Date: 2005-08-02
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Stroudsburg, PA
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: overcast clouds

rm went off at 5:15 am and I was on the AT by 6:00am, rockin¢ (this being a PA, the pun is intended!) and rollin.¢ Even with the ascent back onto Kittaniny Ridge I knocked of 2 12 miles in the first hour without any real effort.About 4 miles down the Trail I noticed a campsite off to the left where I had presumed that ¢Grasshopper¢ had ¢RONed¢ (Remained OverNight, as per the old military terminology.) I came to this conclusion because up until this point I was catching spider webs in the face every few yards (extra protein ¢yum!). Beyond that point, however, there were no spider webs to speak of, which meant that someone had gone ahead of me doing the ¢morning sweep¢ of the Trail (You go, "Grasshopper"!).An hour or so later I caught up with her and decided to make up for an opportunity she had missed earlier in her hike that she had mentioned during yesterday¢s conversation. Annual ¢Nude Hikers Day¢ is a well-known, greatly discussed, little publicized, and certainly unsanctioned Trail tradition about which there is much talk but very little action. ¢Grasshopper¢ had bemoaned the fact that in spite of all the conversation she had had with various Thru Hikers on the subject, she didn't see anyone who actually went ahead and did what they said they were going to do (including ¢Grasshopper¢!).Once I had ascertained that she was indeed hiking by herself, I dropped back a little bit, stopped, and (sort of) disrobed (well, to the point of believability). I then put my pack, gators and belt back on, and (pay attention to this point closely, those of you with evil thoughts!), placed my sweat towel strategically over the belt in breechcloth fashion. (Hey: I'm a hiker, not a flasher!) Having thusly adorned myself, I casually continued up the Trail until I caught up with ¢Grasshopper.¢ Acting as nonchalant as possible, I hailed her with a hearty ¢good morning¢ at which point she turned around, did a real double take and broke into horrendous laughter while reaching for her camera. It was good for a laugh, but I couldn't get back into the balance of my hiking gear fast enough for my own comfort.A while later we passed a group of women mountain runners ¢ about twelve of them - and I could only imagine my complete embarrassment if they had come around the bend at the same time I was affording ¢Grasshopper¢ the opportunity to say that she had seen at least one ¢nude¢ hiker during her Appalachian Trail experience. "Grasshopper" and I enjoyed a continuation of our lively conversation from the day before and stopped for lunch at Mount Maori above the Delaware Water Gap and by 2:30pm we were in town. ¢Grasshopper¢ went to the post office to collect a drop box and to prepare a "bounce box" for herself, while I headed up to the Stroudsmoor Country Inn to do the same. The box I shipped a couple of days earlier arrived in good shape and I treated myself to a long shower, nap, laundry service and an excellent meal. And now... bed.NOTE: ALTHOUGH I DIDN'T REALIZE IT AT THE TIME, ON THIS DAY I CROSSED THE HALF-WAY POINT FOR MILEAGE HIKED ON THE TRAIL (1085 MILES!) HOORAY!