Date: 2014-09-16
From: Sheffield, MA

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

The 82'nd day of my AT thru attempt was spent shaking my head over the mess that is the Palmerton Zinc Superfund site and the relocation of the trail it has wrought here in North-Eastern Pennsylvania. The re-forestation efforts of the EPA continue, and they include the reintroduction of American Elm onto the former tailing piles that line the Aquashicola Creek and Lehigh Rivers; mostly, however, "trash" trees such as cherry, birch and aspen, as well as invasives like butterfly bush have led the way. I wonder whether the temporary boom to the local economy (and to American industry) which these mines provided to the parents and grandparents of the locals has justified the current costs. I want to get passed this area, but realize that it is part and parcel of the cultural ecology of the AT. All the same, the state--where I have spent more of my life than anywhere else, excepting Pensacola, FL and Kilkenny, Ireland--has supplied a beautiful walk and a welcome relief up to now. I entered her (!) in one of my favorite hiking haunts: the Delaware Water Gap, which is said to be the "calendaric" half-way point for SOBOS, even if the mileage midway remains 150 miles south of me, near Pine Grove Furnace State Park. (I did cross the 900-mile mark a few days ago, which is a legit marker, and if I choose to believe I will be home on December 2'nd, then I will be, maybe.)PA is the least favorite state of most thru-hikers, given its boulder-fields and dry ridges, but I am trying to stay positive...the defining trait of successful thru-hikers, it seems to me.How did I get here? I rested, changed out some gear, and got off the trail in NYC with Karyssa for a few days--details on that are forthcoming--but we stayed in Greenwood Lake, on the NY/NJ border from 9/5-9/9. We walked close to 20 trail miles--around Wildcat and Wawayanda Shelters (at southie mile 815 and 827, respectively) on the Eastern Pinnacles --and as many Manhattan ones and enjoyed great food, especially the ice-cream at Bellvale Farms. The commute into the Port Authority was 1-2 hours long, but easier than driving ourselves and certainly cheaper than staying in the city. The new (though broken in) pants and pack--bye-bye Gregory, hello Golite--and Keens that Molly mailed me were much needed, though the blisters accompanying the latter weren't.I saw Karyssa off in cute and friendly Warwick, with thanks for the personal gear delivery, and got a ride back to the trailhead by Barbara, an awesome local woman who recently moved there from Chicago, and walked with Puck--more on him to follow--to Pochuck Mtn., where we sheltered (at m. 839 or 1346 counting down) and where I had a perfect bear encounter. We were cooking and talking over the fire-pit around dusk when I thought I saw movement over his shoulder and down the hill from us. At first, I was like, "there's someone about to mess with us" but a half-a-second later was, like, "that's an effing bear!" and headed off to see how close I could get before spooking her. It looked at first like someone trying to climb a tree, and was less than 50 yards away, but as the base of the tree was hidden from us, I couldn't be sure. As I approached, the Momma was reaching with an outstretched arm for something on a branch above the one she was by this point standing up on. She looked more like a chimp at a zoo than a bear in the wild! Two or three cubs then followed and mimicked her, climbing up the oak like koalas. It was so unbelievably cute!!! Momma saw us, and bolted down, though at least one cub climbed the tree again as we stood there in disbelief. Puck was all for backing up, being, like, "woah" but I saw that she was across the hill and as long as we didn't get between Momma and her kin, we were cool. Puck says he saw three cubs; I only definitely saw two, but again, the base of the tree they were clowning around in was out of view. At first light the next day, I tried to see what Momma was after some 30" up a acorn-less oak, but am still clueless...I think she was training the yung-uns or merely playing. (The recent news of a hiker killed by a black bear some thirty miles off of the AT in NJ puts this encounter in a new light, and has many of us scratching our heads. It's tragic, of course. Four or five young men being shadowed then chased by a full-grown bear is so rare as to defy belief. We all assumed they were being foolish, and somehow harassing the bear or one of its cubs, but it doesn't sound like it from early press reports. They certainly shouldn't have ran, or split up, but who can blame them as a group for freaking out. A bear would not approach 4 or 5 grown men who stood their ground, the experts will tell you, and I heard of a caretaker in NH who had to respond to the bluff charges of an aggressive bear. But on the other hand, bears have individual personalities, and some are easily prompted into a fight response. This one, who wouldn't leave the area of the body even after the authorities showed up and was subsequently put down, was probably no longer afraid of humans, and sensed an opportunity to get their food. It's amazing to think of such mega-fauna in your neighborhood, but am glad ones with that personality type are a rarity.) We met some peak-baggers at High Point tower, where Puck wanted to knock out one of them...still more on him, later. Brink Road shelter (m. 871) was next, though the following night I took a break from shelters and stayed at the AMC's Mohican Outdoor Center, at 885, which I can't recommend. Walked past Sunfish Pond, where I swear Glen and I once camped, and stayed at the Church of the Mountain Hostel in Delaware Water Gap (m. 896) where I swear Nancy and I once shopped in all the hippy stores. So many years have passed, and memory so liminal, that I couldn't swear on either. I managed to offend the new pastor at the church, along with Chin Up, a very cool Mormon SOBO, but nevermind that; out here, ain't nobody got no time for no offense. I hoofed it some fifteen miles my first day in PA, and shared a hotel room with Gravity and Up in the Air, a great young couple from Minnesota. (The free place we were supposed to crash at, the Beer Stein, in Wind Gap, PA, stopped allowing hikers to tent in his back yard as of last month; someone should tell David "AWOL" Miller.)We did laundry and re-supplied and didn't get out of town 'til noon, so I stopped at Leroy Smith shelter, with Thorn--more on him later, probably--and he is here in Palmerton with me, as is Popsicle. We get to stay in the Jail House Hostel in the basement of the borough town offices for free, without even committing a crime!I am still homesick for my family and friends, and still like towns too much, especially when they involve climbing in and out of gaps such as Palmerton does, but "ten before twelve" is no longer a challenge, and can do 15 miles per day consistently, with the occasional 20 thrown in for good measure. I am in no real hurry, however, and let the weather and terrain dictate my pace.Some, perhaps 10%, of the thru-hikers I have met, are border-line homeless "vagrants" who have adopted the trail as a sort of cover for evading their pasts, their families, or even the law. Rumors (some of them confirmed via confessions) surround these characters, one of whom has been on the trail on-and-off for 3 years! Another has walked over 3,000 miles on it, but has never finished a thru-hike, or even entered several states on the trail. A couple of these dudes are unstable, and would scare me if I were younger or more female than I am. Several are veterans with PTSD, awaiting assistance for their ailments, and I have heard one horror story of an incident involving "children dying" in Iraq. Another served jail time and was dishonorably discharged despite having served their. One travels with a mangy dog and talks incoherently of the government out to get him. All of them have found a support system of sorts out here, and typically brag endlessly of their exploits on the trail.The AT is like a microcosm of the country it crosses, obviously, but it reveals some of its social cracks as well.