Date: 2009-06-26
From: Eckville Shelter

To: PA 309, Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

Richard got up much earlier than I did and was ready to hit the trail just as I was sitting down to eat. I asked him for his contact info before he took off, fearing this would be the last I would see of him, as he now hikes very fast! I chatted with Squeegie for the first time while I ate, went across the street to the spicket to fill up on water, and then packed up. Luckily, Richard and I were able to take a slight shortcut through the woods to get to the trail since we had already done that portion of the trail (and more) the evening before. I soon came to the sidetrail to the Hawk Sanctuary, but was greeted with a dilemma. The sign said it was 2 miles away, but the local had said it was only a half mile away and was free to thru-hikers. Who to believe? I really wanted to see this gathering of hawks, and so took off down this blue-blazed path, thinking I would turn around if I had walked more than half a mile. This path was overgrown with briars and was both difficult and painful to maneuver through. After I had walked 30 minutes, I figured I might as well go a little more since I had invested so much time in it. However, no sanctuary was in sight... I called Erik for his advice. He said to turn back- that 2 miles was too far for the day that I had planned. I could go back another time. But when would I do such a thing, I asked him? He agreed, but I ended up turning back, feeling defeated. A group that had stayed at Eckville Shelter was now taking a break at Dan's Pulpit and wondered how I could have possibly gotten behind them. Veggie Steve passed by and Sun Beam said to him, "Nice view." "Yeah. Fields," he sarcastically answered with barely a glance and on he hurried. We were all a bit stunned.   The twins and I would need to pass Veggie Steve periodically over the next couple of hours which proved to be quite a challenge. He did not want us to pass him and ignored us for a good amount of time each time we needed to do so. Everyone took a break at Allentown Hiking Club Shelter. We knew that water was scarce in this area of PA and that the next source would be a spicket outside of a restaurant/inn on a road that we would cross. We all planned on filling up there. Upon reading more about this place, one hiker read that thru-hikers are sometimes allowed to camp on the property. I read in my book that they had live music on Fridays night. Hey! Today is Friday! Suddenly the group seriously began to consider the possibility of camping there, even though it would make it only an 11 mile day. One of the twins called the restaurant to get permission. The owner told us we were to clean up as best as possible before entering the restaurant. My next dilemma was whether to stay with the group to enjoy the music, or press on as I had planned, as I had a maildrop to pick up at the Palmerton post office. The following day was Saturday, meaning that I would have to arrive in town by noon. This would be impossible if I stopped early. I told them I would decide later and off I went.   Once at the restaurant, I called the Palmerton post office and asked if they would be able to forward my package to the following town. The woman told me that even though the post office would be closed, she would be working between 2:35-3:45, and if I could get there by then, she could get the package to me! How nice! I knew I could make it by then. So, we all went to the backyard and set up our tents and hammocks. Ahh- what a treat to be done hiking at 3pm! For some reason, I felt unusually tired, so I took a little nap in the hammock. The owner asked us to come in early to eat before his big dinner crowd, so we obliged. Before I even ordered, a big storm rolled in. I felt like we had made a good choice to stop. We were warm and sheltered, and well-fed. We stayed at our table until the music came on. It wasn't my cup of tea, but I did manage to get a couple of journal entries written and the twins had fun reading the gossip magazines available. The section hikers, K.H. and L.H. had also arrived and after setting up their tents right next to ours, were enjoying themselves at the bar.   Our group left the restaurant around 9:30 to get ready for bed. The section hikers stayed. I ran into L.H. in the restroom. Looking into the mirror, she commented on her black eyes, saying that she usually forgets about them. It was only when some kids passed by and stared that she remembered. She said she would tell them, "This is how not to hike!" I wanted to say something to her, but since she continued to blame them on a hiking fall, I said nothing and just gave her some sympathy for the pain and look of her face.   At midnight, I was awakened to loud hiccupping from a man stumbling in our direction. He was loudly blathering in between. It was the male section hiker- drunker than I had ever heard anyone. He was demanding his transistor radio be turned on. The woman was trying to quiet him. They got into the tent and the arguing began. He didn't like being quieted and clearly wanted something from the woman that she didn't want to give him. He began yelling at her and insulting her. "You're a b*tch...!" he would scream at her. I thought I heard him hit her and felt awful. How could I be so stupid as to not believe it was him that had caused her black eyes? I didn't know what to do. We were all scared that he would come out of his tent and threaten us, and all night long, we quivered alone, in our individual shelters. Around 2 pm, the vomiting began. It was the most disgusting sound I had ever heard. The tent zipper would occasionally be undone and re-zipped, but it did not coincide with the vomiting. Was he throwing up inside the tent? I felt horrible for the woman. I was mad at myself for even being in their vicinity. If I was doing my normal miles, I would have been far ahead of them and would not be in this position. I wanted to get away, but I was stuck there until morning.   Around 4 am, round 2 of the vomiting commenced. This was now my second witnessing of domestic abuse while I was on the trail- something I had not expected to find in this environment.