Date: 2003-08-15
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: clear sky

An unremarkable morning, really, except to say that I made good time and passed a few SOBOs. One, who wore a bright orange cap and whose name has unfortunately slipped my mind, I met at Wolf Rocks and talked with for a while. He warned me of the ¢resident¢ at the next shelter, as well as the poor water source there, so I passed it by and lunched instead at an overlook nearby.As a result, as well as of trying to get into DWG as fast as I could, I ran out of water. Thankfully there are a few streams on the actual descent into town. The Trail into DWG is beautiful; cool and shady, streams, even a pond covered in lily pads. What a sight that would be with the water lilies were blooming! Unfortunately the beauty is overshadowed by the dreadful sound of the interstate below. I passed several day hikers, and pitied the city people who come out here and think they¢re experiencing the wilderness. All the quiet noises of the woods are drowned out by the highway.As I descended into DWG, it hit me what I had just come through. I had just completed over 200 miles in eleven hiking days, all by myself. I¢d endured my lowest point on the Trail, and even made a decision to get off the Trail, and yet here I am, I made it. And I¢m not done yet. The weather is beautiful today; I¢m on the greatest high I¢ve felt on this Trail yet. I am triumphant! So Pennsylvania started well and ended well, but I¢m sorry to say I didn¢t enjoy the in-between much.I headed into the Church of the Mountain Hostel, and to my surprise a group of six or eight hikers had been just a day or two ahead of me all the way through Pennsylvania! I had no idea. Funny how that happens.Boomhouser walked me down to the post office to pick up my bounce box and a mail drop. Guess what ¢ not there. Apparently the change of address form I¢d mailed from Gettysburg two weeks ago while enroute to Caledonia State Park had not been filled out correctly, so instead of rerouting the package from Waynesboro here to Delaware Water Gap, the postmistress sent all my packages that came to Delaware Water Gap back to Waynesboro. ¢When it came here instead of going to Waynesboro I just assumed you¢d filled it out backwards,¢ she said. Whatever ¢ I suppose it was my fault as well, but it just seemed stupid to me. So I have to call Waynesboro and figure out how to get them back up here¢¦ Hope they can be here by Monday! But rats ¢ my bounce box had clothes I was going to wear in New York tomorrow. Now I know I¢m supposed to be on this minimalist trip, hiking the AT, so it really shouldn¢t matter what I wear tomorrow. But I¢m meeting beautiful Southern California fashion queen Aprille, so I can¢t be a dowdy trail bum beside her!Alan arrived and we headed to Wal-Mart to replace a couple of things I didn¢t get in my box. It always amazes me how no matter what part of the country you¢re in, if you go to Wal-Mart you see the same kind of people. We headed to Target in stead, where I put together a cute inexpensive outfit to wear in the city.Home to Alan¢s lovely apartment ¢ decorated so well! It is so fun to see his place, and to reconnect after so many years. It¢s been at least three since I¢ve seen him, four or five since we¢ve spent any real time together. I took a shower and got my laundry started, and then he took me to his favorite place to eat ¢ Panera! Yippee ¢ one of my favorites, too. Then we bought some ice cream and took it home¢¦Perfect accommodations!