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.
The washing machine at the Microtel was out of order, and despite the word of the front desk staff that it would be serviced by this morning, it remained defunct. The staff did direct us to a laundromat a mere half hour walk away, but that was about as helpful as they were compelled to be. The staff refused to launder our clothes in the non-guest machines and explained that they couldn't shuttle us...even though they had just shuttled another hiker back to the trail. Zagat, Books, Sweet Cheeks, and I checked out of the less-than-helpful establishment. And, Sweet Cheeks and I ventured off to the laundromat in a galaxy far, far away, while Zagat and Books visited Cabela's.
At the laundromat, I met Abe's mother. Though I'd never met Abe, we talked for some time, and she told me of Abe's unfortunate encounter with Lyme's disease. He had apparently hiked into Port Clinton with a 105° fever and was taking some time off the trail to recuperate. She offered us a ride back to the trail, whenever we were ready.
After completing the laundry, we called Rochelle, Abe's mother; she collect the four of us and delivered us to the Port Clinton post office. I secured a mail drop, as we discussed our plans for the remainder of the day. We wanted lunch, but nothing was open in Port Clinton. As such, we found a trail angel, Fred, who drove us back into Hamburg.
We explored Cabela's and found that it didn't really cater to hikers, more to outdoor sports. The gear tended to be rather low end, as well. We ate dinner at Logan's Roadhouse and attempted to hitch back into Port Clinton. (But again...this is Pennsylvania, so it came as no surprise when no one would pick us up.) After our attempts at hitchhiking failed, we called Fred, who returned us to Port Clinton.
Fred informed us of free tenting at the local park, and we all decided that it was much too late to hike out. After relaxing around a blazing fire, we all retired for the night.
Zagat and Books broke camp early, leaving before me and Sweet Cheeks had even exited the tent. Sweet Cheeks and I took our time and didn't begin hiking until well after midday. It was a slow, lazy day; we plodded along, enjoying the trail, the weather, and one another's company. Along the trail, we met Cool Shoes, a section hiker and teacher from Baltimore, MD.
When we reached PA 72, we attempted to hitch into Lickdale. Though it's near impossible to find a ride in Pennsylvania, a gentleman in a truck picked us up. He gave us a lift to a nearby RV campground, and we figured that closer to town was better than nothing. However, it wasn't until he'd dropped us off that we realized the ALDHA companion was wrong; it directed us to go east, but Lickdale was actually west.
Unable to hitch another ride, we were forced to walk several miles back to where we had started. Sweet Cheeks and I gave up on the idea of getting into town, as it was well after sundown. We made camp near the road and called it a day.
Around 9:30 AM, Jeannette and Jamie, Sweet Cheek's cousin and her cousin's husband, met us at the Comfort Inn. After arriving at the trailhead, we said goodbye to Tammy and Dan, Zagat's mother and his mother's fiance, and began hiking northbound with Jeannette. Jamie took our packs and drove about nine miles north, walking southbound to meet us.
We said goodbye to Jeannette and Jamie, upon reaching their car, and slack-packed another 14 miles to Hamburg, PA, where our packs were awaiting our arrival at the Microtel.
When we awoke, Sweet Cheek's face was rather swollen, apparently from a bee sting that she'd suffered. I gave her an antihistamine tablet and tried to allay her fears, but she was convinced that she was dying. Well...maybe it wasn't that serious (or rather that's what she says now).
Sweet Cheeks and I began our day, bound for Pine Grove to meet up with Zagat and Books. Shortly after breaking camp, we came upon Shark, who walked with us to the trailhead after the Route 81 underpass. Waiting at the trailhead was Shark's wife, Thimble. The two were caretakers of the 501 Shelter, and they asked us if we'd like to slack-pack in exchange for doing some trail maintenance.
Sweet Cheeks and I agreed to the proposition and started down the trail, less our packs and a pair of shears in my hand. The ten-mile stretch actually took us quite a while to hike, longer than it would have with full packs; the trail maintenance was extensive. There was one section in particular that was almost impassable, overgrown with all manner of thorned bushes. We did our best to clear the path and finally arrived at the 501 Shelter.
We collected our packs, and Shark gave us a lift into Pine Grove. Then, after devouring some Arby's, we made our way to the Comfort Inn to meet Zagat and Books. Zagat introduced us to Tammy and Dan, his mother and his mother's fiance, who were visiting. We ordered pizza and caroused in the hotel's lobby, before retiring for the evening.
Though I was suffering a bit of a hangover, I pulled myself together and began hiking around 8:30 AM. Shortly thereafter, I encountered another black bear in the middle of the trail. I thought that I'd snap a photo with my phone, but the bear was apparently averse to having its picture taken. It charged toward me, and I found myself backpedaling, waving my trekking poles and singing Uke's bear deterrent song:
"Go away, bear. I ain't got time for you, bear."
I hitched a ride into Luray, intent upon securing a mail drop, eating lunch, and returning directly to the trail. However, as I sat outside Dollar General, G Money (aka Sweet Cheeks) and Gandolf walked by me. I called to them and waved. Then, the two joined me, and we sat, conversing, for a few hours.
As it grew late in the day, the three of us decided to split a room at the Best Western in Luray. Gandolf and I were particularly pleased that the hotel had On Demand...for free. Beers in hand, we watched Game of Thrones until the wee hours of the morning.
This morning, I was the last to rise, an odd occurrence. We broke camp and rode with Miss Janet to a diner called Weasie's. Then, after a hearty breakfast, we all headed to the outfitter.
Uncle Buck and Stretch prepared their kayaks and left our company at the outfitter, as they were headed to aqua-blaze Shenandoah. It was difficult to see Stretch leaving the group; I've grown quite fond of her company. Less the two, Miss Janet drove the rest of us to the trailhead, where we began hiking.
As the day progressed, I fell behind Siren, Odie, and Jungle Jim. My ankle and arch were sore, and I didn't want to risk further injury. Roughly eight miles from the trailhead, I came upon a suitable campsite and stopped for the day.
G Money (aka Sweet Cheeks) and I awoke rather early and made our way back to the wayside. We ate breakfast and washed in the bathroom. Tarrying a bit, we socialized with other hikers about the events of the previous night, particularly the behavior of the park ranger. Although I didn't partake, Memphis made man-mosas (beer and orange juice), and they seemed rather interesting. Eventually, we made our way back to the trail.
After hiking for some time , we met Coonskin and his girlfriend, Patch. Coonskin was a SoBo hiker in 2012, and today was Patch's first experience with hiking. We all sat for a while, chatting and exchanging stories. Then, we made our way to Gravel Springs Hut.
At Gravel Springs Hut, we encountered the same ridge runner from our experience at Rock Spring Hut. She was cordial and exchanged pleasantries with us, but shortly after she departed, two park SUVs descended the fire road. Three rangers exited the vehicles, clutching their guns. Sufficed to say, it was rather unnerving, as we did not know why they were there.
The rangers surrounded us, and I immediately recognized one from the night before. Clearly, he also recognized me, as well, because he addressed me first. Apparently, the ridge runner had caught another hiker, Step Up, bathing naked in a stream. The rangers spoke with him, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were all in some sort of trouble. The rangers remained around us, and as they spoke with Step Up, I got the impression that we were all being detained.
Before their departure, the rangers performed a permit check. And, as Stuart Curtain, the overly officious ranger from the previous night, walked away I could hear him ask another ranger, "Did you see anything else?"
Convinced that the park had become a rather unfriendly environment, at least for thru-hikers, we all resolved to exit Shenandoah by nightfall. G Money (aka Sweet Cheeks) and I made camp near the Tom Floyd Wayside, actually a shelter and just outside the park boundary.
