Date: 2014-06-23
From: Palmerton Jail Hostel

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up at 230 am and could not get back to sleep being anxious about huge climb tomorrow with a lot of steep rocks. Finally got up at 5 and packed gear then headed to Dunkin Donuts for bagel and cream cheese. While not a big breakfast eater I have been trying to get more calories in me at the beginning of the day knowing that I need this fuel to see me through the day. Otherwise I do get a bit draggy especially when I have a lot of steep climbs in one day. To top it off I also had a large packet of tuna fish. Now I know it doesn't sound so good for breakfast but it did taste pretty good and was packed in sunflower oil it added to its nutritional value along with the protien. I was inside the hostel when Soul Flute showed up and ReRun was in such a hurry I just grabbed my pack and got into the car. Now its only my fault, but when we got to the trail head parking lot I realized I had left my glasses back on the steps where my pack was. ReRun headed up the hill and Soul Flute brought me back to the hostel and then back to the trailhead. He was totally cool about it and it didn't bother him one bit. The climb up ended up being really enjoyable, like figuring out an obstacle course over large boulders. I took my time to make sure my footing was good and in no time was at the top of the hill. Got some great pics of Palmerton and the surrounding area. We did have to take a detour around the ridge due to pollution from previous mining. I was ok with this as it took us on a nice old grassed over roadway. The only concern I had was that people had told us it was infested with ticks and to make sure we checked ourselves afterwards. Saw a doe and this years fawn. Not very big. Could see down into valley where coal processing was still quite active with the sounds of industry and trains chugging away like any other work day. I passed 3 boys that I have named the Racoon Crew after one of the boys who wears a Davy Crocket style coon cap. They are out for their last day and will be going back to town later. I ate my first blueberries of the season. they were delicious and about the size of a pea. It was international hiker day as I met a woman from Russia via South Africa named Brave. She was moving pretty slowly as she had a problem with a number of blisters on her feet. I then ran into Tent Maker and First A an Asian boy and girl from Korea. They were very nice and I showed them where to find the wild strawberries I had been picking and told them about the blueberries. Up to this point the trail had been nice with little problems with foot placement. However, this changed drastically with the real rocks of Pennsylpania showing up and sticking around for the next TWELVE MILES with little reprive! These were the rocks everyone talked about and books have been written with great heeding. These were just endless, sharp edged and jagged. Where before I could usually find a place to put my foot on solid ground, there now was none at that. At first I was patient with it and believed it would peter out like it had always done, but "forgetta about it". The rocks encountered here were placed one on top of the other and if you ventured to put your foot on one it would either spin, tilt or topple any which way sending me careening out of control. More than once because of this, I slammed my toe, smashed my ankle or stumble down the trail like a run away train trying to catch my balance. Now this wouldn't have been bad if like I said had been short lived but it went on and on and on. Thank God I had my Merrell boots Laura had sent me just a couple of weeks ago as they were really good at sucking up most of the impact and kept my ankles intact. However, after 5 to 6 hours of this hiker's jig and I made my way into Wind Gap, my feet were humming. From the trail head I mad my way to the Beer Stein for drink and food. After a couple of hours I headed outside to set up my tent and while doing so Oliver and Twist showed up and shortly afterwards, ReRun made her way in. I laid down for a nap which felt good. It was warm outside with the sun right on the tent but it quickly cooled down after the sun went down. My dilema was whether to put the tent fly on or leave it off, but there was a threat of rain so I decided to put it on. Other intersting points of the day included a painted turtle in the middle of the trail, sweet fragrances everywhere and seeing a Pennsylvania Game Wardens vehicle and wishing I had had the chance to talk to him. I slept real good until the fire whistle blew right across the street at 1 am. After that the bright lights from the convienent gas station across the street made it difficult to go back to bed. Oh well that's just part of the trail.