Date: 2009-06-25
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter, PA

To: Stealth Tenting near Lehigh Furnace Gap, PA
Miles today: 11.2

Cell goodOG notesWe got a leasurely start this morning because we weren't planning a long day. The weather has been decent lately and we are enjoying the hike much more now.We were so relaxed this morning that we stopped to talk to a local day hiker and spent about 20 minutes talking with him. Then we reached the road at Blue Mountain Summit where there is a nice restaurant about 100 yards from the trail. We arrived at 11:00am exactly the time it opened. We had a nice lunch and spent about an hour and a half there.When we restarted hiking the terain was kind to us at first. We had a decent trail walk at first and then it got ugly. What I mean by ugly is that we then started a ridge walk over huge uneven rocks. Did I mention it was the ridge at the top of the mountain? There were times we were rock scrambling...that's climbing from rock to rock and holding on for dear life. This lasted about a half mile and then it turned into a flat area with another rock walk. Not all of the hiking was walking on rocks because the trail then changed to a forest road and we had a much better walk for another two miles. The hike was a bit of give and take, a little rock walking and a little smooth surface. If it were all rock walking we wouldn't have hiked the number of miles we did.We arrived at the Bake Oven Knob Shelter about 4 pm. This shelter is one of the original Pennsylvnia shelters that was built in the 1940s. It is very small and it sits in the direct afternoon sun. It literally is like being in an oven. I assume that is how it got its name. We took a break there and then cooked our dinner early.After dinner we hiked on hoping to find a good spot to tent. We decided that it would be a little more quiet in a remote place. We hiked for a while and then saw this spot. The ground is smooth and it sits in a nice place, so here we are.The tent is up, bear bag hung and we're ready for bed. Ah life is good.Incidentally we were at the Eckville Shelter 2 nights ago. The shelter register there is a thick book with entries going back to 2004. That means the 2006 entries were still in it. It was so nice to see those entries, I remember so many of the people who signed in there. I was so pleased to read one from Posey Picker. He always wrote positive things wherever he went on the trail. His classic signature went something like "Peace, joy, love". It is all about the smiles and not the miles.Although I reminisce about my 2006 friends I now have a whole new family in 2009. We have a great bunch of people all with their own unique story. C6 and I have one of careers and family; the young folks have hopes and dreams. It is amazing how well everyone gets along with each other and how much they care about each other. Hiking the trail isn't just about the mountains and the miles, it's about the people and the community they build while seeking a common goal. I am so lucky to be able to do this, not just once but twice. I've been blessed with good health and a career that let me go soon enough to enjoy it. The thing I've been most blessed with is a life partner that not only allowed me to be gone 6 months a few years ago but to join me on this journey once again. The dynamics of hiking with your partner is different than hiking alone in a better way. We share so much and accomplish so much together. I think I can say that all of this time will strengthen our relationship. That is saying a lot because we have been married 39.5 years already.I've said a lot and now it's time to get C6s side of the story.C6 notesWow. OG says such beautiful things sometimes. He's such a good guy, and I'm happy and proud to have shared (and continue to share) the years with him. I love Old Goat so much!Today was a good day, even with the fact that I ended in tears. This is only the second time we decided to stop and have supper before we stopped hiking for the day. I was surprised that not long after we left the shelter a bunch of anxieties started to overwhelm me and I started crying. I'm not comfortable sharing many of the things I was/am anxious about, but the main one was that the first (and only other) time we hiked on after dinner was the other night when we finished hiking in the dark. That was so uncomfortable for me...I hated it. So hiking after eating brought back the fear I felt of not knowing where we were going or where we'd be able to pitch our tent that night. It all turned out fine, but my anxiety level was sky high that night, and it came back tonight. Shortly after I started crying from the anxiety we came upon another section of rock scramble. That pushed my emotions over the edge and I bawled as we scrambled over the rocks. We were going to try to get another mile behind us, but suddenly one of my hiking poles became about 8" shorter than the other. I turned around to OG, bawling, and showed him what happened. Absolutely not a big deal...one of the sections came loose and the section collapsed. An easy fix...just pull it out and tighten the connection again...and it's fixed. As he was tightening it for me (I can't seem to get them tight enough to stay in place), I saw a fire ring with flat spots around it. (Where other folks had camped and had a campfire.) We decided the hiking pole was a sign that we needed to stop for the night...so here we are. Not long after we put up our tent and coordinated some details for tomorrow I was calm again. These emotions are so frustrating for me. I try to hide them, but out here I find that impossible. OG sees the most of my emotions and crying, but others have seen them a little. I need to learn to just flow through them and accept that this sensitivity is just me. I do know that, and I've know it for what feels like forever, but accepting it is still an issue for me. Maybe that's one thing I could get out of this adventure..probably not, but who knows?!So, as I said before, even with an emotional ending, today was a good day. Oh, by the way, I've discovered I really like camping without anyone else around. It's kind of like having a private room...and we won't disturb anyone when we get up at night to pee or if we want to get an early start.Old Goat & Check Six