Date: 2018-05-29
From: Mile 1257.8 PA 248 and 873

To: Smith Gap
Miles today: 12.3

I slept pretty well and woke up at 5am, stayed in bed until 5:45 then showered and packed up my bag so I'd be ready. I walked a few doors down and sat at the counter at 7am and enjoyed 2 eggs with ham and home fries and an orange juice. I was done and back at the motel by 7:30. I grabbed my stuff and met River in the lobby where she was having breakfast. I summoned an Uber but none were available and after a few tries River called Tracy over at Bert's hostel and she came to pick us up. She brought us to the hostel where we could leave our packs and grab day packs and also pic up T-Bird who had stayed there. By 9am we were at the trail where we'd left off on Sunday and we were excited to hike Lehigh Gap. The initial climb prior to the rocks was steep and it's a warm humid day today. But as we began the ascent on the rocky face the fun began. I absolutely loved climbing Lehigh Gap. With light packs and stowed trekking poles it was a hand assisted steep climb and the view reward was amazing. I take back what I'd previously said about never hiking in PA again. I would love to hike this section with Brian! I paused several times to look back at the view and the town below. I sat on a rock and envisioned a picnic up here with Brian on a day hike. Once we made it to the top it was a ridge walk for miles. The weather was supposed to be overcast this morning, but the sun was out and the ridge was miles of exposure. It was darn hot. We stopped at a shaded campsite for a break. River and I felt really gross and sweaty using these daypacks from the hostel that were likely previously soaked by someone else's sweat. Yuck! There's no water on this stretch except for an emergency spring that tests high for metals and another spring almost where we finish but it's a steep half mile down. We wanted to cool off only, we had enough to drink. But we missed the emergency spring none of us seeing the blazes to it and we were all looking. When we arrived at Delps spring another hiker had already gone down for water and was sitting on a log at the top resting. He recommended we only hike down if we really needed water. One of us has a fear of running out of water (and it's not me) so this was cause for discussion and reasoning. We only had 2 miles left and we were pretty shaded now. We decided to finish without a trip to the spring as none of us had run out of water. We ended at Smith Gap with Tracy there to drive us back to the shelter right on time. I showered and ran to the laundromat with mine and River's clothes, but my feet were very tired and the laundromat was almost a mile away. I threw in the load and grabbed a coconut water drink and a preportioned cup of pepperoni and cheese cubes and container of potato salad and consumed it while the clothes washed. River came in and took over the drying and folding while I mosied back to the hostel stopping at rite aid for ibuprofen and gel inserts on the way back. I changed into pajamas and then remembered I needed to get to the ATM. The 60's siblings were at the hostel and told me if I go to the ATM I should walk the extra half block to Claudes for ice cream. So with sore feet I totally did was River calls the toddler walk in my pajamas to the ATM and Claudes and didn't care. I had a strawberry sundae then cut my gel inserts to fit, brushed my teeth and rolled out my sleeping pad on the floor in the lounge area. The bunks were full. Steady and I opted to crash in the air conditioned lounge on the sofa and floor instead of outside in the very hot garage. We've agreed to slack pack 17 miles tomorrow and made arrangements for a 7:30 ride. Lights out!