Date: 2015-07-05
From: Zero Day in West Reading and at Fiddler's

To: George Outerbridge Shelter
Miles today: 12.7

Day 98 destination George Outerbridge shelter mile 1256.5, 12.7 for the day. Mileage week 14: 99.8So close, but not 100 miles for the week. The zero did me in, combined with a very leisurely resupply in Hamburg. I don't regret any of it! It was still cool and overcast this morning but at least it wasn't raining. And the forecast was quite good; high of 86 and partly sunny.After the requisite lattes (because when there is a coffee shop, you've got to take advantage!), we were on our way to Lehigh Furnace Gap, about an hour away. We had arranged for the owner of Blue Mountain Inn to pick us up and shuttle us back to PA 309 (right next to his establishment) so we'd be able to hike back to the car. However, he didn't show and after several messages at the landline of the Inn and a 35 minute wait, we gave up and went with plan B. We drove back to 309 ourselves and Gary would hike an out and back so he'd end up at the car again. I tried the inn one more time and got the owner this time. He'd been waiting at a different Furnace Gap. Poor guy went through a lot of trouble to no avail, but he realized it was his mistake and he was very apologetic about it.The main attraction of our hike was the Knife Edge. I had conflicting information on what it would be like, but since the weather was good and the rocks would probably be dry by now, I assumed it wasn't going to be too bad. And that was the case, in fact it was quite fun. Gary and I took action shots of each other on the rocks and quite enjoyed ourselves. The Knife Edge also turned out to be pretty short. Would that Lehigh Gap is a similar 'no big deal'! Shortly after the Knife Edge, we ran into Good Enough, who I hadn't seen since Shenandoah NP. He is hiking with No Worries who I met for the first time today, and we also saw Pony Puncher whose hiking partner Food Truck is off the trail. Not sure if that's temporary or not.A little ways further up the trail was a super short blue blaze trail (not really a trail, more of a rock scramble) up to Bear Rocks. I went up without my pack, which made things much easier! At the top were cool looking rocks and and an almost 360 degree view of the surrounding farmland. Sadly there also was some graffiti. Ugh.Not long after, we got to Gary's turning around point at Bake Oven Knob Road, so we had to say goodbye one more time. This time only for four weeks though, which isn't too bad. We'll go on family vacation exactly 4 weeks from today.I had several more boulder fields to go through, and I had some trouble finding the blazes through parts, but it all worked out fine in the end. There were two alternatives over one the last bumps (Lehigh?): the AT and the 'scenic route'. Leave it to the AT to not be the scenic alternative. . It was actually quite nice, open and airy with fields of ferns and fewer trees. Of course I don't know how it compares to the scenic route.I had the shelter in view when I got stuck behind a group of clueless day hikers who were not letting me pass. Since I was practically where I wanted to stop anyway, I just bided my time but it was a bit annoying all the same.The Outerbridge shelter is no great shakes and the camp sites are very few and down a steep trail. Because I got here early, I got the pick of the slightly pathetic litter but that's not saying much. There is road noise too. No Worries just cam scouting, because he, Good Enough and Pony Puncher all tent as well, but they may head out again. If I knew there were spots down the trail before Palmerton, I'd have gone a bit further, but nothing is listed and Lehigh Gap is only a couple of miles away. And no way am I tackling that at the end of the day!So tomorrow more or less starts (and hopefully not ends! ) with the vertical climb out of Lehigh Gap and then we'll see how far I'll get after that. Oh, and I'll have to carry a lot of water while climbing, because there isn't really any for twelve miles. Perfect! I do have a secret (ahem) mileage goal for the next four weeks: 500 miles in four weeks. I don't think it's quite feasible, but that will be the thing in the back of my mind when I figure out where to go each day. We shall see!Open map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?