Date: 2023-07-06
From: Tentsite at Mile 1205.3

To: Church of the Mountain, Deleware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 91.6

Google Photos Photo AlbumDay 22Tentsite at Mile 1205.3 to St. John¢s Episcopal Church Pavilion, Duncannon, PAAT miles 14.8Miles hiked 15.6Long, slow, hot, painful day. My foot hurt to put pressure on it. The New Jersey guy had a similar issue and said to not pop it that it would eventually stop hurting.  I was last out of camp and moving very slowly on the trail.  About an hour in I stopped to get some water and was passed by another hiker. A lot of the trail passed through a planned burn area so there wasn't as much tree cover as usual. This seemed like the hottest day yet on trail.Just after noon there was a rumble of thunder off in the distance that was getting closer. I could also hear a town's storm warning siren way off in the distance. I took the rather long side trail to Eagles Nest Shelter both to use the privy and duck out of the coming storm. At my slow pace it seemed like forever before I got to the shelter. The thunder was getting very close, the air cool, and it was beginning to sprinkle. I took the opportunity to eat lunch and take a quick nap. The storm never materialized so it was time to get going again. As bad as my foot was hurting I decided to camp on the mountain instead of going into town. Those plans changed when I didn't have enough water and there were no nearby water sources. So, what's 3 more miles of hiking anyway? Thankfully, the trail had minimal rocks and it was a comfortable downhill. Roadrunner had told me the descent was going to be very steep. This wasn't bad. Until I got to the place where Roadrunner was correct - sort of. It was not steep. It was insanely steep with big rock steps. And it felt like it would never end. I had the brake pedal smashed against the floor on this descent. Every other brake pedal step was excruciatingly painful until I finally reached the bottom. Nope. One more even steeper drop to the road below - in case I didn't get enough during the last part. Rappelling would have been much easier. And safer.The trail ended in a rail yard / historical park which was pretty cool. If it hadn't been thundering and starting to rain I would have liked to look around some. Motivated to keep moving I made my way to the church pavilion where a local church has created a space for hikers and where Cabella's runs a free shuttle to Hamburg for resupply.Port Clinton Rail MuseumAnthracite coal at Port Clinton Rail MuseumThe townspeople I passed were all pretty friendly. As I was walking past one house some people were out in the street talking. I greeted them and one of the ladies asked if I needed water. It was the famous water hose house. So I happily stopped to fill my bottles before continuing to the pavilion.The pavilion was nice and it was obvious the church people put some effort into providing this facility for hikers.St. John's Church PavillionI chose to tent next to the river in the provided park across the street. I called Dominos for a pizza delivery. The person answering the phone assured me they could deliver to the pavilion so I ordered a pizza and two root beers then went off to set up my tent. Sitting on the steps of the pavilion I saw a car slowly drive by. Must be my pizza. I ran into the middle of the street and started waving my arms. The car kept going. Then my phone rang. It was the delivery driver saying he couldn¢t find the pavilion. I gave him the address again. About 10 minutes later he called again saying he couldn¢t find me. I gave him the address and directions again. He slowly drove by again as I ran into the middle of the street maniacally waving my arms. Another phone call. Finally, he arrived. He told me the Dominos is in the next town over and that he¢d never been there before. He also apologized for only bringing me one root beer. I also forgot to tip him. Just as I finished my dinner a hiker from Australia (Beauty Boy) showed up with a huge backpack. He¢d just finished hiking some trail in Australia and was eager to get started on the AT. We talked a bit before with him asking lots of questions about the AT ¢ almost like he¢d never hiked before. Just as I was heading to my tent a couple of hikers showed up and set up their tent next to the shelter. We all said goodnight and I headed to my tent.Day 23St. John¢s Church Pavilion to Pulpit RockAT miles 7.5Miles hiked 8.5Resupply day. Despite some complaints on the Far Out app about road and train noise, I was only awakened once by a train. But then again, I had not closed the valve all the way on my sleeping pad which had mostly deflated so I had to wake up enough to reinflate my sleeping pad. Otherwise I slept like a rock.I went to the pavilion to fix some oatmeal for breakfast. Beauty Boy was up trying to figure out how to lighten his backpacking load. There was a huge pile of clothes, books, trail guides, and maps on the shelter floor. Beauty Boy was trying different combinations of ¢gear¢ to see how he could lighten his pack load. He was accumulating a considerable pile of stuff to mail back home.  After eating breakfast I let some of my damp stuff air/dry out in the sun and morning breeze while waiting for the 1015 shuttle.  The couple who arrived the night before were still asleep and there was another tent from somebody who hiked in after I went to bed.Beauty Boy, the other hiker who came in late, and I caught the 10:15 shuttle to Cabela's in nearby Hamburg, PA. I felt like I was in a prison van on the ride over. They locked all the doors from the outside before we took off. Maybe they've had problems with hikers changing their minds about the shuttle and diving from the van. I don't know. About 10 minutes later we were parked in front of the world's largest Cabelas and the wardens unlocked the van doors to let us out. Honestly, they were very friendly and showed us where to store our packs, charge devices, places to eat, and most importantly, where the Wal-Mart was located. I took an obligatory lap around the downstairs of Cabelas and paid my respects to the aquatic residents of the store in the giant aquarium, admired the stuffed animals (not sure if they were once alive or just good replicas), then headed upstairs to the camping section to get a new headlamp. They had the Black Diamond Spot (same as the one that died) in red. Perfect! World's largest Cabela's in Hamburg, PAAfter checking out it was off across the expansive maze of big box store and restaurant parking lots to the king of big box stores. There were a lot of hikers in there doing the same as I. I checked out and still had time to eat lunch. I was not in the mood for fast food so looking around I saw a Chinese-American buffet. Perfect. And for less than a meal at a fast food joint I had mashed potatoes, gravy, pork roast, broccoli, mac and cheese, fresh fruit, and sweet tea. Twice. If you ever find yourself in Port Clinton at mealtime, give J S Buffet a try.A quick walk back to Cabelas, I arrived just in time for the shuttle back to the trail. Beauty Boy was no where to be found so he¢d have to catch the next shelter. They dropped us off at the post office which gave me a place to organize my pack and mail some rocks to my favorite rock collector back home.While in the post office I heard the sound of thunder followed by rain on the roof. Hang Time, James, Chad, and another hiker got out of a shuttle and headed off to the trail. I decided to try and wait out the rain. A customer came in saying it was raining so hard up north she had to pull over. I sat on a trash can under the post office awning waiting for it to stop. Postal customers told me this was going to last into the evening. The radar confirmed their prognostication.Despite the grim forecast, I took off as soon as it stopped raining. In the wrong direction. I finally figured out my navigation error and was soon on trail. In Pennsylvania the trails coming into and out of town are usually long and steep. This trail was no exception but I noticed two pleasant things: 1. My foot didn't hurt as bad as yesterday and 2. My legs seem to be getting stronger. Of course there were the mandatory rocky sections of trail but for the most part the afternoon's hike was over a fairly smooth trail. I originally planned to stay at a shelter about 5.5 miles from town but when I arrived I was feeling good and decided to make it to Pulpit Rock. About a half mile from my destination the trail turned steeply up and got very rocky. Climb up to Pulpit RocksThe final .2 miles was a somewhat challenging boulder field but when I arrived the view was probably the most stunning of the hike so far. Located not too far away is an astronomical site with to be huge telescopes. There was also a privy that appears to be placed there for AT hikers. Nice!View from Pulpit RocksLehigh Valley ObservatoryI found a place to set up camp, ate a quick dinner at the view, hung my food bag and got ready for bed. Shortly after settling into bed I heard a critter outside my tent by my pack. I smacked my pack and it skittered off. Good riddance!The wind started picking up and rain started falling some so it might be a rainy night.Day 24 Pulpit Rock to the Lookout HostelAT Miles 19.1Miles hiked 19.3This is the day the rocks got real. And sometimes real painful.I slept pretty good last night. No more nocturnal visitors and no rain.I planned on hiking 20 miles this day since my foot seemed to be better. I got an early start by eating breakfast on the trail while hiking. The trail was still rocky from where I left off yesterday but I was positive I read somewhere that the trail becomes very walkable to Highway 309. I was beginning to have my doubts as I navigated through the rocks on a couple of climbs. The first view I came to, the Pinnacle, had a nice view but the sun was in a bad place making it hard to see much. What impressed me about the Pinnacle was not the view but instead the huge pyramid shaped pile of rocks somebody created nearby. That was no easy feat. Sadly, the amount of rocks necessary to create that pyramid didn¢t even make a dent in the number of rocks on the trail.Rock pyramid at the Pinnacles overlookSoon I came to the easy section and was cruising along. I stopped at the pipe spring and quickly filled up since it looked like water would be scarce today. Soon enough the trail veered left and it was hello rocks. The name of the game was hop or step from rock to rock while hopefully staying on trail. I did not realize all the different ways my feet could bend and twist. Sometimes there was a foot shocking toe stub, not to mention the hidden little pointy rocks that were particularly painful to the balls of my feet and my heels. The real killer rocks were the rocks that dug into my arches. Ouch!!!! These sections of the trail were interspersed with smaller awkwardly positioned rocks and blowdowns.I ran into a Southbound hiker named Pinnacle, named after the aforementioned view. He gave me some insight on what was to come. Pinnacle helps maintain a section of the trail further north but often hikes the section of trail I was doing today. He warned me to get water at the upcoming spring saying the water sources were dry to the Thunder Lodge. He also recommended dinner at the lodge and a shower, laundry, and breakfast at the nearby hostel. He took a selfie of us, wished me luck on my journey, then we were on our way.About an hour later I came to the stream when suddenly hikers seemed to appear out of nowhere. There were about a dozen all told. We stood around talking, filtering water and eating our mid-morning snacks. Soon everybody was on the trail and climbing through the rocks. Lovely trailThen there was an invigorating almost 2 mile climb up to a view called Dan's Pulpit. As I arrived, Hang Time, James, Chad, and the Goat were drying wet clothes while enjoying the sun and eating lunch. Brilliant. Being hungry and tired of wet socks and wet feet I joined them.I almost had my first fall today and it would have been a doozy. I was climbing over a blowdown that was too tall to straddle with both feet touching the ground. As I pushed off my left foot to get my right foot on the other side I started falling backwards from the weight and momentum of my pack. Just before reaching the point of no return I planted my trekking pole on a rock behind me. Now my left foot is in the air stuck on the tree, my right foot is awkwardly stuck on the ground, and my trekking pole is the only thing holding me up. After a bit of struggle I managed to right the ship and get myself together. There were a couple more sections of rocks, then nice trail. I made good time on the nice trail and arrived at the lodge at 5:30. Roadrunner and Jose Frio were eating dinner on the patio. Surprisingly I had caught up with them. Needing to charge my phone I went inside to sit by an outlet while I was eating. As I was eating, Cheesecake and Hooty Hoo, a husband and wife from near Roanoke, VA who were hiking the trail came in and introduced themselves. Then Jose came in followed by Roadrunner and sat with me while I ate. They told me that the nearby Lookout hostel had a tent site and offered a shower, laundry, and breakfast for $15. Deal. I contacted the owner to make the arrangements. We hiked up the trail to the hostel. I set up my tent then went inside for a shower and to do laundry. Jose showed me around and soon I was clean and would have clean, temporarily dry clothes.View from behind the Lookout hostelHigh Speed and a few other guys I've hiked with or around since just after Front Royal were there plus another South African guy named Seth. All but Roadrunner, Seth and I are slack packing about 15 miles tomorrow. Roadrunner, Seth and I are planning about 14 to the next shelter. We are supposed to have major rain starting tonight. That is a concern. Sometimes the weatherman is wrong. Here's hoping.Pennsylvania people love their fireworks. As I lay in my tent finishing this entry the smell of rain was strong in the air.Day 25The Lookout Hostel to George Outerbridge ShelterAT Miles 13.3Miles hiked 14.3Got some major rockstacles ahead of us today.  When I got up to the hostel after waking up and packing everybody was busy getting ready for the day and fixing their pancakes for breakfast. Roadrunner was the late sleeper but he eventually showed up and somehow beat me in line for coffee and pancakes.  The weather forecast was thunderstorms starting late in the morning. Roadrunner was in full ¢Embrace the suck¢ mode. Knowing we were about to get soaked we made sure that anything we wanted to keep dry was protected. When Roadrunner pulled out his waterproof pack cover he found what looked like an ant nest in it. Crazy! And gross. Anyway, after admiring and cleaning that up we were off he and I hit the trail while the others waited for their shuttle to hike southbound back to the hostel. There were a couple of sections that we wanted to get out of the way before the rain so we were hustling up the trail. The mandatory climb out was not bad this morning. We got into the rocks quickly, which was a good warmup for the Knife Edge.  The Knife Edge was a lot of fun. This was a narrow jumble of rocks at a steep side angle making walking difficult. The climb across was made more exciting (and treacherous) while carrying a backpack. After carefully making our way across we rock hopped past the Bear Rocks, racing the coming rain. Knife's edgeLater we came to another pile of rocks that rivaled the Knife Edge. I stopped to get a snack and Roadrunner was gone. I passed Jose, Pizza Handz, and other slack packers heading south back to the hostel after about 6 miles. We slapped high fives as we passed each other. They were hoping to beat the rain.Starting the day's hike we knew there would be no water until the shelter. But, trail angels were looking out for us and left a water cache near a powerline tower base. Water cacheI slugged back a liter of water then filled both bottles. As I was crossing the parking lot a lady in a car yelled, "Hey, thru hiker! Want some trail magic?" Curious, I walked over to see what this trail angel was giving out. When I got to her car she opened a box of Dunkin¢ Donuts. Manna from heaven! I grabbed a yeast donut, happy for the calories. She said take two so I grabbed another, thanked her and took off. And just like that the rain came. I ate both donuts in four bites max. I didn¢t want them to get soggy.Usually, rain starts out light and gradually increases in intensity. Not this time. This was like somebody opened the faucet to full blast. Dry one second, drenched the next. Then came the thunder and lightning. In no time we went from hiking the Appalachian trail to wading the Appalachian River. After the water was over ankle deep I met High Speed coming from the opposite direction who was doing a 20 mile slack. We fist bumped and remarked how much fun we were having while we splashed up/down the trail. About five minutes later I passed Fish (an appropriate name for what we were experiencing on this trail) who was on the same slack. We too fist bumped and wished each other well.The trail climbed up to a very exposed ridge that would have had stellar views on a clear day. Today, with the lightning and wind I was running every section I could so I could get off that ridge. At one point the trail looked vaguely familiar and I had that uneasy feeling that maybe I had been there before. Pressing on and hoping for the best, the trail finally dropped down into the woods. With the rain still shooting down it was good to at least be off that ridge.Finally, I saw the roof of the shelter. Roadrunner had arrived about 10 minutes before me. There was also a couple from Pennsylvania here doing a flip flop hike. After about an hour Seth showed up. I asked how he got here so fast. He said he ran almost the whole trail here and had a couple of falls. We were all happy to finally be out of the rain. Normally, we preferred to sleep in our tents but there was no place nearby to pitch a tent and in this rain, the shelter provided much better protection from the rain and at least we could cook out of the rain and stay warm. After eating, the Pennsylvania flip floppers taught Roadrunner how to play Yahtzee while I tried correcting all the typos in my journal so I could post an update next time I had Internet. Seth was busy on his phone and it sounded like there was some sort of problem back home.Soon Cheesecake and Hooty Hoo showed up and they chose to move on planning to catch a shuttle to a hostel when they got to Palmerton. Then another couple showed up and chose to do the same. Two guys who had already hiked 25 miles and looked really beat (Link and Chia) showed up and we couldn't send them on. Chia set up his hammock and Link set his sleeping pad under Seth's hammock. Unbelievably, yet another couple of hikers had spent the day out in this mess and this time there really was no extra room. We felt bad for them but there was nothing we could do.The Pennsylvania hikers were from Boiling Springs and the upcoming town of Palmerton. They were talking about the upcoming climb out of Lehigh Gap. She wasn¢t descriptive enough about the climb and Roadrunner and I thought it was going to be just another steep Pennsylvania climb out of a gap.Soon enough it was hiker midnight and as if by magic all conversation ended and everybody made their way to bed for the night.Day 26Outerbridge Shelter to Campsite near Leroy Smith ShelterAT Miles 16.9Miles hiked 17.7After yesterday's drenching everybody was up early eager to get on the trail. What we were not so excited about was putting on our cold, wet clothes. While still eating breakfast a trail angel showed up with honey buns and Cokes in his pack. I passed on the Coke but that honey bun was soooo good. Before we left the hiker from nearby Palmerton told us about the rock scramble out of Lehigh Gap. Oh, so this was going to be a steeper climb than we originally thought. MUCH steeper.Roadrunner and I filtered 2 liters of water near the shelter knowing it was a long haul to the next water source. We had about 1.5 miles to hike to our first challenge of the day - the Blue Mountain Rock Scramble. View across Lehigh River in Palmerton, PAWe got our first view of the rocks while crossing the Lehigh River. From a distance it was intimidating. Typical of Pennsylvania trails out of a gap, the trail wasted no time in gaining elevation after we crossed the highway. It wasn't long before we reached the scramble. There is a winter trail that can be used to avoid the scramble but we were determined to stay true to the AT.Roadrunner was the first to go up. We were no longer hiking. We were now rock climbing up a near vertical cliff while wearing backpacks. Rock climb out of PalmertonI'll admit there were a few tenuous moments while clinging to the rocks with my toes while looking for finger holds to help move up the rocks. Bob climbing the trailOnce we were at the top we congratulated one another on not falling off the cliff. We made it! Roadrunner and I at top of climbThen started back hiking. We celebrated too soon. There were two more smaller scrambles to conquer. This was followed by a ridge walk around the Superfund site. Years ago there was a zinc smelting operation in the area. The pollutants from the fumes were so toxic that nearly all the vegetation on the tops of two mountains was killed. In 1983 the federal government created designated this area a superfund site providing funding to cleanup and restore the mountain tops. There are 95 such sites in Pennsylvania. A local group of trail maintainers have been working to restore this area and they have done a fantastic job so far.    It turned out to be a nice, sunny day which made the hiking very enjoyable. I stopped for lunch and to let my shoes and socks dry out for about an hour while Roadrunner continued on. It was starting to get hot and water was a concern.  A view from the Superfund siteShortly after resuming my hike I ran into a group at an overlook and they, of course, were curious about my hike. They were all my age and have been hiking the trail in sections. They plan to do Virginia next. One of them gave me a Snickers bar as I was leaving. The hike around the Superfund site is amazing. Both in regards to the views and the quality of trail work that's been done as part of the reclamation process.Leaving the SF area meant the end of easy hiking for the day. The trail varied from rocky to kind of rocky to a level of rocky that caused me to talk to the rocks in a sharp tone of voice.  More Rocksylvania trailTowards mid-afternoon I was feeling the effects of limited fluid intake which was causing my concentration to wane which in turn increased the frequency of my conversations with the rocks. Finally, I came to a spring which may or may not be dry according to the Far Out app. I was hoping that the recent storm of near biblical proportions might have seeped deep enough into the aquifer to at least release a trickle of water. Would the .38 mile stumble down a steep, rocky hill pay off? Only one miserable downhill ¢hike¢ to find out.  Eureka! I heard it before I saw it which is always a good sign. Water was gushing from the pipe filling my 2 liter water bladder in 16 seconds. I filtered a liter and chugged it down. Then I filled both my bottles and the bladder and lugged them back up the hill. Once at the top I made a liter of lemonade and drank it while finishing off my Pringles. Already feeling better, I stumbled through the rocks until finally arriving at the campsite near the Logan Smith Shelter a little after 8:00. The campsite was really a weedy field full of blowdowns. Not the nicest place I've camped but it was a place to sleep. Roadrunner and I talked a bit discussing our hike from today and planning our hike for tomorrow.I went off in search of a suitable, somewhat less than crappy place to pitch my tent then started dinner while setting up and getting things organized for the night. By the time I finished dinner it was well past hiker midnight. I cleaned my cook pot and set it upside down on a rock to dry, hung my food bag, and was soon asleep.Day 27Campsite to Campsite near Mile 1290.7AT miles 13.8Miles hiked 16.2Gross! Disgusting! Check the gag reflex. Remain calm!I awoke to a slugfest. No, hikers were not engaged in a brawl. There were slugs stuck to virtually everything. It was a level of grossness that can't be described in polite circles. There were slugs on the insect netting in my tent. There were slugs on the inside and outside of the tent. There were slugs on and in my shoes. There were slugs between my tent floor and footprint. There were slugs on and in my cookpot and my backpack. They were on just about everything I owned. Lest you think these slimy gastropods are slow moving creatures you may be surprised to learn that no sooner had I removed them from one object to turn to clean another object, the previously cleaned object would almost immediately have slugs on it again. Somehow through all this I refrained from vomiting.  As I was packing up I heard Roadrunner express his disgust. With his French accent it accentuated how, ugh, there¢s no words, utterly revolting things were. When he went to get his food bag the slimy creatures had even found a way to get up there. (Oooh. Full body shiver.)I stopped by Roadrunner¢s tent to inquire about the nearest water source. He gave me directions that made it seem like a long walk. Not unusual for Pennsylvania. I was surprised then at how close the water actually was. I quickly filled up then stopped by Roadrunner¢s tent before I left. He was surprised to see me so soon. While we were talking he pulled a tick from his leg that was pretty strongly attached. I hoped he got it in time to avoid Lyme disease.I had absolutely no desire to eat there so I bid him farewell before heading for a viewpoint that was about a mile away to eat breakfast without being attacked by slugs. My only regret for this experience is that in my haste to extricate myself from this grossness I didn't photographically record it for posterity sake. I found a nice sunny rock to sit on and enjoyed my morning feast of oatmeal and raisins. Roadrunner showed up as I finished and off we went.  As we were hiking he told me the place we got water from this morning was bone dry the day before. Also, I wondered out loud how he was so fast through the rocks. He said put your head down and take big steps. I expressed my reservations about this method saying I usually took smaller steps to keep from tripping and face planting. This is where his mechanical engineering background came into play. He said bigger steps mean fewer rocks which in turn means fewer chances of falling. Smaller steps mean double the rocks and double the chances of falling. Those mechanical engineers. Anyway, I tried his way and whether or not the science and math are accurate, I did go faster and stumble less.Roadrunner crushing the rocky trailI got to Wind Gap a little before 11 ahead of Roadrunner. Some trail angel had left a huge water cache so I filled up and laid on my backpack basking in the warm sunshine. Roadrunner showed up about 20 minutes later and also filled up his water bottles. I mentioned that since we were in an actual town it would be a shame to pass up on a good lunch. He agreed so we went to a nearby sports bar for lunch. I've been craving spaghetti for about a week and wouldn't you know - it was on the menu. Along with a salad and a cold beer. After a very satisfying lunch we headed back to the trail for the long, rocky climb out of town.  Lunch at Wind Gap (Stroudsburg, PA)I stopped part way up the hill to call Robin while I had service and we talked for a good little while. It was nice to hear her voice. We said our goodbyes then it was back to stumbling- er - hiking up the mountain.In all honesty, the hiking seemed much easier than yesterday. Not sure if it was the actual trail or the bigger steps. As I was getting closer to camp there was an interesting section of trail named Wolf Rocks. Unless some explorer from another time spotted a wolf roaming here I'm not sure how the area got its name but it was fun hiking/scrambling. I was really hiking through huge rocks on the very top of the mountain.  After hiking through this and playing a game of "guess where the trail is" (a popular pastime I'm finding out) I eventually climbed down to normal trail. For the first time in 3 or 4 days I was able to walk normally for a considerable distance. Even though I was camping at a site past the shelter, I needed to stop at this shelter because there was an actual water spigot nearby. Bottles filled, I was off to dinner and camp.When I arrived at the campsite, Roadrunner's tramily, Coyote and Banana had finally caught up with him. This campsite was the best I've stayed at so far. It was a grass field overlooking the Delaware River valley. Campsite with view over the Delaware River valleyI set up my tent and fixed a quick dinner then was quickly in the tent.Roadrunner wasn¢t feeling well and had a nasty rash behind his knee. It looked like poison ivy/oak to me but he wasn¢t sure since he didn¢t remember being in any. He went to bed earlier than the rest of us. We watched the sun set then went to sleep ourselves.Day 28Campsite at 1290.7 to the Church of the Mountain, Delaware Water Gap, PAAT 6.2Miles hiked 6.2Well, I had an experience on the trail today I never planned on. Yes folks, I had an emergency root canal. I did something to my tooth a couple weeks ago and there was random pain but nothing I couldn't tolerate. But it seemed like everyday it got a little worse until I had to take ibuprofen. Then that stopped working. I had tried finding a dentist last week but doing Internet things using a phone can be pretty frustrating. So, I called my daughter, Lynn, and she found a place that handles dental emergencies and got me an appointment for the next day at noon.View of the Deleware River at Deleware Water GapToday's hike was pretty uneventful but really nice. I arrived at the Church of the Mountain Hiker Center at 11:00.Church of the Mountain hiker entranceI called the dental place to confirm my appointment for the next day at 2:00. The receptionist asked if I was down off the mountain and I told her where I was. Then she asked if I could come in at 9:30 instead of 2:00. Of course. The sooner the better. Then while giving her my info she said they could see me today at 2:00. OK! Better yet. I told her I was in my dirty hiker clothes and she said, "No worries, come on in." After hanging up she texted me about 5 minutes later saying they could see me at noon if I could make it. Lynn got me a Lyft and I was sitting in the dental office at 11:45 - despite the Lyft driver's GPS getting us lost.Dr. Smolyanski and his staff at Advanced Dental Associates were super nice and extremely professional, making this experience a lot less painful and stressful than I expected. After my dental adventure it was off to the Wal-Mart for my prescription and resupply. My prescription wasn¢t ready so I went resupply shopping while I waited. I ran into Pizza Handz, Jose, Saucy, James, and Hang Time who were also doing their resupply. When I went back to the pharmacy to pick up my script the co-pay was much higher than I expected so I asked about Medicare and TriCare. TriCare and Wal-Mart had a parting of the ways a few years ago but are now back on good terms. I was the first customer at this Wal-Mart to try to use Tricare since the resumption of service. I felt bad for the tech who was trying to help me. The website wasn't working and they put him on hold when he called the help line. He kept apologizing but it wasn't his fault. While waiting, Saucy asked if I wanted to take the shuttle back to the church with them but I told them to go on not knowing how long this ordeal was going to be. After about a half hour I decided I would just pay the full co-pay so I could leave. The guy said let me try this one thing that might help you. Whatever he did knocked about two thirds off the cost. I really am impressed with how nice the people in that town are.I scheduled a Lyft and the driver quickly arrived. The Lyft driver who took me back to the church said the GPS anomaly on my trip to the dentist was a normal thing in this area. He uses his own phone as a backup. And indeed, his Lyft GPS tried to put us on the Interstate to New Jersey but his personal phone gave different, more accurate directions.Back at the church I set up my tent and repackaged my food (food is heavy and can take up a lot of space. It¢s amazing how much unnecessary packing is left over after this procedure.).  Camping at Church of the MountainFollowing that, I took a shower and went off in search of a milkshake. I was afraid to eat real food but was pretty hungry. I found a restaurant that specializes in deserts. The shake wasn't bad but they need lessons from my mom on how to make a truly good milkshake. After the shake I was now really hungry so I stopped at a pizza place for fries and ended up with a side of cheesesteak hoagie. It took forever to eat taking chipmunk sized bites but that just made the goodness last longer.After dinner I walked back to the church to relax a bit in the hiker center before calling it a day.Pizza Handz, Saucy, and Jose were there along with the foursome of Hang Time, James, Chad, and the Goat.. Roadrunner had left earlier in the morning with Coyote and Banana. Sleep came easily and I rested well not having tooth pain for the first time in days.Hiking the Dream!Please email comments to:bobshike2023@gmail.com