Date: 2018-05-26
From: Eckville shelter

To: Campsite at mile 1245.7
Miles today: 13.1

I slept very well despite being close to the road. I woke up once to pee and was really happy to see a few starts despite the bright moon. Very glad I opted to sleep with no fly. The birds were so absolutely cheerful this morning and I sent a Marco Polo message to Brian saying good morning and he noticed all the birdsong. We were up fairly early but I was trying to dry the dew off my tent, footprint and quilt so we didn't depart until 8:15 after breakfast and coffee. I actually enjoyed a cup this morning with River at the picnic table. I was able to get everything dry before packing up but I was concerned by the darkening sky. Today calls for showers this morning.  River wasn't quite ready so after a privy trip T-Bird and I headed up the road to the trail and took a right into the woods. Just as we entered the woods the rain started. I hadn't put my pack cover on. T-bird graciously grab it from the side zipper and covered it so I didn't have to take my pack off. I was grateful. We stood for a few minutes under some trees, partially sheltered from it and then with T-Bird's suggestion that we're going to get wet anyway we hiked on. Neither in rain gear because the temps will be on the upper 70's today. Once we we started our climb we warmed up and the rain was welcome for cooling. The rain and sweat dripped down my face and I licked the salty water off my lips several times. To rest me amply today we planned to stop at Dan's Pulpit, Dan's spring and the Allentown hiking club shelter and to camp 10 miles out at a Trailside campsite. We enjoyed our rest and snack at Dan's Pulpit with a nice overlook and the rain had stopped. We sat on rocks in the shade instead of the sun and River joined us. I had a Starbucks refresher package and poured it into 16oz of water and drank it. When I was feeling ready we continued on but I missed the blue blaze trail to the unmarked Dan's spring. I was flying! There's caffeine in that refresher and when T-Bird caught up to me he commented on my speed, asking for some of what I'd had. Wish I had more! When I looked at Guthooks to check on the location of the spring it was almost a mile behind us. T-bird was becoming very anxious about water. It's very humid today and we're sweating bullets. The next water is at the shelter 4 miles away. We conserve our water and slow the pace so we need less. T-bird is very concerned but I'm confident that even if we run out we can hike a mile or 2 without. When we arrived at the shelter and spring T-Bird had 7 oz left and I had none. We filled up and had lunch at the shelter. I saw River at the spring and she wasn't going to go up to the shelter so we planned to meet at the campsite. Professor and taught me hello and goodbye in Mandarin. I gave Professor half a liter of my water so he wouldn't have to hike down to the spring which was quite a way. He looked beat and was grateful for the donation. We left the shelter and continued on from the shelter which was 7.7 miles into a planned 10 mile day. Because of my feet we planned to hike two ten mile days and then a 5 mile day into Palmerton. I was doing pretty well managing the pain and swelling with rest and ibuprofen. At the 10 mile mark we couldn't find the campsite listed in Guthooks so I texted River who was a mile back and let her know. T-bird and I would hike and stop at the next one we saw. When we found it we stopped at it. The site wasn't ideal. We'd have trouble setting 2 tents and a hammock and the site didn't feel right. I dropped my pack and walked .40 north on the trail to see if there was a better site. My feet were killing me and I returned having found nothing. While I was gone River had arrived at the site. She and T-Bird wondered if I could hike a little more and cross route 309 and find a site on the other side of it. This would be 12 miles today, and if I could do 13 tomorrow we could get me into town. I thought if I layed down and elevated my feet on the log and took 3 more ibuprofen I could make it. So River pulled out something for me to lay on and we made our dinner and ate while I rested. We'd be getting to camp around 7:30 and this way dinner would be out of the way. The plan worked and we found a site that looked good and gave us a 13.1 mile day. We set up camp after picking enough broken glass out of an area for our tents. Again we're at a site close to a parking area and it looks like it's sometimes party central. I suppose breaking the empty beer bottles means they don't have to pack them out. River helped me with my underhand throw and we strung up 3 bear lines, brushed and crawled in bed. I couldn't sleep. I texted with Brian and tried to sleep but couldn't get comfortable because of the pain in my feet. I kept moving around and I could hear River was unsettled too. Then I heard "Are you awake?" And we laughed and chatted for a few minutes thru our tents. It was almost 11am and I heard her open her ibuprofen bottle. She'd texted a friend, Jo. Jo was going to be in PA Monday visiting her son and wanted to know where River would be so she could provide her with anything she needed. Jo is a hiker too and understands the needs of hikers. So River arranged that we'd be in Palmerton and Jo would be at our disposal for the day so I could get to an outfitter for proper shoe fitting and we could resupply. Having such relief, we both slept shortly after.