Date: September 13 2000
Trail Day: 105
Miles Today: 17
Location: Kirkbridge Shelter
Section Mile: AT 883
ECT Mile: 1575
I had a good night's sleep last night. Woke up completely refreshed. Hiked
about 10 miles into the Delaware Water Gap. Took a half hour break at Sawfish
pond. It is the southern most glacier lake on the AT. I could see little
fish and spent my time watching them. It was very relaxing. I met a trail
maintainer on the way. He told me Mr. Clean was not too far ahead. Mr. Clean
is an oriental so bo (south bounder) who started Jan 1 at Katahdin. He is
taking his time and is now quite famous on the trail. Hope to meet him.
Crossed the Delaware river into Pennsylvania - my tenth state. It has been
Quebec, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New york, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. Delaware Water Gap is a
very small decaying town. Had lunch and bought grocery for 4 days. Also
picked up the maps for PA. I am so happy to have maps. Michelle, my friend
from Louisville had also sent me cookies. They are delicious and arrived
perfectly. Thanks Michelle. She also wrote that Debbie Woodcock, another
friend, is pregnant. Debbie is an interesting woman and has spunk - I admire
her. On the sad side Frank Hiertzman passed away due to cancer complications -
quite sad. He had helped me buy my present car.
On the way back to the trail I stopped by at the hostel. No one was there.
I signed the register and left the NY/NJ maps in the hiker box. I hope its
of use to someone else. Delaware Water Gap is also the lowest point in the AT
at 250 ft. The climb up Mt. Minsi was steady and steep in places. The mountains
have now almost ended. There are a few gently rolling hills in the distance
but the real mountains are all gone.
Decided to stop at Kirkbridge shelter, a run down place.
Date: September 14 2000
Trail Day: 106
Miles Today: 23
Location: Near Little Gap
Section Mile: AT 906
ECT Mile: 1598
A very unincidental day today. Met 4 hikers. Got water at Wind Gap. This
area is very dry. Saw a journal entry by Mr. Clean stating he was very sick -
vomitting, loss of concentration, joint aches etc. Doesn't sound good.
If he takes more than a week off, I will definitely miss him. One of the
hikers said she saw me somewhere in Maine/New Hampshire - a very long
section.
I am very confused about the Pennsylvania rocks. Am I in it or is it yet to
come ? I don't know. I have also been playing a game to keep the average at
20 miles per day since Suriyan left. I keep a score of the surplus or
deficit from 20 every day. So, say its at +5 today, that means I have got
5 miles over the 20 average. If I were to to do 15 today the average would
become exactly 20. At its best it was +9. Yesterday it was at -8 and today
at -5. I want to get to 0 and stop playing. It has become tiresome. On the
bright side I have covered 400 miles in the past 20 days - quite fast.
Well I am a little short of water tonight with almost no hopes of getting
any more till at about 10 AM tomorrow. I am also sleeping in the open, so
I hope it doesn't rain.
Date: September 15 2000
Trail Day: 107
Miles Today: 1
Location: Near Allentown shelter
Section Mile: AT 907
ECT Mile: 1599
Late last night it started raining. I used the light that Playfoot gave me in
Kent and set up my tarp. The light is quite bright. I had sent back my thermal
underwear and flash light to Vivek in Delaware Water Gap. I have been hoping
to meet other so bo's but I keep missing them when they go into towns. I've
already missed Matt. Its interesting - during the planning phases thru-hikers
talk about wanting solitude and how to avoid "the crowds". The reality
turns out to be very different. They spend a lot of time in towns.
Walked over
"The Knife Edge" - there's nothing knife edgy about it. The view
however was spectacular - took shots :
scenic 1
scenic 2.
The 'Pennsylvania rocks' are way over
blown. Rainbow 6's advice which sounded naive at the time, is accurate -
"Dont worry about every rock - just go". Here's a little rhyme that I came
up with :
Pennsylvania rocks,
What a crock,
Honey, Roots was right,
Never listen to hype.
Date: September 16 2000
Trail Day: 108
Miles Today: 22
Location: Pavillion, Port Clinton
Section Mile: AT 929
ECT Mile: 1621
Got up in the morning and saw a guy heading north. He is Sweet Cicily's husband
slack packing. He said I was about 500 yards from the shelter but that it was
packed. Ate a good breakfast and started hiking. Met Doc Marten and
Straight A at the shelter. They are doing a section hike from New York
to Georgia. Straight A is of Indian descent - born and brought up here.
We call them ABCD's - American born confused Desi's (Desi means - fellow
counrty man). They call us FOB's (Fresh off the boats). A similar dynamic
to North bounder vs South bounder. The level of hostility is also about the
same. I am not saying Straight A was hostile - she was in fact a very nice
person - an ABCD exception :-)
The miles just flew by today. Met Fire Breather, Fall Girl and Sweet Cicily on
the way. It rained a little towards the end. Got to Port Clinton - a very
small town with almost nothing. Did laundry, got take out food at the Port
Clinton hotel. This hotel used to be hiker friendly but with a change in
ownership things have changed. Now in the pavillion ready to sleep.
Date: September 17 2000
Trail Day: 109
Miles Today: 24
Location: 501 Shelter
Section Mile: AT 953
ECT Mile: 1645
Last night one of the locals came by at about 3:00 AM and asked us if we wanted
to smoke some pot. We were sound asleep when he came in. The group hung around
for quite a while and I could not get much sleep. I woke up quite late
(maybe 10:00 AM). Fall Girl and Fire Breather were gone. I tried to get
breakfast in town but there was no place. Started hiking - wasn't feeling very
good. I decided to take a O in Shartlesville. Decided to hike to Cross-Mountain
, which runs to Shartlesville. I was looking for a black top road, which it
wasn't and completely missed it. Talked with a nice day hiking couple about my
options to bail out further down. None of those sounded very good. So, I
decided to hike on to Duncannon, 3 days, about 70 miles away. Composed a poem :
Destination Duncannon
Gather round ye young and grown,
And listen to me bitch and moan.
Twenty five days, on the run,
Now its ceasing to be fun.
Covered, five hundred miles,
Thought of it, makes me smile.
But now my body is so worn,
My socks - they are all torn.
My tarp belongs to the landfill,
My sleeping bag leaks holofill.
I need a shower real soon,
I smell like a dead racoon.
My clothes - they need a wash and spin,
To be of any use again.
My morale is now shot to hell,
My spirit is way down as well.
I walk with an unsmiling face,
Gone is my former pace.
Boy, I need a zero day,
To fully recuperate.
Three days mileage, sixty nine and some,
Hello Duncannon, here I come.
Anyway, thanks ye young and grown,
For listening to me moan and groan.
Date: September 18 2000
Trail Day: 110
Miles Today: 24
Location: Stony Mountain
Section Mile: AT 977
ECT Mile: 1672
Got up quite early today. Took a
photo of all. Turns out Firebreather, Fallgirl
and Sweet Cicily were responsible for the birch beer I found at Kirkbridge
shelter a few days ago.
Trail Angels
Hiked to an AT shelter,
With absolutely no water.
Saw a little sparkling spring,
A sigh of relief, it did bring.
What do I find floating there ?
A can of cold birch beer.
Sat down, drank with relish,
Best drink I must admit.
Fire breather, Fall girl, Sweet Cicily,
Thanks to you, all the three.
Date: September 19 2000
Trail Day: 111
Miles Today: 22
Location: Hotel Doyle, Duncannon
Section Mile: AT 999
ECT Mile: 1694
The place where I tarped was good - under a big, dense pine tree. When I got
up in the morning it had just started to rain but I did not get a single drop.
Packed up and started off. It rained all day. The day was also very
foggy.
It was a fairly easy hike. Came to an old shelter and stopped for a break.
I could not find the register. I rested for a while and continued on. A few
hundred feet down there was a beautiful shelter - Peters Mountain shelter.
There were 5 brothers there who had stopped due to rain. I made a register
entry and continued.
The last section to Duncannon was quite rugged. The trail designers have
tried to run the trail along the ridge top. But this is highly broken
here. So the trail goes down some 100 ft, turns around, goes back up,
runs the ridge for 300 ft, back down ... Some places I had to check for
blazes to make sure I was indeed on the trail. I could also hear the road
and train traffic but it took a long time to actually get to it.
Got a room at the Doyle hotel. Its quite run down but they are working on it.
Did laundry, shower and dinner. Met T1 and T2 - they are doing the AT in
sections. They started this one in Delaware Water Gap. T2 has some foot
problem also. Met Springer and Still Searchin. Had a long conversation with
Still Searchin about life, trail etc - very interesting.
