Date: 2009-05-17
From: Palmerton, PA Jail

To: Wind Gap, Pa.
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: overcast clouds

BBH and I were up early after listening to a whole symphony of snorers last night. That was after a major thunderstorm had passed through town - with enough rain that the basement we were sleeping in started to flood. The upper bunks started looking good for a while there. Anyway at about 6 AM we went looking for a place to eat. No luck on a Sunday morning so we got some coffee and snacks for breakfast. We were offered an opportunity to slack the first five miles by three hikers we had briefly met the day before. Bob from Florida was slacking his wife and a friend and took our packs to Little Gap. He also transported us to the trailhead - which would be a tough hitch on a Sunday morning with little traffic. Temps were very cool with strong winds and thick dark clouds. I warmed up quickly on the thousand foot rock scramble out of Lehigh Gap. At first I was on the lee side of the mountain and was working up a good sweat. Suddenly I passed over the ridge and was almost blown offthe mountain. Had I not been so overweight I probably would have landed somewhere near Allentown. I continued to climb and dried off quickly in what I would estimate as 50 mph gusts. I arrived at the intersection with the blue blazed bad weather trail and waited for BBH who hobbled along shortly. At that point the trail follows a temporary relocation for the next few miles. This is the area that until recently was totally void of vegitation because of pollution dating back to WWII. The old section of trail is undergoing restoration. I can see by the change since my thru hike that the restoration is going well. Things up there are definitely looking better. I arrived at Little Gap about the same time Bob arrived with my pack. He offered to bring my pack to Smith Gap Road where he will be picking up the two ladies. That meant another 9 miles without my pack which sure sounded good to me. BBH was in pain with his blisters and came off the trail at that point. I hiked with the twoladies until after lunch and then decided to start pushing a bit in an effort to make it to Wind Gap to hook up with BBH. I arrived at Smith Gap Road shortly after Bob did - How he found that place is beyond me. I picked up my pack and thanked him again before heading off. Man, that pack is heavy with five days food. After a few miles I stopped in at the Leroy A. Smith shelter to eat some lunch and hopefully lighten my pack somewhat. I continued through the last five miles as fast as the rocky trail would allow - and almost all of todays hike was through rocks and more rocks. I arrived at Wind Gap about 6:30PM with sore feet and met BBH at the Gateway Hotel. He had a sandwich and soda waiting for me. The shower felt great but my feet are damn mad at me for the day's rough treatment. I am pooped but before I say goodnight I'll tell a short bedtime story. It is about Toc the tick.Once upon a time, in a nice grassy knoll over looking the beautiful town of Palmerton Pennsylvaina, there lived a tick named Toc. Toc was not happy being a tick - he always wanted to be a clock maker. He wanted to be tick Toc the clock maker. But since ticks don't make clocks Toc spent his time doing what ticks do best. Each morning as the sun came up Toc would climb to the top of a blade of grass and wait for a meal to pass by. Days went by, then weeks, and months and poor Toc had such an empty feeling in his tummy. Then, on May 17th, Toc felt a sudden vibration in his blade of grass. He hung on tightly with his front two legs with his other six swinging wildly, hoping beyond hope that soon his hunger would be satiated. More vibrations...get ready, get ready...there it is!!! Lwop's hairy right leg! Three of Tocs legs grabbed hold of a hair and he quickly let go of his blade of grass. After all his patience - the experience he had lived for - was now at hand. He worked his waythrough the hairs and could sense the heat radiating from the flesh below. Toc's mouth began to salivate. Suddenly two fingers came by and plucked him off the leg. He was gently placed on a big rock and squished by a second rock. Toc was dead - he no longer felt hunger. The end.I guess there is a moral to this story. If you are a tick like Toc don't mess with Lwop. He's a sick bastard. Goodnight,Lwop