Date: 2005-07-09
From: Palmerton Jail Hostel

To: Leroy A Smith Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: few clouds

I spent a fair bit of time in town this morning taking care of business - laundry, resupply, e-mail check, etc. To my surprise I even found some shoe-goo, which I quickly put to use in an attempt to salvage my shoes. You're supposed to let it set for 24 hours; I only had two available. Also, I forgo a 'real' breakfast for the first time ever in town, opting instead for some cinnamon buns I bought at the grocery store. It turns out they looked more appetizing than they actually were. Unfortunately, it was a six pack and I'll be having them again tomorrow and the day after.It took a bit longer to hitch out than expected; maybe twenty minutes went by before I finally thumbed down a ride to the trailhead. Up until now, Pennsylvania hasn't lived up to its billing. First I heard the whole state was relentless rocks. When they didn't appear, the story changed so that they kicked in after Duncannon, and later after Port Clinton. Sure, there's been some very rocky sections, but rarely for more than a mile or two. The climb out of Lehigh Gap, however, lived up to its billing. The climb is rocky and the trail is hard to find. Several sections required hand-over-hand free climbing. And the whole area is exposed rock. It was tough, but I also thought it was a lot of fun.The climb was followed by an endless ridge walk. The first couple of miles were really cool. The whole area is a superfund site due to old zinc mining efforts, so there's little to no growth on top of the ridge. We were left with an easy logging road with continuous views, not to mention an abundance of blueberry bushes. I took several breaks to fill up my 1 pint berrying nalgene bottle.Several local kids left some much appreciated water jugs at a road crossing five miles in. This stretch is very dry - there isn't any water until the first shelter, some sixteen miles in. Even then, the spring is half a mile downhill. I had left Palmerton with an extra liter of water, but I was still elated to run across an unexpected water supply point.After the road crossing, trees kicked in, robbing me of my view. The trail moved to a narrower, rockier path. Mile after mile dragged on with no views or terrain changes. The trail was perfectly flat, too - the monotony was miserable. To make matters worse, I actually started to feel quite tired. Perhaps my recent dabbling in high mileage has finally caught up to me. After all, I have just gone 250 miles in two weeks - a much higher average than the 160 miles I did in the two weeks prior or even my typical 100 miles per week.I finally pulled into the shelter a bit after seven. Dandy Lion, Ramblin' Man, Corporal and Quixote were all present. I ate the rest of last night's stromboli along with green peas and freshly picked blueberries, enjoying some good conversation about religions, bible tracts, and Mormons. Finally, with darkness not too far off, I willed myself to move again and relocated to a nearby meadow that served as the tenting area. Mayfly and RiteAid were there, along with a group I didn't get the chance to meet. I did, however, meet Chuckles and Got to Go, an older couple that apparently were also at the jail hostel last night.My shoe repair job mostly held today, but it did require some reapplication this evening. I wonder how many hikers have Shoe Goo in their bag?Anyways, I'm quite exhausted right now, more so than I should be after sixteen miles. Sleep sounds good.