Date: 2016-10-13
From: Unofficial Tent Site

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 16.6

Today was cool and damp when I got up and stayed that way the rest of the day. After lunch it rained pretty heavily for a couple of hours and the rest of the day the wind blowing water from the tree leaves made it feel like it was sprinkling. About mid morning I took a snack break and had started down a little hill on a grassy section of trail when my toe caught on a root or rock or something and sent me flying through the air, pretty much face first, and crashing to the ground. I was just able to get my right hand out to break my fall (my legs were way behind the rest of me) but my face still hit hard enough to bend my glasses frame and knock out both of the lenses. The pain in my right hand was immediate. It was the same pain as a fall a couple weeks ago but seemed much worse. I rolled to my back and cried for several minutes before even looking at the damage I had done. When I peeked at my hand there was blood all over it. I had bent the fingers on my right hand back toward my wrist when I tried to block the fall. The blood was coming from the base of my index finger, at the joint to my palm, where the skin had ripped open. It was a minor cut but looked terrible. I managed to get a bandana wrapped around it, found my mangled glasses and popped out lenses and staggered to my feet; still whimpering a little I am sure. I took three ibuprofen and started hiking. When I got to the summit of Kittatinny Mountain maybe an hour later I met two day hikers who were doing a hawk watch. I guess I was pretty sorry looking because they offered me a seat and some food and water. I sat down and told them about my fall. They pulled out a first aid kit and cleaned and bandaged my hand for me. One of them then gave me a bagel with cream cheese and a coldish can of Coke. What a treat! I pulled out my glasses and they managed to straighten them pretty much and popped the lenses back in. We talked awhile, I thanked them and started hiking again. From Kittatinny Mountain it was a long, slow (I was being very careful and couldn't hold onto my right trekking pole) hike, past Sunfish Pond and the Kittatinny Visitor Center and across Interstate 80 to the town of Delaware Water Gap just over the NJ/PA border. I headed immediately for a local pizza joint where I got a dinner sized portion of baked ziti and a couple bottles of cold beer (the cold felt good against my hurting hand and I held it there while I waited for my dinner). After eating I ordered a sub to go and headed for the bakery next door and ordered several muffins and sweet rolls to go: my supper and tomorrow's breakfast. I then went up the street to The Church Of The Mountain Hiker Center hostel where I got a bunk for the night. When I got there I was happy to discover that two of the other hikers there were guys I had hiked with quite a lot and they helped me unpack (my right hand was hurting too much to use) and get my shoes and socks off in preparation for showering. After I showered and dressed I called Kathy and told her about my fall. I told her I was pretty sure nothing was broken but was afraid I couldn't set up my tent one handed; meaning I would have to hike from town to town and stay in either hotels or hostels for a while (there are no shelters in this section of PA). She informed me she would be down to meet me tomorrow; her car was already nearly all packed and she'd leave early the next morning and we would figure out together what to do next. After I hung up I chatted with the other hikers for a while, ate my sub (they were going across the street to a restaurant with live jazz music and I wasn't up to joining them) and went to bed. I had a rough night with my hurting hand but managed to get a pretty good nights sleep.