Date: 2007-07-29
From: George W. Outerbridge shelter

To: Leroy A. Smith shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night the wind kicked up some and I also heard thunder. It helped cool things off a little but it¢s still humid out and overcast or is it high fog. We will have to see when we descend into Lehigh Gap. At least there is a breeze if nothing else. It doesn¢t take us long to get down to the road and cross the bridge before we start the trail up. As we were crossing the bridge we were trying to see where the trail went up. It is very steep and looks like some rock climbing will be necessary in spots. The clouds were low and it helped keep it cooler than the past few days. It felt great! The trail out of Lehigh Gap IS very steep and some parts do require climbing. Nothing to difficult but challenging all the same. It¢s a nice change of pace from the constant walking day-to-day. It was actually a fun climb and watching Petey climb is even more amazing. He is a small dog and carries his own pack. Some of the rock climbs are at least 4-6ft straight up and Petey finds his own way up. It¢s amazing watching him. After we get over the majority of the climb and cross to the other side there is an American Flag painted on the side of the hillside. Pretty cool. As we get closer to the top we can start to see what the area looks like. Very few trees and bare areas devastated by the zinc mining of the past century. It¢s sad. The trail follows the road on top and is an easy walk. Part of the trail goes through stand of bushes and small trees for a bit of shade. Somewhere in this patch of bushes Petey lost his pack and we didn¢t notice it for about a half mile. We walked back to where he took off into the bushes and luckily we found the pack close by. While on top we can hear thunder in the distance and since it¢s so exposed here we don¢t want to get caught out in the open. We keep listening to the thunder to see if it is getting closer or farther. For now it¢s far away. As we got closer to some power lines we could hear music and then we see a group of young people out having a campout. The rest of the hike on the ridge was uneventful until we got to the shelter and it started to sprinkle again. It felt good but at this point I am tired and thirsty. I drink the last of my water and lie down and take about a 30 minute nap. Again we hiked long with little water. What choice do you have when the water sources are dry and they are spread far apart. The water source at this shelter was the Third spring because the first two were dry. The third one was about .5 miles down a blue blaze but it was flowing a lot. Having to carry 4 liters back up was not the easiest but I am not coming back down for more. Blu and Caboosie are here tonight and it¢s good to see them again. Blu and Petey provided some entertainment during dinner when they had a stare off for a packet of salmon. Petey stood still for at least 2-3 minutes. It was funny. The humidity and the heat have zapped my energy level. I¢ve been feeling tired the past couple days. I know I need to drink more but with the shortage of reliable water sources that does make it more difficult. Better water planning or usage? Something to think about. Shelter: Tony Tiger, Handyman, Blu and Caboosie. Tenting: Toba, Breeze. Wx: humid/foggy-am, hot/humid-pm, light sprinkles