Date: 2006-06-15
From: George W. Outerbridge Shelter

To: Wind Gap, PA
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: scattered clouds

As of today I have been on the trail exactly 3 months! YAY!Hiked with: Bear CanBear Can's alarm went off at 5am this morning and we reluctantly climbed out of our sleeping bags and began packing. We woke up at this ungodly hour so that Bear Can could get a chance to hike the 31 miles he wanted to make today. I on the other hand only needed to hike 21 to make it to Wind Gap where my buddy will be picking me up tomorrow.We got on the trail just after 6 and soon after we began climbing the steep rock face on the north side of Lehigh Gap. This climb is more of a rock scramble than a climb but it is a 1000ft ascent in less than a mile. Which is not easy with a pack on. Once back on top of the ridge we encountered one of the strangest landscapes I have seen. The entire ridge for almost 3 miles was treeless and looked like a moonscape. It looks pretty much like the area that surrounds Mt. St. Helens. Lots and lots of rocks all stained a grey or white color and lots of dead tree trunks all blown down facing the same direction. The explanation for this wasteland is for years a zinc production plant existed in the valley below. The pollution this plant created was blown by winds for years and years directly into this hillside. The wasteland is currently an EPA Superfund site and seemed to be showing some signs of new plant growth, but not much. It was really sad to know that this was all created by pollution, but I actually enjoyed my walk through this area, it was just so different than anything else I have hiked through.After getting through the moonscape Bear Can and I through a section of the trail that was really rocky. And the rocks were really starting to get to me. On top of the rocks my body was beginning to hit its breaking point and mentally I was starting to fade. In other words I was feeling pretty miserable. It was at this point about 11 miles into our hike that Bear Can and I came across some of the best trail magic ever.   A cooler was left by Mechanical Man (a 2005 thru-hiker) near a dirt road. It contained Pepsi, Gatoraid, water and protein bars. The Pepsi I had might have been the best tasting liquid to ever touch my lips and it completely changed my mood for the day. After the trail magic hiking came easy and I seemed to float through the rocks. It was a great feeling and the final 10 miles seemed to quickly melt away. Bear Can and I made it to Wind Gap, a distance of 21 miles by 1:30pm. We then walked into town and ate a much deserved fast food meal. After lunch I said goodbye to Bear Can and he hitched back to the trail to complete his 31 mile day.Since I was pretty nasty after 4 really tough days of hiking I decided to treat myself to a hotel stay which would include a shower and laundry. Plus it was just great to rest my feet and not have to walk on any more rocks for a while. My legs are also enjoying the much needed rest as well.As for the rocks today: they sucked! While I was able to tune them out for the second half of my hike they were still very annoying and very rough on my shoes and feet. The PA Rocks don't play fair but they definitely kicked my ass again today.Patches - 7   PA Rocks - 3