For those following the tale of my blister.... it died today around 9:15 AM when it popped. No problems for the most part today. I hope it stays that way. I put some ointment on it, a bandaid, and medical tape. About to fix it up again before bed after I write this. I got moving and saw Tilt and Akula (spelling?) camped just a ways up from where we tented. Said good morning. Ran into Apple and Crispy. They started June 1st in Georgia. They are speed demons! They were pushing a 31 mile day and averaging 25 miles a day. Nuts!
Ok, because this was so cool, I met THUNDER GOD, which for any student of Roman mythology would recognize Jupiter as the god of skies and lightning! She was super cool, on a slack pack southbound. I was sitting on a rock enjoying the breeze, said hello to Apple and Crispy when they passed and met Thunder God. She got off to see her brother and decided to tie up another section while he was at work. She will pick it back up in southern PA where she left off at the Half Way point. Hope to see you up ahead fellow THUNDER GOD! (It may be a little eccentric, but it was awesome to meet someone with a 'similar' name!) Thunder God informed me there was a Ridge Runner (someone paid by the ATC to help maintain parts of the trail and in case of an emergency along the trail) up ahead and TRAIL MAGIC!!! The Ridge Runner was a nice guy, but I had hot dogs and soda on my mind after talking to Thunder God.
I practically ran the 2.5 miles to the trail magic. For those of you who don't know, trail magic is anything that someone does out of the kindness of their hearts to help hikers along the trail. We call them Trail Angels. This time, Soul Flute and Kmaffles provided hot dogs, salad, water (which is scarce in this part of PA), sodas, and (check it out) CAPRI FREAKING SUN! I stayed there way too long, had too many hot dogs and two Capri Suns. It was amazing! Big shout out to our Trail Angels for the day! From the trail angels, I learned Loop, Jimbo, and Bear were all up ahead. I ate with Apple and Crispy and wished them the best of luck (they had both just graduated from Cornell and were super cool), saw Bodyglide and caught up with him, and finished my time at the magic with Tilt and Akula.
I finally left the vortex that was the trail magic and headed to the shelter. I am the only one here at 8PM. Pegleg, Chuckles, and Happy Baby are at the campsite, but I don't want to have to break down camp tomorrow so I can get an early start on the trail.
I open the shelter log and I have a message from Cobwebs (D and D from my previous post). Cobwebs, the boy scout who I named, left a very nice thank you and left me a granola bar, which I inhaled. It was amazingly tasty! Thanks Cobwebs! I hope they finished their hike well!
Tomorrow will be a play it by ear day. I could walk all the way to the end of PA or set myself up for an easy day on Saturday. Regardless, I am 20.5 miles from being done Pennsylvania! The next shelter is 13.8 away (it might be 13.6), so I may eat my dinner there, charge up on water, and walk a couple more miles to camp. Then Saturday I will have a short day into Delaware Water Gap, where I will shower for the first time in seven days, hopefully find a laundromat, and resupply. I am sure food and beer will find its way into the mix as well!!! Hope everyone is doing well! Peace!
Day 6 and 7. July 24th and 25th, 2015. 20.2 miles and 0 miles. I stayed at Leroy A. Smith shelter by myself overnight. Nice, quiet sleep. Woke up for the second day with sinus pressure. I started around 7:30 and met Rocky who was camped under the power lines by the shelter. Nice guy. Said he was going to Delaware Water Gap (DWG) which was 20.2 miles away. I said I was going to try to do around 16 or 17 and go to DWG in the morning. Within five minutes I decided to try the 20.2. I didn't break for two hours, rested for ten minutes, and walked another two hours before breaking again, then another hour or so and I had done 13.8 to Kirkridge Shelter.
I met a SoBo named Terrapin. He left Katadhin on June 1st. Speed demon. I also made a couple that were in their last 60s. Had a nice quick chat with them. I saw three guys in their late teens and joked with them as well. I ate my "dinner" and rested for about an hour and a half at Kirkridge. I packed up and set off to finish my day around 3PM.
I was tired. My feet hurt. My blister was becoming a blister within a blister, but I was moving at a good pace and finished the remaining 6.4 miles at 5:30. I actually put "Uptown Funk" on repeat as I came off the mountain and sort of dance hiked down the mountain. Judge all you want, but I haven't done a 20 mile day in two years and I was going to get a burger, some beer, and my first shower in a week!
I arrived at Church of the Mountain Hostel at DWG to find Bear. I twisted his arm and recruited my new friends Salty, Ghengis Khan, and Pineapple Express (Yes. Exactly what you are thinking. And he carried a pineapple out on the trail at one point down south. But still yes to your original thought), and found a happy hour at the Sycamore Grill in DWG. Got a burger, some brews, and listened to live music. Stories were passed around, laughs were had, and the atmosphere was alive with Craic (as the Irish would say).
I awoke this morning to have a shower and a zero. A zero is a day where you hike zero miles on the trail. I did laundry, resupplied food, ate, drank some water, ate again, walked around, and I am currently considering eating again. My ankles are still swollen, but my knee swelling has gone down. This is typical and every day brings new physical pains. I twisted both my ankles yesterday, but that comes with the territory. Stretching out and letting my legs recoup from the six days of hiking is important for the long haul.
So, for all intents and purposes, I have completed Pennyslvania, or as hikers like to refer to if, Rocksylvania. Some many damn rocks. All I have to do is walk across a bridge tomorrow and I will be in New Jersey! Another state checked off! I think I will be in New York in four or five days. I can't remember, but Jersey should be less rocky (I hope). Pennsylvania was challenging, both in lack of water and the amount of rocks, but overall, it was a lot of ridge walking. I will eventually start to hit more elevation change, which will make the hiking more challenging.
I did 75.9 miles in six days. I am happy about that. I wish I didn't have to take a zero, but it is necessary to let my body recover before making big miles into New England. I purposefully walked fast and for as long as I could before breaking. I figured the more I pushed early on, the better it will be for me when I am going up and down mountains instead of ridge walking. I have plenty of tiny physical ailments, but the only serious complaints are the one blister and my Achilles on both legs. I hike through them, but I sure wish they would go away sometimes! Mentally, I seem to be holding up. It started rougb, with serious doubts of whether I gave myself enough time, but after getting my legs back, I feel confident of reaching Bennington by Day 30!
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