Date: 2014-06-25
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Palmerton (Jailhouse Hostel)
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

The alarm went off at 5:30, and I got started packing up. The tent floor did have a little water under the air mattress, and the foot of the sleeping bag was a bit damp, but otherwise, my little cocoon survived pretty well. I focused on what I could do inside until the rain stopped at about 6:15, when I got out and took off the rain fly. It was wet on both sides, so I laid it out top down on some grass while I started breakfast. When the breeze came up and began clearing away the foggy skies, I put up a line, took down the tent, and hung it up while I packed. Since it was still very humid, there was really little hope of getting things dry in a reasonable time, so I packed up the wet stuff and headed up the steep hill to the trail. Finally got on my way at 9:25.The trail was rocky but not too bad until I got to the approach to the Knife Edge. That was a challenging -- and a bit scary in spots -- trek across a rocky ridge. The poles were useless in navigating around some of the large rocks, and the going was quite slow. The trail remained very rocky, with another major obstacle course at Bake Oven Knob, until the shelter just 4 miles into the hike. I stopped there for a break and chatted with Scout and Chinook, who had passed me on the rocks. Both young men are from northern New Jersey and will be leaving the trail for a week to attend graduation festivities for a relative. They shared some of their water with me so I wouldn't have to go down the steep trail to the source. Thanks, guys! Gone Walking was also there, and they had all stayed the night at the Allentown Shelter.This was the rockiest day so far, with some patches of fairly easy walking. My feet really felt all the twisting and turning. When I got near Lehigh Gap, I came upon some wonderful trail magic -- about ten gallon jugs of water and a plastic bin filled with all sorts of goodies. I ate two cheese Danish, a banana, and packed an apple. Scout, Chinook, and Real Talk arrived and thoroughly enjoyed the magic. I headed on, up a hill and back onto the ridge. More rocky trail, but the earth kind, sprinkled with pointy rocks. I stopped for a break at a campsite with a rock seat and a view of the valley. Hard to leave, but my goal was Palmerton, where I planned to stay at the Jailhouse Hostel, a free hostel run by the town in the basement of the Borough Hall.I got to the road, crossed a bridge, and headed uphill to a traffic light near where the trail heads up toward the superfund site, a former zinc smelting operation that devastated the landscape. The reclamation is gradually taking hold. I hoped to get a ride to Palmerton to avoid a mile+ hike in the hot sun along an abandoned railroad bed. I got out my sign, and a guy in a big pickup said he would take me. Nice guy, but it turned out he was not from the area, and he passed the Palmerton exit. He pulled over when he could, and I walked back on the highway and entrance ramp into Palmerton. It was a long walk down Delaware Ave. to the police station, where hikers are supposed to register after business hours at the Borough Hall. It was closed, and I wandered around for nearly 30 minutes looking for a policeman. One finally drove up, I asked about registering, and he said he would let me in the building. They look at a photo ID and want an emergency contact number. He directed me to Borough Hall, further down the street.I went in the basement and found a large fan blowing into the big room and two tents with rain flys hanging from the pipes. There appeared to be two occupied bunks, but no one was there. I picked a bunk, hung up my wet tent and fly, unpacked and went hunting for the shower. It was in the gym, an old timey affair typical of men's locker rooms -- three shower heads in a long shower with no curtains. The place was pretty grubby, but the hot shower felt great.As I was getting ready to seek dinner, Mex-B came in. We chatted a bit, and I headed to Bert's Steakhouse, only to find that it closed at 8:30. So I headed down the road quite a way to Subway, where I ate my first foot-long with no problem. I trudged back to the hostel, talked to Lee, briefly chatted with Mex-B, and went to bed.