided I had had enough. Part of what has made this leg of the trip so wonderful is that I haven't had any miserable miles. A few rough ones but nothing close to misery. All of this hike (WV - Penn) has been really enjoyable - I has been a totally different experience then before and I've had a blast. When I started the trail and hiked through Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, I was hiking with a group of guys (really awesome guys I must say) brimming with testosterone and found myself doing miserable miles just to keep pace. Long hard days when I wouldn't even stop to smell the flowers. I swore this time I wouldn't do it again - no more miserable miles and today was definitely qualifying as miserable. We stopped for another rest and I told Semi-Joy I was hit. We were both planning on heading off the trail at Delaware Water Gap - Semi-Joy's parents were coming down on Sunday to whisk her away for a few days vacation and I was off to the Jersey shore for a week. Since we were only one more day to the Gap, I suggested we bail early and head to my house about 1+ hours away. We could zero there on Saturday and slackpack the miles we missed on Sunday, hitting the Gap in time for her to meet her parents Sunday evening. Semi-Joy was definitely down with the plan. We took out the map and saw we were about 6 miles from our next road crossing at Wind Gap - ETA 5:30 or so. There was a motel just off the road where we could rendezvous with whomever was lucky enough to be able to drive out and pick us up. I called my sister and she said she'd be on her way within the hour, braving Memorial Day weekend traffic. It really couldn't have worked out any easier - except for the fact that we still had to hike 6 more miles. I would have preferred to be extracted on the spot by helicopter but I don't always get what I want.Kelly picked us up at the Gateway Motel around 6pm after a near 3 hour drive (usually takes just over an hour without traffic. she's a saint). So good to see her, not just because she was my transport to a soft bed and a foot rub, but also because my sister is my very closest friend (seriously, we should have been joined at the hip) and there is no feeling like being close to the ones we love. She braved the eau d' hiker, threw us in the car, and headed to the nearest diner for some chat and chow. We were home by 8:30 or so. My mom was so pissed at me when she saw my feet but to her credit managed to keep the lecture brief. She just told me she was disappointed in me for letting my feet get so bad and that burned me a bit. Parenting tactics 101. When they don't get all worked up and yell but just quietly slide in the "disappointed in you" angle, it leaves a mark. I knew she was right. So after saying her piece she insisted on administering a very, very light and gentle foot rub (with the heavy duty cream) and dousing me from head to toe in Gold Bonds. I can't remember being rubbed and powdered by her like that since I was a baby - I'm not complaining though. Love my mom. White and shimmery with Gold Bond's, I headed upstairs to get ready for bed.I gave up my apartment before I left for Nepal last year, so when I am home I stay with my sister and her husband on a pull out twin bed in their office. After setting Semi-Joy up on the living room couch, I set up my bed as well. It was perfect - I got into bed, laid on my back, and moved my legs so that each of my heels were hanging off either side of the bed. Finally, to be able to sleep on my back with my heels throbbing. It was heaven and I slept like a rock.There's no place like home.