Date: 2016-05-09
From: Superfund trailhead, Lehigh River North

To: Smith Gap Road
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

We got a great weather day and we needed it for the rock climb up to the Superfund Site above Lehigh Gap. Kathy at the Filbert B&B started us off right with a full breakfast feast including ham and a cheese omelet and lots of associated goodies. After plenty of coffee, we followed Kathy in our car up to the Smith Gap AT crossing (our finishing point today) and parked our car there. Then she drove us back to our starting point at Lehigh Gap. The first item on our to-do list was to climb the roughly 950 ft of rocks above the gap. Actually the first part of the climb is a long series of rock steps. It took us about 45 min to cover the first mile up [to just beyond] the south end of the Palmerton Superfund Site. Mostly I try to look up rather than down, but I did stop to take a few more photos this time. Princess led the way and I think we did it faster this year than we have in the past. And it seemed to both of us that there are twice as many blazes marking the way up than in the past 2 years. This is definitely a memorable climb.I talked about the superfund site last year. A large area at the summit was contaminated as a result of zinc smelting and is now off limits. The AT skirts around the site for almost 3 miles. Two years ago this section of trail was a narrow path through tall grass that was loaded with ticks. Since then the path has been improved and the grass has been cut back most of the way. Near the end of the detour, the trail passes through a rocky section and then a wooded section before emerging at a power line that marks the north end of the site. There are a lot of boulders below the power lines and the AT zigzags across them. There are several turns in the boulders and fortunately the blazes have been improved, but hikers still need to beware to exit the boulder field at the point marked with blazes. There are still a lot of rocks as the trail winds around for a mile or so until it crosses Little Gap Road. Overall, we think the superfund site looks significantly better than it did 2 years ago. The growth along the trail is much higher and the area looks greener to us than before.Little Gap shows a small dip in the AWOL elevation curve, but that translates into a tough little climb through a boulder field. If the hiker looks closely, there is an almost continuous set of rock steps most of the way. Occasionally you need to improvise, but it¢s not as hard as it first appears - just long and tiring. The rest of the trail to Smith Gap is a relatively easy walk in the woods, with the customary PA rocks sprinkled throughout.After the hike we drove in to Palmerton to find a lunch spot and ended up at Balch¢s Soup Salad and More. It was a good spot for lunch and I topped it off with a sundae at Claude¢s Creamery on the main drag in Palmerton. Later when we went out hunting for dinner, we learned that Monday night is the night off for almost all the restaurants in the area. We did manage to find an Italian restaurant in Walnutport that was OK. Also, FYI, many restaurants in PA don¢t have licenses to sell alcohol, but in some cases they have no objection if you bring your own. I suggest that you call ahead to check on a restaurant¢s policy if you want to do this.