Date: 2006-07-04
From: Leroy A Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: broken clouds

By daylight the rain had stopped but everything was still pretty wet. The girls and I ate a quick breakfast and hit the trail at 7:30 am with Delaware Water Gap on our minds attempting to put Pennsylvania behind us. Just out of Leroy A. Smith Shelter campsite we crossed under the power lines and took a right back on the A.T. headed north. After a couple of vistas and crossing the pipeline I noticed a couple hiking south towards me. It turned out to be Old Drum and his wife. I had met him earlier on the trail so I stopped to get caught up on where he had been, whom he had seen, and where he was heading. He ended up taking a little time to do a southbound hike while his wife visited. We parted ways and shortly after passed through Wind Gap starting another really rocky section of the trail. This time the large rocks were smaller ones about the size of softballs and caused excruciating pain each and every step because of their size. By this time the arches in my feet were very tender and the bottoms of my feet felt bruised from all of the Pennsylvania rocks. Hence this is another reason why we will be excited to complete this state. Just ahead Shasta and I took a 15-minute break at Wolf Rocks to eat a snack and see how much further it was to the next shelter. Since the shelter was just over two miles we didn¢t spend much time before heading on. As we approached Fox Gap a storm cloud turned the sky dark and was followed by thunder off in the distance. We picked up the pace because Kirk Ridge Shelter was just ahead and as we crested the ridge big drops of rain started to fall. The rain set in and with only 6.5 miles to town we stopped for a long afternoon break at the shelter. We had been there about 15-minutes when the River Weasel arrived with a big ¢No Way Dude¢. He has been just behind us now for several days and finally caught up with us. The rain slowed down and then stopped about 30 minutes later so we packed up and headed into town. The next couple of miles went by quick as I hiked with the River Weasel along the ridge and through a construction zone at the pipeline. Typically on the highway during construction the crews will put a barricade up directing traffic through a safe area but this is the first time this has ever happened while on the trail. The fresh excavations along the trail were covered in crushed stone and lined with orange safety fencing directing you through the area. After the pipeline the trail started to descend and wind its way along the rocky mountain side. In a clearing ahead the trail passed by Lake Lenape and went from a rock lined path to asphalt on Lake Road. The trail turned right on to Mountain Road and when it intersected Main Street we were in Delaware Water Gap, PA. The first thing on the map was a hostel that is housed by the Presbyterian Church of the Mountain so we stopped in and signed up for the night. It was nearly 6:00 pm so we decided to grab a bit to eat and then get settled in for the night. As we walked down Main Street the evidence of the flood was obvious. Many of the homes and business were closed and clean up efforts were underway. The roads were lined with mounds of debris and every house had things lined up on the sidewalks and porch banisters drying. Lucky us we found Doughboy¢s Pizza in the center of town open for business. We ordered a couple of pizzas and a pitcher of beer to start with and as our order was prepared several others showed up to join. Doughboy¢s was a great little place so we hung out for a while before returning to the hostel for the night. Most everyone had wet gear from the past couple of days so we hung all of it up, washed a couple of loads of cloths, and showered finally filling refreshed. That night we hung out at the hostel and enjoyed Donkey playing the guitar while catching up with him, River Weasel, Hot Springs, Montreal, and meeting Mrs. Parkay. Off in the valley below the town lit up with fireworks in celebrating the 4th of July. Tonight at Delaware Water Gap: Donkey, Hot Springs, H-Bomb, Shasta, Jane, River Weasel, Montreal, Mrs. Parkay, Baldy Locks, and I