Date: 2013-07-09
From: Leroy Smith shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I caught up with Turtle just at the road to Wind Gap. We said goodbye since she was meeting friends there for a few days. I was much too early for the post office, so I figured I'd have breakfast in town. I ended up joining the group [about a dozen hikers] at the bar which had offered free breakfast for hikers. I figured I took the place of a couple [Garden Girl & friend] who had stayed there but left early. Then I spent a long time at the PO, sorting & sending myself packages. I didn't get out of town till 11:30!After getting up out of the gap, the Trail was rocky but level ¢ something like 7 miles of the medium-sized rocks that give me the most difficulty. The small rocks that stick up to trip you or twist an ankle I can avoid fairly well. The big rocks you actually have to climb I do OK on. But the ones you have to walk on, but are likely to be loose or sloped in odd ways, those I find the hardest. Fairly warm without much wind too. There are some Mosquitos but not too bad if I kept moving. At the seven-mile point came Wolf Rocks, a quarter mile or more of the big rocks for climbing, then downhill on a rocky path. I thought I had remembered some of this section being easy -- but not yet,On the way! I noticed some Barberry infestation. I can see why our forest ranger back home was so concerned abut this invasive species. Not only does it crowd out more desirable native plants in the woods, it's really nasty to have along the trail -- the thorns are worse than most of the thorny plants you may walk past & get snagged on. I was certainly wrong in thinking we were done with Rhododendrons; some were still blooming on those big rocks. It really seemed like a long afternoon. At one point I did what I have tried to avoid the whole trip: I grabbed for support on a tree with a Poison Ivy vine on it, a white oak, I presume, since they are the most common ones (Some trees like hickories they totally stay away from) for those vines. I wonder if they are related somehow, maybe thru the poison oak side of the family. When I touch poison ivy, I try wiping it off with some crushed leaves, preferably witch hazel. I don't know if that does any good or if I'm just not as allergic to it as I used to be. There is so much of it out here this year that it is hard to avoid completely. I stopped at Kirkridge shelter to get water (from the adjacent Presbyterian camp) & cook a late lunch. There was a couple from Quebec there plus one other hiker I hadn't met before.Then 6.4 more miles to DWG. A couple of miles was on old road where I felt I went quite quickly, but the rest was up & down with some rocks, mostly down toward the gap. There were a few good views of the river & lots of road noise, but it also started getting dark. The street lights were on when I got to Delaware Water Gap, & the hostel was full. There were some people camped out back who directed me to a shelter back there too. It ended up being pretty pleasant, since I had it to myself. I went out looking for supper. The main restaurant had just closed its kitchen, & someone suggested the pizza place would be open later. I didn't see anything else that looked open. Actually, it closed at 9:00 also, but they were willing to make me a calzone & a salad to go. Nice people. Family operation, I assume. I brought the food back to the shelter, took a shower, ate the calzone, & went to bed. A long day!