Date: 2006-08-05
From: Palmerton, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 104.9
Weather: few clouds

Hope you all enjoyed the General's installment of out trail journal from Vernon, NJ to Palmerton. Leaving Palmerton we had a fairly long climb out of the Lehigh Gap, by Pennsylvania standards. We were hiking through afternoon heat in the middle of a heat wave that reached its peak around the beginning of August. The climb itself was pleasant, but I was sweating so much. Felt like I had jumped in the LeHigh River. On that same hill we saw a group of Turkey and chased them down the trail till they finally ducked off into the woods. This hill was far less devastated than the last one, which meant that it was just your normal PA ridge with a healthy smattering of rocks.    That stretch to Bake Oven knob was hot, but we made it by early evening and despite low miles we stopped. The shelter was nice enough and deserted. We relaxed all evening and I broke the monotony with a nice hike .5 miles down and up a big hill to the spring to refill water.    That next day we started off at 8AM and were in no big rush. Although water was still scarce as it was in the rest of Pennsylvania we managed to make due, and it actually seemed to be getting more prevalent. In the morning we walked alot of old logging roads as we made our way to an unknown shelter where we stopped for lunch. I believe that this was and hopefully will be the hottest portion of our hike. Laying still in the shelter it was impossible not to drip sweat. I felt sticky and disgusting, but after a short hike down to the spring we pushed off towards the Eckville Shelter. We went through a pretty rocky piece of trail that passed us close to the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. The sanctuary is an important part of the annual raptor migration up the east coast.    Eckville shelter was a very nice establishment with a solar powered shower and caretaker living in the adjacent home. The caretaker gave us a big chunk of ice in an old plastic star wars glass which was much appreciated. Icewater is a true luxury and it allows you to stay far better hydrated. We met an old thru-hiker that goes by his real name which is Jon Peterson. He is 70 years old and this is his second thru-hike. He told many good stories including one where he recently succumbed to heat stroke in the bar of a local Bed & Breakfast.    In the morning we headed up a decent hill that would prove to be the most difficult part of the day. We cruised along ridgelines for the remainder before descending into a river valley that housed the small town of Port Clinton. A local church allows hikers to stay under a pavilion at the edge of town. The only other ammenities the town provides are two restaurants. One of which is called the Port Clinton Hotel. They serve up gigantic hamburgers and portions of fries that are a little bit ridiculous. Their service however was abysmal and I have never been treated so poorly at an establishment that was receiving my money. If I could take back time it would please me to have avoided supporting them financially, but I need to move on. At the time I was enraged. The owner/bartender yelled at me for a reason that I can still not quite determine.    The next morning with that meal weighing heavily on my consciounce we again pointed our feet south and continued on. I dwelt upon the previous evening for some time before forgetting the incident. The hiking was more of the same though and it probably served to quicken a my pace and burn off a few miles. We pushed on throughout the day over decreasingly rocky soils and nearly level ridgelines. It may sound pleasant and it certainly should be relished, but after a long time of this type of hiking you begin to crave a change. That evening we stayed at the 501 shelter which also had a nice shower and huge sunlight. The General and I stayed there alone that night which to me indicated the real end of the Northbound hordes. Soon we will again be alone on our southward journey into the fall.   We set off early the next morning. This day had the distinction as being the day that we would cross the 1000 mile marker. That line passed without fanfare sometime in the mid-morning and we continued along before taking a lunch break by an old iron bridge. We passed 9+ hikers in the morning which seems like alot for this portion of the journey. The afternoon was punctuated by a few nice fields complete with wildflowers. As we hiked over a little hill there was a stange booming noise coming from the sky that sounded like incredible feedback from god's lapel mike. It was an odd noise and continued as we descended into a stream valley that long ago fell victim to Acid Mine Drainage. They have since cleaned up the stream and we happily camped along its banks. In the morning as I was hiking alone a ways ahead of The General I spooked a bobcat that was ambling along the trail. He paused in the woods a little ways off and we looked calmly at each other for a brief period of time. He then took a powerful bound off into the mountain laurel. Soon after Jon caught me up and we continued to a road junction where we stopped to eat lunch. As we were eating a past thru-hiker named freebird stopped by for a chat. He was an interesting fellow who used to be a professional windsurfer which is odd for someone from Reading, Pennsylvania. In the afternoon we hiked a nice long ridge where we passed the old Earl Schaffer shelter. We then pushed on to the clarks ferry shelter where we slept with only 4 easy miles the next day into Duncannon.   Coming out of the woods in the early morning we crossed the Susquehanna river on a long highway bridge. The river is wide and not to deep. We walked down high street and passed the Doyle Hotel before relaxing away a good portion of the morning in a small park. We then went over to the Doyle and got ourselves a room, ate lunch, and cleaned up before Jon's friend Alex and his mother came to pick us up. They whisked us away to Hershey, PA where we ate a great spaghetti dinner and took a tour of the town. That evening we went back to the Doyle and I slept incredibly well in its dingy atmosphere.