Date: 2005-06-14
From: Secret Shelter

To: St. Thomas Episcopal Church Hostel
Miles today: 14.9

Miles hiked today : 14.913.6 AT miles + 1.3 miles of side trailThe early light was bright around 5:00 a.m. and with the birds happily chirping away, I was fully awake at 5:30 a.m. An early morning braying fit from one of the donkeys also helped to wake me. I packed up and was hiking by 6:20 a.m. with Unionville as my first stop. Before departing, I had placed blister pads on my right ankle and covered them with duct tape, though there was still a fair amount of pain caused by pressure and friction from my boot.If I would have planned better, I would have laid in bed for another 30 minutes until my alarm went off, as I arrived in Unionville at 7:25 a.m., 35 minutes before the post office opened. To bide my time, I stopped in the general store to purchase a bottle of soda and as I walked out the door, I saw that the cashier used a paper towel to pick up the change I had placed on the counter. I may have been dirty and stinky, but that didn't mean that my money was contaminated with the bubonic plague.After the general store, I walked to the post office and waited for it to open. There was a sign on the door from the mayor of Unionville stating that hikers were welcome to do laundry and take showers at his home without charge. Wow, quite generous! Once the post office opened, I picked up 3 packages. One was my maildrop with goodies from my Mom and regular food, which had been forwarded from Palmerton and the other 2 were "care" packages I had forwarded from Port Clinton. One was from from Ammo & Mason, and the other was from Tara, a friend back home whom I met shortly before beginning the trail. Ammo & Mason send goodies and a $10 bill, which will come in handy. Tara sent a sketchbook, a package of swedish fish, as well as a replacement belt for my vacuum cleaner. Some additional information is certainly in order. Coincidentally, Tara works at Starks Vacuum, the shop where I purchased my vacuum cleaner a few years ago, so she knows the model I own. In an enclosed note, she wrote that the guys in the shop thought it would be funny to send the belt. I did find it amusing and will carry the belt for the time being. Perhaps Starks would like a picture of me on Katahdin, proudly displaying the belt.It took me a little while to repack with all of the new food and I was dreading the increased weight, as I didn't really need my food maildrop yet. Despite my anticipation, my pack didn't feel as heavy as I thought it would and I set out at 8:20 a.m. By this time, both of my ankles were hurting and felt like there were raw spots developing. I kept hiking until 10:20 a.m. and sat down for a 5 minute break. Upon checking the data book, I realized I was less than 0.5 mile from Pochuck Mountain Shelter. With that, I hiked on and reached the shelter at 10:30 a.m., stopping for a 45 minute rest break.I had taken my boots off during my break and after I set out, the pain was back. On level and declined stretches of trail, there was very minimal pain, though the pressure exerted on the raw spots on inclines was excrutiating. I found that the pain was minimized if I stepped up using only my toes and, before long, the pain stopped altogether, regardless of the slope of the trail.With 6.5 miles to cover from the shelter to NJ94, I steadily hiked on, stopping once in awhile to drop my heavy pack and adjust the suspension for optimal comfort. After 4.9 miles, I had just finished walking across a 0.7 mile raised walkway through a marshy wetlands area, which was quite beautiful. As I crossed a suspension bridge over Pochuck Creek, I was surprised to be called out to by Snail, who had been napping under the north end of the bridge. It was 1:30 p.m. and I stopped for a 20 minute break before continuing on to NJ94. I reached NJ94 at 2:25 p.m. and walked 0.1 mile up the road to Heaven Hill Farm to purchase a soda, as well as some of their ice cream. Though the cashier was somewhat surly, that didn't stop me from enjoying my dish of strawberry ice cream. While sitting outside, Lark, a local resident, asked me about my hike, but didn't "bite" when I subtlely hinted about needing a ride into town. Minutes later, when I was hitching just outside the entrance to Heaven Hill Farm, Lark pulled up and motioned me over. Although she wasn't headed my way, she said that she felt for me and instructed her 3 year old daughter not to tell Daddy that Mommy had picked up a hitchhiker. At 3:00 p.m., after a 2.5 mile drive, Lark dropped me off at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church.The St. Thomas Episcopal Church houses a fairly nice donation based hostel, complete with internet access, television, vcr, movies, laundry, and shower facilities, as well as 25 cent sodas. I quickly grabbed one of the few available cots and started a load of laundry before hopping in the shower. After my shower, I updated my trail journal and checked my e-mail before walking down the street at 6:30 p.m. to a grocery store for chocolate milk and more blister pads. I have a feeling I'll be needing them in a few days.On my way back to the hostel, I couldn't help but stop at a fast food franchise for a chicken sandwich. This marks the first time during this trip that I patronized a fast food franchise, sigh...I was shocked at how incredibly salty the sandwich was. Despite the high salt content, the sandwich tasted very good. At 7:30 p.m., I was back at the hostel and sat at one of the outdoor picnic tables to journal before heading inside to relax before bed.I'm not sure how far I'm headed tomorrow, as it depends on the raw spots on my ankles and on what time I wake up. Chances are that I'll rise early, as there is a pre-school graduation in the next room scheduled for 8:30 a.m. One last note is that today marks my 3 month anniversary on the trail. If it weren't for the raw spots on my ankles, I'd be happy as a clam.Bedtime at 10:20 p.m.