Date: 2004-07-20
From: Dan's Spring Campsite

To: Lehigh Gap
Miles today: 20.9

Here I am again at Todd and Michele's house! I'm full of food and feeling blessed. I'm exhausted and my toes are sorer than they've ever been in my life. Nonetheless, I have had a successful day which includes no detailed accounts of Copperheads..Yay!I awoke in my borrowed hammock at 7:00 am after a great night's rest. I quickly packed up but it was clear Eric and Jessica would need a little while longer. With that in mind, I sat down and perfected yesterday's "Copperhead Journal." I finished just as my comrades were ready to leave. We hiked out at 8:30 am, with 23 rocky miles in front of us. Early on, Jessica was struggling with the rocks. Eric and I would hike ahead, then wait for her to catch up. Twice in the first three miles I slipped on the rocks. The rocks in this section jut up in every direction. Some are loose; some are not; many are jagged and the trail demands you hike over them. I've often said it's not whether or not you fall, but how you do it. I fell hard on one of my slips but managed to land on my butt. Thank God it was not my head. My big thought of the morning was this: In normal life you are bound to have slips, especially when you push for big goals. The way you handle the disasters (slips) makes all the difference. On the trail I was ready to cushion my fall and get right back up. I dusted myself off, lived with the pain and did my best. I hope I can be ready to do the same months from now in "the real world."After three miles, the terrain eased up for a while. Within minutes we reached Allentown Shelter. I am not usually one to blather about a privy, but today I will make an exception. The Allentown privy is the nicest I have ever seen! Imagine needing to "go" in the woods, and you're drenching, using the smelly wood-encased sauna with the hole in the center. However, this time you follow the sign that reads, "Privy" only to find a nicer looking structure than half the shelters in Virginia! And it smells good, too! That was my situation. The privy has a step leading up to the properly hinged, wooden door. The door was stained mahogany and when I opened it, no foul smell greeted my nostrils. There were three small windows, a skylight, a doorstop and ample toilet paper. To top it off, there was even a small flush handle. It did not have a true function, but the illusion was complete. I plopped down on the clean wooden seat and experienced the privy to the fullest....oh yeahhhh!Before we hiked on, I forced Eric and Jessica to visit the privy as well. The next 4-miles were pleasant, lacking the usual rocks. Eric and I discussed literature; from Victor Hugo to The Hobbit. Eric said something that set me into fits of laughter but for the life of me I can't remember it now (sorry). We all felt good when we hit the road (PA route***) and saw the sign: RESTAURANT. Financially, I knew I shouldn't eat there but I was ready to throw fiscal concern to the wind. We approached, salivating, only to see the word, "CLOSED"....DOH! Disappointed, we returned to the trail and the trail returned to its normal rockiness.As the day's heat grew, we played "The Name Game." It was completely unfair since I have played numerous times already on the trail, but it was a needed distraction. "Mickey Mantle, HA!" Despite the fun, I was sweating, hungry, and my feet were sore; possibly from the 10 times I stubbed them on the rocks en route to "The Knife's Edge"...ugh. We walked about 50-feet, then concurred, "Lunch." Before sitting down in safety to dine, we checked everywhere for snakes. Yesterday's fun was still vivid in our memories.After finishing my 'delicious' lunch of peanuts and wheat n' cheese crackers, I realized it was close to 3:00 pm. While I love Jess and Eric's company, I had only covered 10-miles and still had 11-miles to go. I didn't want to arrive at Todd and Michelle's after dark. I told Eric and Jess that I would hike ahead and see them soon. Then I entered "the zone." How I moved over rocks as fast as I did I'm not sure. All I saw was rocks everywhere, but I pretended I was some form of super-hero and skidded along at high speeds. Three miles and less than one hour later I reached Bake Oven Knob Shelter. I grabbed water to replenish my hero strength and left my friends a poem. Then leaving the shelter as quickly as I came in, I gave a parting "hello/goodbye" to Skywalker (she must have thought I was insane). The trail proceeded to be rocky, but now more trees surrounded me. I flew along, stubbing my toes repeatedly, but covering ground. One hour later, I was tiring fast. At that point, however, I had covered 6-mles in 2-hours, after only covering 10-miles in the 6-hours prior. Right when I was ready to collapse, I ran into my friends, K-less and Gaia. I had barely talked to either of them in 3-weeks. As we talked, I felt new life filling me. In the time it took K-less to explain his bleached hair and me to explain my awesome trail magic experience, Gaia had picked about a hundred blueberries and we all had hiked another 3-miles.Though it seemed nearly impossible, it was 6:30 pm and I only had 2-miles to go. The three of us walked toward the road together talking about falafel, dolmades, spanakopitas and a variety of other fun foods. We took a brief shelter stop where we saw two bats as well as a sad entry from our friend, Sunshine. Sunshine's grandmother is sick and she asked us to pray. K-less told me I could offer prayer from both of us. After saying a quick prayer in my head, I joined my friends in the steep downhill walk to the road. We managed the descent without killing ourselves and reached the road at 7:20 pm. WooHoo!At the road, my friends went to jail!!! Hee Hee...there is a hostel in the Palmerton Jail basement where hikers can stay! They hitched a ride and I headed to my guest's abode. I have now officially covered all of the miles between Port Clinton and my Sunday day-hike. As I walked to the road in the direction of their house, I jumped 2-feet in the air; a tire shred looked like a Black Rat Snake!!! Then I walked unalarmed right past a Black Rat Snake that looked like a tire shred...HA!I walked into the house dead-tired at 8:00 pm. Michele was bushed and Todd was still at work. I could no longer speak in complete sentences, but a hot shower melted my aching body. I talked with Michele about my experience with trail churches and how much I enjoyed Sunday at their church. Michele made cheeseburgers and I was ready to cry with happiness! When Todd came home, he was bushed, too. Three burgers and a martini later, I felt much better. With a collection of "thanks yous," I retired to bed. Ahhhh!Because my tent is being shipped overnight delivery (Thanks, Henry Shires TarpTent), tomorrow I am actually going to slackpack again for 15-miles. I still feel guilty, but blessed. Todd will pick me up so I can come back and fetch my newly arriving tent. I'm not sure what I would have done with my tent (and my food) situation without Todd's help. All told, Todd has driven almost five hours over the last week to assist me. I can't even count the amount of food, showers, laundry and kindness I have received at their house. In return, I nearly busted their dryer with my pocket knife...DOM! Seriously though, I truly hope to somehow/someday repay. But for now, I'll enjoy their kindness and their couch..ahhh.GoodnightBeatbox ttt