Date: 2013-07-18
From: Church of the Mountain Shelter, Delaware Water Gap

To: Stealth camp near Camp Rd
Miles today: 10.8

I woke up early and grabbed my cellphone and started typing away. I began updating my trail journal at 6:45 a.m., and I didn't stop until I was finished around 12:30. It was sooooo hot. Just sitting on the couch, I seemed to work up a sweat. I didn't want to take another zero, and I wanted to get in at least double digit miles. So after lunch at the Haitian fusion restaurant and a phone call to Montrail Warranty Center (my new boots started popping seams at mile 150, but Montrail has to see the boots in person before they'll send me a new pair (What am I supposed to put on my feet in the meantime?)), I walked through the 95 degree construction zone that is downtown Delaware Water Gap. I crossed over the I-80 bridge with giant 18-wheelers blowing past me, causing the bridge to wobble beneath my feet. The sun bore down hard. Even the .3 mile walk to Jersey felt like an endeavor. But soon, I was there, and a whole flock of biting flies were there to meet me. They swarmed my legs. I beat and swatted at them, but they just found another exposed spot of skin. I didn't want to do it, but I coated myself in Deet. I hate the stuff. I hate how it makes my skin hot. I hate how it eats through the elastic in my socks, causing them to slouch around my ankles. I hate the way it distorts the rubber in my watch band. I hate how it makes my lips go numb. But I hate being eaten by flies and gnats more, so I spray myself with the poison.I passed the Kittatinny Visitors Center. It was busy with bathing suit clad people out enjoying the hot summer day. I would have loved to have joined them down at the sandy water's edge, but instead, I passed under the freeway and walked into the woods. There were lots of day hikers out. A couple of them wearily eyed my backpack. A few asked about it. I answered what I could without stopping, I wanted to get myself well into New Jersey. I could hear some kids laughing and splashing and playing in the water of the stream down below. I wanted to join them so badly, but again, I knew I needed to get some miles done. As I was climbing a gentle hill, I looked down toward the voices, and I saw someone wearing a dark, long-sleeved hoody jacket digging in the dirt. They were on all fours, their head down facing towards me. They were about 20 yards away. I stopped to watch them. It seemed so curious for them to be wearing long sleeves and a hood when it was so hot. I wondered what they were looking for in the leaves. I was about to call out to them to see if they needed some help looking for whatever it was that they had lost. But something about the situation just didn't seem right. Suddenly, it dawned on me. I wasn't looking a guy in a hoody, I was looking at a bear. But from the angle I was standing, it looked so human-like. The bear looked up and saw me, and then trotted off behind a rock a few yards up the trail. I walked slowly up the trail. The bear walked over to a big pine tree and stood up on its back legs and started to scratch its back. Then, it walked over to a little sapling, about as big around as my arm. The bear started to climb the sapling; the tree bend under the weight. The bear started picking and eating something off the tree. I really do need to pick bigger, sturdier trees to hang my bear bag. A father and son came up behind me. I was excited to see the bear, but they were far less enthusiastic. We walked together a group, past the bear. The bear couldn't have cared less!I continued on the trail. It was really, really rocky in some places, really nice in others. The trail passed Sunfish Pond, the most southerly of the glacial lakes. The sign posted asked that you not swim in the lake. I was o-so tempted to blow off the sign, but it was getting late in the day. So instead, I sat on a little bench on the south-end of the lake, and I watched the still water. I watched as the reflections of dragonflies skimmed the top of the water. I watched as one tiny white cloud in the bluebird sky grew and took on the shape of a NASA spaceship, which mirrored perfectly on the water. It felt like I was at Thoreau's Walden Pond. A rocky trail took me along the very edge of the lake and passed a large rock sculpture garden. I tried to take pictures, but it did it no justice. I ate blueberries to my heart-content. I wished I had more water, but I was running low. I wasn't to a point that I was ready to drink pond water, so I pushed on. The gnats and mosquitoes started to tear into me again. I coated myself yet again. Those buggers are hungry and vicious!At 8:00 pm, as the sun was low in the sky, I found myself at the campsite along side a flowing creek that I was gunning for. It stands at the 1300 mile mark. Woohoo! New Jersey, a bear, a perfect pond, blueberries, and 1300 miles :D I threw my tent up quickly. Even with a fresh layer of Deet on, the mosquitoes were coming at me full force. I hung the bear rope, collected water, rinsed as much poison off as I could and then had to run back into my tent. I hid inside while dinner cooked, and then I pulled it in to eat it. I watched the orange moon rise in the indigo sky through the black silhouettes of the tree branches. Only one firefly darted to and fro. I'm leaving the rainfly off tonight, hopefully I don't regret it. I'm covered in dozens (or perhaps even a hundred) mosquito and bug bites, and my left Achilles is still smarting pretty good. I had hoped the day and a half of rest would have helped a bit more, but it is what it is. The heavy, just-out-of-town pack and the sharp Jersey rocks (somehow, the newness of being in Jersey makes the rocks a little less insulting) left my feet with little reprieve. Still, I look forward to whatever tomorrow might bring.