Date: 2018-05-22
From: George Outerbridge Shelter

To: Leroy A Smith Shelter
Miles today: 16.7

The only thing more fun than navigating a long steep rock scramble is doing it in the rain. I¢m not ashamed to say that I was scared. Not as much as at the Knife Edge yesterday. A fall today would probably have only meant a sprain or possibly a broken bone, but not death. The remediation effort at Lehigh Gap is really making progress. It used to be a moonscape once you made the climb, with very few living plants. Now it looks like a young forest. Cadmium is the primary pollutant but there are other heavy metals as well. I hope no one is tempted by the blueberries that ought to ripen in another month. I intended to sleep in this morning, even to the extent of waking up at 3 to pee. Reboot and Charlie Horse had another idea, getting up st 5. Then about 5:15 an alarm went off that sounded like the first three notes of Jingle Bells. None of us could find the device. Possibly it had been tossed under the shelter as a cruel joke. The rain came in showers today, especially heavy this afternoon. I wore my rain jacket over shorts, but had to take the jacket off for the climb. Better to be drenched with rain than with sweat. After the climb, the trail followed a road that is being used in the remediation effort, but then the treadway reverted to typical NE Pennsylvania, rocks of all sizes, including a couple of short scrambles. I met some interesting southbound hikers, including Moses, Doc Holiday, and Twig. Moses and Twig started on Katahdin last year and hope to finish in Georgia this year. Doc plans to take the blue-blazed bypass trail around the Lehigh Gap scramble. I can¢t say that I blame him. Going up was hard enough. Coming down it in the rain would be downright dangerous. Sorry for no photo today. I can¢t get my iPhone to unlock when the screen and my fingers are wet. Before going to sleep last night, I was aware of how dirty and smelly I am. I found myself wishing for a shower. I won¢t call it a prayer, but next time I¢ll be more specific and ask for a hot shower. It¢s 4:30, and I¢m dressed in my long underwear and possum fur socks and in my sleeping bag. I¢ve still not warmed up from today¢s hike. I was planning to do a quick in and out into Wind Gap tomorrow, but my body is screaming for an easy day. Weather looks good for tomorrow and I am now thinking about a near zero ¢Nero¢ day tomorrow, just about 5 miles into Wind Gap and spend the night. There¢s a motel, a laundromat, a grocery, Italian restaurant and a Chinese Restaurant. Sounds like paradise to me!At the road crossing before the shelter, General Store was leaving a large water carboy for hikers, to save them the trouble of going way down to the springs I certainly appreciate it on a day like this.  With her were Sally Forth and Bat Girl who sat out the rain.  They gave me the news that Andrea and Connor are returning home to Nashville.  Andrea¢s ankle is too sore to hike  Pennsylvania is certainly taking a toll on us Flip-Floppers!Baby Bird was here when I arrived this afternoon. He waited for the rain to stop and is hiking another five miles to a campsite, positioning him to arrive in Delaware Water Gap tomorrow. I¢ll be a day behind him. Charlie Horse and Reboot, bring hardened Northbound thru-hikers will do the 20 miles to the Gap tomorrow. It will still be there for me on Wednesday.