Date: 2003-06-05
From: Leroy Smith Shelter 

To: Kirkridge Shelter 
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: broken clouds

Aloha! Ahhhhhhh... life is good. As I sit here alone on my mountaintop, sipping a hot cup of tea, with dinner simmering beside me and a view of the Delaware Water Gap valley below, I feel... damn good! It's been a long day. Not a bad day or a great day but a good and long day. Ahhhhh...(sip).   The day began much as it does every day with my rising between 6 and 6:30a and watching it rain. It poured through the night. Unbelievable that it didn't rain a drop all the while hiking yesterday. Sorry, I digress. Anyway, I believe Eric was just waiting for me to move. I stretched and he was up. (I'd almost forgotten what it's like to want/need a cigarette in the morning.) We chatted over breakfast and packing up. It was during the packing stage that it became somewhat obvious that dear Eric was a real newbie at this backpacking thing. To make a long story short, we spent the next several hours learning how to pack a bag only to find that he had never been sized for the bag to begin with! The poor thing. The chest strap is literally dangling from the top of his shoulder! There's only so much a person can do though. We got him settled and fitted the best we could and he continued his journey south while I turned north. Poor kid, between the hot soup I gave him last night, the patching of blisters and fitting of pack this morning I'd say that he might make it another day or two. Maybe a bus really would be better this time around. Poor kid.   There actually isn't all that much to tell you about today. Very little exciting happened and what did was probably only exciting to me. I'll fill you in shortly. Overall the day consisted of "a walk in the woods". Sort of.   It was a walk in the woods but with a twist. A twist of the toes, feet, ankles, knees, and everything else in between. Arghhhh! PA rocks! For almost 12 miles I have stumbled, stumped my toes, sheared the top and sides of my feet, bruised my arches and pounded my heels. Double arghh! People are hating PA because of the rocks. I personally don't hate PA. It's a gorgeous state with wonderful rolling mountains. The elevation changes won't cause major heart attacks or cause you to freeze to death. And the people are fantastic. It would be one of my favorite states if it weren't for the ... rocks.   Not all rocks mind you. Just the ones I mentioned above. There are the others like at Lehigh Gap yesterday and todays around something called Wolf Rocks. The big ones lay in a jumble allowing for the hiker to play vice   just beat their feet to a pulp. The Wolf Rocks let me pick a path, hop from boulder to boulder, and climb to the edge to see whatever. They were fun. The others are not. They're more exhausting than anything else. Oh, and often irritating.   But that's the rocks; not PA as a whole. PA has offered me wonderful vistas on the days it hasn't rained (what's that? 3?), gracious towns and hospitable people, and the chance to continue my Grand Adventure... with a twist. So for me, I don't hate PA, I'm just not a lover of little and medium sized rocks.   As for the exciting events of the day, while playing on Wolf Rocks I turned a corner to come within 25 feet of a perched turkey vulture. Awesome! He (using the term generically because I wouldn't know one gender of a vulture from another) stood in profile looking at me as I looked at him. I slowly reached for my camera all the while trying to telepathically tell him to please stay put a moment longer. As I pulled the camera out a slight wind came up and he turned his back to me but kept his head turned 180 degrees to watch me. I started the camera and was beginning to raise it when a stronger wind blew in. It was in that moment that Mr. Vulture looked at me and then stepped off the edge. No rising of his wings but a step like a bungee jumper. Before I could take the picture he was gone.   By the time I could see him again he was much too far for a picture. He gave me a chance but I was too slow. But that's okay, being that close was its own Kodak memory moment. Pretty ugly but pretty cool!   My second moment of excitement came when I startled a yearling munching beside the trail. She didn't see me until I passed and I didn't see her until she was bolting up the mountain. Such a graceful animal. And in this case cute too.   That's about it for my day on the trail. Since I started this entry I've had Matthew, now known as Stepping Wolf, and his father join me for the evening. Matthew is an 18-year-old aspiring thru-hiker. You can see it in the twinkle of his eye, the calm interest and the intelligent questions he asks. I have no doubts that if he decides that this is truly something he wants to do he'll be a finisher. He's an Eagle Scout and that means finisher. It also looks like he would have a wonderful home support system in his father. A super duo from what I can tell. Excellent!    Well folks, it's time to shut this down. Quasi and Tubs left me a note saying that they decided to go on into Delaware. Quasi is meeting his mom there for a picnic tomorrow. Nice, huh. I'm looking forward to my stay at the Presbyterian Church of the Mountain. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. For now though it's time to sip another cup of hot tea and finally take off these boots. I can only imagine what my feet are going to look like. I know they're going to yell at me.   Sleep well.BS&Ts: a bit of sweat when the sun would peek out - always on the UPs.A&Ps: ankles and feet are feeling their days of beatings. Nothing an Advil and town stop won't fix.M&Gs: missing my vulture picture and...ROCKS! WAAH!Critter count: 6x chipmunks, 4x squirrels, 1x rabbit, 1x turkey vulture (so stately but devilish looking), 1x yearling (so cute!)