New Joisey Baby

Hello again!! I made it to the great state of New Jersey (see phonetic spelling above :) Pretty excited to be here and suprinsingly the scenery has been spectacular.

5/8/07 4.6 miles to Clarks Ferry Shelter. Spent most of the day in town, getting caught up on things and resting. Tau needed some help updating her blog so I helped with some typing. Good times! We were also waiting on a package so Tau was kind enough to buy me a few brews while waiting for helping her out. We didn't leave town til about 6 pm. It was an interesting climb up the mountain after our "happy hour" but we were happy to make it to the shelter. It was really hot out that day. Headed to bed shortly after arriving in camp, anxiously awaiting another day of the joyous Pennyslvania rocks!

5/9/07 24.3 miles to Rausch Gap campsite. Didn't feel all that hot today mainly because the humidity and temperature were both pretty high. Had some significant climbs over small, sharp rocks that just make your feet feel all kinds of interesting sensations. But did meet some nice section hikers today. Also was able to soak my feet in this really cool creek around lunch time. This does wonders for aching feet. I try to do that at least twice a day if water is available. This turned out to be quite the exciting afternoon. I was walking nonchalantly walking the trail and heard a terrifying sound - rattles too close for comfort. I jumped back quickly, said a few choice words and realized I was no more than a foot away from a very large timber rattlesnake. He was coiled up, rattling away and not happy to see me. I decided to take the long way around him and heard those rattles as I walked away from him down the trail. Needless to say, I was a bit edgy the rest of the afterrnon. Made it camp and found a nice spot by the creek to take a spit bath and relax the evening away. Ahh the adventures in the great outdoors!!

5/10/07 33.3 miles to Eagles Nest Shelter. That's right, I said 33. Who's a rock star, I'm a rock star!!! Ha ha. Didn't plan on doing 33 miles today, it just kind of happened. Woke up around 4:30 and was on the trail by 5:45 am. Felt really good today and was trying to beat a bit of the heat. We made it 17.3 miles to the 501 shelter by 12:30 pm. Not too shabby. Met up with two section hikers from Germany at the shelter and we were all thankful we had the ability to order pizza directly to the shelter as it was right next to Hwy 501. Had half of a large pizza and a large pepsi and we were ready for more hiking. Who knew! Said goodbye to our new friends and headed off around 2:30. I forgot to mention this shelter also had a solar shower. I use the term solar loosely as it a hose attached to a big tank and as far as I could tell no "solar" had hit the shower yet. But still very thankful that the shelter maintainer had gotten the shower working the day before. Feels so good to be clean. Started clouding over just as we'd completed about 6 more miles. Ran into a section hiker we had met right before Duncannon - Don from Baltimore. Really nice guy and we were oh so happy to stop and chat for a few minutes and give ourselves a breather. Looked like a big storm was coming and since we are trying to have relatively light loads at the moment, neither of us is carrying a tent. So pretty much, make it to the shelter or be really wet. Made it to the shelter just in time, right around dark. Who knew you could walk thirty miles all in daylight hours. What a day, my feet and whole body hurt but it felt amazing to push my body to the limit. I felt really alive all day.

5/11/07 21.3 miles to near Gold Spring. Not really sure I wanted to be out of bed this morning after a long day like yesterday but we were still on the trail pretty early, after a nice long stretch. One motivator today is that we were going through Port Clinton, a town with restaurants. And we all know how much thru-hikers like food and lots of it. My ankles were giving me a hard time after yesterday so I took it slow going over the rocks and down the steep decline into Port Clinton. Had a bit of trouble finding the 3-C's diner and I must say I got a bit cranky when we got lost. But, a nice section hiker named Jim from Washington said he would look after our packs and pointed us in the right direction. After a huge second breakfast, we lounged around the Port Clinton pavillion, a cozy home away from home for thru-hikers. Team Mike who thru-hiked last year came in to say hello and we got some tips for farther up north. Decided to push on a few more miles up the trail but boy was it hard to leave the cool pavillion. After several steep climb, we made it to Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle, both amazing views of the Pennsylvania valley. It was almost dark by this time but we got a breather when the rocky trail turned into a gravel/dirt road - thank God! After a few miles on the road, found two guys camping with their dog in this nice campsite in a field. Sat down to say hello and ended up spending the night as they gave us a baked potato roasted in the fire, peanuts, cracker jack. all kinds of good stuff. Thanks Frank, Randy and Leroy the dog!

5/12/07 20.6 miles to Bake Oven Knob Shelter. Got up with no water this morning so we quickly packed up and headed for the nearest spring. A few miles later, we hit a very nice spring, drink up and had breakfast. Beautiful saturday morning. Saw several turkey hunters out this morning, not always a welcome sight when you are a hiker but nothing you can do but hike on. After a nice long rocky climb, met two weekenders who were very friendly. Always nice to talk to people out on the trail and exchange pleasantries and information. People are my favorite part of the trail, I love all the interesting people who have come into my life on the trail that normally, our paths would never cross. I am especially grateful for my hiking partner Tau. We have a blast out here and keep each other on our toes. I met some Mennonite section hikers right before lunch time. I really enjoyed talking to them. At the Allentown Shelter is also where I met Hobbit. He started hiking January 31st and we have been chasing him for awhile. He is awesome!! Also caught up with Tecumseh and Moxie who we met in Harpers Ferry. They are section hiking PA to ME. They did the first section last year. All three of them are amazing people. We all ended up at the same place today and had a great time. Before we got to the shelter, we stopped by the Blue Mountain B&B which happened to have a restaurant. Nothing like a tasty beverage to make your ankle feel better and get you over the supposed worst rocks in the state of Pennsylvania. I don't know if it was the company or the beverages, but they didn't seem all that bad. Maybe we have just seen so many rocks so far that by this point, nothing surprises us! I had a great day today and was happy to make it to the shelter before the rain came.

5/13/07 7.3 miles to Slatington, PA. This turned out to be one of the most interesting days on the trail. Got up and moving pretty early as it was a town day and that is reason for inspiration and motivation. Walked with Tau and Hobbit into town. On the way in, I took a bit of a stumble and scraped my knee and shin pretty good on a rock. Battle scars! We were able to get a ride into town pretty quick by a nice guy named Alex. Decided to hit up breakfast first at the diner, so good!! After breakfast, we went to check out our accomodations. Fine Lodging said they had a hiker bunkroom but it wasn't open for the season yet so the owner said we could camp in his backyard. We think a nice grassy open area. Oh no, think more like nice closed in junkyard. There was so much stuff back there. I wish I could post pictures because nothing I say could give this place justice. We all look at each other and start busting a gut. But hey, that is what the trail is all about. Ira was a great guy and let us take showers and camp out, even gave us a mattress to sleep on so we were pretty thankful. I didn't think Tecumseh and Moxie would want to stay there but here they come, ready to set up camp with us. We ended having a great afternoon. Did some laundry, got to know Hobbit a little better, and ate some icecream. After all of our tasks were completed, we headed to "the shack" for dinner. Several pitchers of Yunegling and a big haddock dinner and I was all set for the evening. Even put a little jukebox music on. Doesn't get much better than that - really enjoyed the company and conversation. Thank-you fellow hikers!

5/14/07 20.7 miles to Wind Gap, PA. We decided to set up a slackpack with Ira so we could stay at another hotel the next night. Also found out that Pilgrim wanted to help us out in the area. He thru-hiked in 2004 and then section hiked this year to Harpers Ferry. I met him down south and he is just a great guy. He wanted to meet us in Wind Gap tonight and slack us the following day to Delaware Water Gap. Yeah!! Anyways, picked up my mail drop first thing in the morning and was on the trail by 9 am. Quite the climb out of the gap but when you are not really carrying a pack, life is good. Interesting scenery at first as the area has been affected by zinc smelting. Pretty much everything is dead for a few mile stretch. Got out of that and back into the shade. Found some trail magic by Boomer at the first trailhead we come to - water and candy. Thanks! Met Pilgrim at the hotel later that afternoon. We all decide to squeeze into one room because Pilgrim was nice enough to help us with the cost of the room - really thankful as all of us are getting low on funds! Headed into town for a chinese dinner. Got my braised tofu with broccoli - so good and then hit the supermarket for a few things before heading back to the hotel. Into bed shortly after as I was wore out!