Today the journey came full circle for me. It was about 10 months ago, walking on this section of the trail, that I decided to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. We slack-packed about 22 miles, visiting Nuclear Lake, Telephone Pioneer Shelter, and the Appalachian Trail train platform. Then, saying goodbye to New York and crossing into Connecticut, we called my father for a ride back to Hurley, our last night of comfort for a while.
We awoke early. That is, of course, to say I awoke early and engaged in the arduous task of rousing the others. Sweet Cheeks cursed my name, and waking her was reminiscent of The Exorcist. Books and Zagat decided to sleep late and catch up with us. Ironically, however, it took the rest of us so long to get moving that they were only about 20 minutes behind us.
As Sweet Cheeks and I began hiking, we encountered Backpacker, who had also stayed at the RPH Shelter. He asked us to stop, and we conversed for some time. Backpacker offered us words of encouragement. Then, he gave us trail mix and $20 each to help with our journey.
Our plan was to hike 27 miles, finishing New York and moving into Connecticut. That plan was quickly forgotten, though, when we reached Mountain Top Market in Stormville, a mere five miles from our starting point. Gilgamesh was discussing the possibility of him leaving the trail. And, with beer readily available, the drinking commenced.
Thankfully, Gilgamesh didn't turn into Poseidon, throwing fish and bottled water. However, both Gilgamesh and Zagat became quite inebriated, and I called my father for extraction. Nothing productive would come of the day.
We ventured to Hurley for showers and warm beds.
Zagat, Books, Sweet Cheeks, and I got off to a bit of a late start. We made our way down to the road and crossed the Lehigh River. At the northern end of the bridge, we happened upon AWOL, author of The A.T. Guide, who offered us a ride into Palmerton. And, though we weren't terribly tired or hungry, we accepted...both because we're bad hikers and because I thought it would be neat to get a ride from AWOL. It was rather ironic; only I recognized him, and I spend a great deal of time criticizing the inaccuracies in his book. (That's not to say ALDHA's book is better. Note my previous entry about it sending us miles in the wrong direction.)
In Palmerton, we ate at Joe's, devouring giant subs. Then, we ventured to Family Dollar; Sweet Cheeks and I needed wet wipes (aka freshie freshes) and toothpaste. Before departing, we stopped at Claude's for ice cream.
After hitching back to the trail, we ascended a steep scramble. The treacherous climb was well worth the effort, and we tarried about the summit, enjoying the perfect weather and amazing views. The pressure to push miles seemed to fade, as we enjoyed the afternoon.
At Little Rock Gap, we encountered a day hiker named Jessica, who gave us a lift into Danielsville to secure Zagat's mail drop. She returned us to the trail, and we hiked several miles to a campsite, retiring for the night.
