Date: 2005-07-20
From: Pine Grove, PA/ 501 Shelter

To: Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 46.0

18 JulyYes, I am very, very glad we didn¢t listen to my persistent ¢can¢t zero, can¢t zero¢ chant yesterday; waking up dry this morning was very pleasant. The terrain was very rocky today. Huge boulders shifted under even my weight, and seemed to be stacked in deceptively stable arrangements. Someone definitely comes out to sharpen the smaller rocks at night; maybe the cons? It¢s very hot today, but we¢re thankful it isn¢t raining, because then it would be way too easy to slip a foot in between the rocks and leave it there! Had lunch by a spring, and as we were eating up the last cumbs, GQ, Rara, Sandy, Limbo, and Sundance Kid caught up with us, so we hung out a bit while CH played us some more of his lovely reggae music. I think there¢s a ¢who¢s got the shortest shorts¢ competition going on among the hikers, but since I hike in a shorts-and-halter swimsuit, I am automatically in the lead. (The swimsuit is the cheapest wicking clothing I had, so I didn't have to splurge on wicking shorts and wicking shirt, which would have cost $50 or so.) But seriously, GQ was even talking of switching to a sequenced speedo, and Paul is already a reincarnation of Richard Simmons! We arrived in Port Clinton mid-afternoon, and asked the first pedestrian about the sunset pavilion for hikers. John (the pedestrian) had another idea in mind. We walked a few steps along the road and then he pushed on a door with no handles or labels. The door lead into a bar, underground. Two minutes later we were sitting behind a ¢members¢ bar with cold beers in front of us (club soda for me, since I think beer is gross)! John then drove us to the pavilion, and returned to welcome the next batch of thru-hikers. After dinner, Paul had the idea of going for a swim. The idea was swell, till we found out that the river is only 4 inches deep. So Paul laid down tummy first, and then flipped over to make sure all of his body got wet. All the while, mist rose from the river, a full moon was peeking through the trees behind us, CH and I sad on a rock, surrounded by the sounds of the river, the night, and CH¢s guitar¢¦ This evening I will take with me forever. It was just one of those perfect evenings, in nature, and with great company! No amount of description is going to convey the peace I think we all felt in each other¢s company and in our surroundings; it was what I call magical.19 July 19Whose idea is it to hike these horrendous miles!? I am tired, and I keep falling behind the guys (Crazy Horse and Paul). While we walk together we sing, chat, joke ¢ do whatever makes the arduous rock-hopping exciting; but when we separate, I am so busy practicing my ¢drunk staggering¢ (that¢s what it looks like when one tries to hike over this rockiness) that I forget that it¢s okay to walk my own pace. The guys are nice to wait for me periodically, and we reconvene for lunch at the best spring I¢ve seen on the trail so far ¢ cold and fresh, and just what was needed that afternoon. We stuck together till the Eckville shelter, where the caretaker had ice cream and sodas for a small donation. The first 5 minutes back on the trail we saw a gigantic black bear, and then the guys were gone in a poof! I¢ve carried a CD walkman for almost 2 months now with only 1 CD ¢ a techno CD an art classmate put together for me (Thank you, Kermit!) ¢ I listened to it 7 times on this day (more than over the last 2 months combined!) while trying to make it a measly 22mi. I ran off the trail four times, wandering through the ruins of these mountains; ¢Is that a blaze or bird shit on the rock?!¢ The beautiful views were annoying, the weather - too hot, the water - too sparse, and my feet ¢ ornery. This was my ¢breaking day¢. We all have them, most have had them back in GA or NC or TN, but mine came today, and for the last 4 miles of slippery, shifting, rolling, ridiculous rocks I actually thought of just sitting on them darn rocks and crying. (Not that that would get me to the shelter faster or make the rocks disappear.) It wasn¢t a ¢bad day¢ ¢ it was a ¢rough day¢, and I made a little deal with myself ¢ that I would get to the shelter the moment I found something good in my current situation and truly, honestly, wholly believed it. It worked, even though Paul said, ¢I¢ve never seen you so angry before¢ when I arrived.20 JulyIt¢s great hiking with Paul and Crazy Horse ¢ Paul sets the pace, CH keeps us entertained (he sings most of the day!), and I¢m just a girl - I giggle. We¢ve switched to calling each other by first names, which makes us feel closer. We took our time before lunch, and lounged on cold rocks on top of a ridge to cool off and snack. Turns out we walked a lot less than we thought, so we sped up for the rest of the day. My ankles and knees are a mess, and were relieved to find a field full of blueberries on the last ridge. I was somehow successful in convincing the guys to take off their packs and graze a little, before dashing off downhill into the Leigh High Gap and Palmerton, PA. My good, old friend Starchy came in from L.A. for a bit of hiking, so I¢m suddenly relaxed, thinking we won¢t be doing big miles. We stayed at a jailhouse hostel, which is really a basement of a gymnasium, with bunkbeds, showers, and a fan that sounds like a turbo engine. Went out for Chinese, resupplied (my first resupply entirely from a local supermarket), and walked around a Russian Orthodox church, with a full moon a-glaring. Evening music, as always, with drumming, singing, and strumming a-la Crazy Horse, who is now Crazy Horsey.