Date: 2013-07-15
From: Jailhouse Hostel, Palmerton, PA

To: Leroy A. Shelter
Miles today: 16.2

I didn't sleep terribly well last night. It was hot in the jailhouse, and I was dreading the climb. But when the time came, I got up and got out. I got a hitch out of town pretty easily. Nick, a nice local gentleman with leather seats and awesome A/C gave me a lift. He said that he picks up one or two hikers every year. I guess this was my lucky day! Nick dropped me at the trail head, and I slack packed the .2 or .3 up to the side trail that Tish and I had taken to her car the day before. Monday morning traffic was heavy and zipping by. The intersections were busy, and I admired the white blaze directly beside a sign that said no pedestrians allowed. Classic. I started the dreaded climb up. I passed rocks with the warnings: STOP and TURN BACK NOW written in large white block letters. Shit. What was in store for me. There was a helluva incline. I huffed and puffed. I broke my poles down and strapped them to my pack. I was going cat-squirreling up the rocks, on all fours. It was a little hairy, but I was actually enjoying myself. I stopped to take a few photos. I thought I still had a long way to go, but two day hikers came bee-booping down the hill standing erect, using on hiking pole. I looked at them in awe. They scurried down with the grace of a runway model while I looked like Quasimoto. They told me I was only a few feet from the top, the trail would start traversing the hill. Yeah!It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky, but there was a nice breeze. But I didn't have any sunscreen or anything to cover my bare arms with. Geeze. Luckily there was so shade when we got to the top. The trail was flat and smooth for almost 3 glorious miles. I pillaged the raspberry bushes. The area was decimated my zinc smelting, and though the factories had been closed down thirty years prior, very little but raspberry and blueberry bushes grow. We were faced with the sadness of pollution. It was sobering. Coming down into Little Gap, I stepped down onto my right foot. The foot did a twist/gave way. My left foot caught on a rock and I collapsed forward onto my right knee. Luckily I had my knee brace on, and it caught the brunt of the fall, but I still scrapped the skin off my knee. I wollowed in the rocks and was so grateful that there weren't any snakes. I slapped on a bandaid and kept going. I was thinking about my knees and missed a trail turn. I came out on a gravel road, but there were no white blazes. I knew I had gone wrong. Darn. I backtracked and found my way back to the AT. I got down to the road and I started the half mile trek up to the Blue Mountain ski resort. That was the only reliable water source for miles. A truck pulled up beside me and offered me a lift. Jethro was a civil engineer on the constructio site on the resort. He dropped me at the maintenance building and gave me directions to the water cooler. I walked in and the construction workers were having lunch. They said hello. I filled my reservoir and then headed outside. I found Steel Matt, Milkshake and Sawgrass. They told me where I could get a gatorade. I bought two and used the bathroom to clean up my skinned knee. When I got back outside, Jethro was there waiting to take me and Steel Matt back down to the trail. It was well over 90 degrees, and I felt that I was cooking. The rocks were relentless. I zoned out. The gnats and mosquitoes tried to get at my face, but the head screen kept them off. That was the only reprieve. I was finally getting close to the shelter. My legs felt like logs. My feet and ankles were screaming, but I was almost there. I saw a sign that said: Bees on log ahead. Who knew how long that sign had been there? I got to the log, and as I stepped over I saw a swarm of hornets. With no warning I felt a sharp stab on the inside of my knee. I yelped out a curse word and shreeked as I shook my leg. The little bastard got me good. I saw the sting. It got redder and hotter and swoll a little. There was a tight penching sensation, but I just kept walking. I was ready for this day to be over.I got to the shelter's tenting area and pitched my tent. I walked down to the shelter to sign the register and to get water. I cooked and ate dinner. Now I'm just really, really tired.