September 14, 2005 - Rutherford Shelter to Gren Anderson Shelter
I left the shelter by 6:30 a.m. after a quick breakfast. I stopped by the nice spring on the way back up to the ridge on
a pretty morning. I took a break at Mashipacong Shelter. This was the shelter where there was a bear incident
earlier in the spring. The bear was shot. The hiker who had the problem had food in his sleeping bag. They should
have shot the hiker. I make no excuses for my thoughts, sorry. There is no water at this shelter and the really nice
big outhouse is locked! I left after finding some water near the shelter on a side trail and hiked on without any
energy. I stopped by the pavilion at Sunrise Mountain and took a long break here. I remember this nice pretty spot
from my first thru-hike. I just sat back and looked at the wooden timbers and thought of all the work that went into the
building of this fine structure. It is a 360 degree vista here too. It is a no camp area but many a thru-hiker has
overlooked that rule here! I got to the shelter, Gren Anderson and found no water in the spring. This was not good
because I went all day without any water in springs and I need it now that I am at camp. I went to nearby road and
under the road there was a little seepage from the road bank. The puddle was clean looking and the frogs had it for
their last stand. I apologized to them but I told the 100 frogs I needed about 3 quarts to get by and that I would not
eat them! I filtered this water! Before getting to the shelter up on the ride I noticed all of the plant life beginning to
die from the dryness. This area is a tender box. I saw no one today while hiking or at the shelter all day. It was hotter
than usual here today and in the night it was stagnant. At midnight a breeze came up and it rained like hell for an
hour. I got up and stripped down and took a shower under the overhang. I then gathered some extra water off the
roof and climbed back into the sleeping bag when I dried off and slept well on a cooling evening. This rain seemed
to be from a thunderstorm but there is a leftover hurricane around so I don’t know if it will rain tomorrow or not. This
is the first night in many that the bugs are not bugging me. I am hungry at 1 a.m. and my food is at the bear box 150
feet away!
Sept. 15-2005 - Gren Anderson Shelter to Blue Mountain Lake Road
I was up and out by 7a.m. I hiked three miles into Culver’s Gap U.S. 206 and called Virginia and walked up to a bar
and got a sandwich for a second breakfast. I got my water bottles filled there too. The hurricane hasn’t come ashore
in North Carolina yet. I will have to keep a close eye on it in the coming days. I walked by the Worthington Bakery
where I bought some pastries in 1981. It is closed now but is said to reopen soon. I left to hike on and saw a note left
by someone to Super Feet. He was on trail Journals and someone had invited him home for overnight when he
came through here. He must be behind me. I stopped by Brink Road Shelter and got some water from a still flowing
spring and decided to go on and camp out tonight. I ended up doing 14 miles today and don’t feel too bad. The trail
is rocky but there is not a lot of elevation change for a change. I am at a spectacular camp spot past Blue Mountain
Lakes Road. I am overlooking a valley below with lush green grass 150 off the trail down an old driveway. This area
was bought by the National Park Service many years ago and in 1981 there were still houses all around as I hiked
through here. I picked up a large piece of plastic today in case it rains on me after I sent my tent home. A storm is
brewing and I am out in a vulnerable area if a storm comes. I decided to move to a safer spot before the storm gets
here. Just before I got up I heard a sound on the gravel behind me. I turned around and a big buck was standing
looking at me. He turned around and was like a cat on a slippery floor. He could not get going on the gravel and was
frantic trying! I laughed at the deer. He disappeared quickly.
September 16, 2005 - Camp spot to Delaware Water Gap Hostel
Well a lot has happened in the last 24 hours. ½ hour after I saw the big buck I did move on up the trail for a safer
spot because the wind and thunder was coming fast. I moved ¼ mile farther on the opposite side of ridge. I got
under the plastic and 15 minutes all hell broke loose. I am sure glad I got the plastic. It kept me 90 percent dry
through the night. After a while I was able to sleep out from under the plastic and got a little sleep on a difficult night
to say the least. At 4:00a.m. the rain broke loose again and rained very hard for 2 hours. I packed up after the main
rain stopped and headed out in the dark. The trail was easy to follow for a while because it was on a old road. I got
lost once in the darkness because of the trail not marked well but after a bit I was fine to go on. I kept moving and
took a long break at Sunfish Pond. This is a very nice place to take a break. For the life of me I don’t understand
why you can’t camp near here. I ate ramin noodles and something that used to slither on the ground for lunch and it
was very good. I hiked down off the ridge and it took me ½ hour to cross the I-80 bridge over the Delaware River
and then into the Water Gap. It had been a long time since I was here last and I walked over to the hostel and
stashed my pack and took a shower and went to nearby pizza lace and had a large one! I had to walk over to the
interstate to use the phone at a gas station and I bought some groceries and some much needed coffee. I got a lot
of the food I needed out of the hiker box. I will send a few things home tomorrow at the post office. It is 8 p.m. and
am sitting in an easy chair and listening to the radio. Life’s simple pleasures! This place hasn’t changed much in 24
years. It is simple but very nice. You cook outside and everything else you need is here. I spent the night in this
nice big place alone. I walked up behind to the open air porch and then to the shelter which was built and looked at
it. I got some Coleman fuel here too. I found some J.B. Weld to glue my cheap boots back together and it seems to
work well. Rain and rocks are hard on your boots.
September 17, 2005 -Delaware Water Gap to Kirkridge Shelter
I was up at 5:00 a.m. and had coffee and oatmeal for breakfast and hung around and read a book until 8 a.m. I went
to the post office and found out it did not open till ½ hour later. I walked back to the diner across from the Hostel and
had a big breakfast. I had visited this place the first time and it was a bar too. I met Frank McGuire here for the first
time. He gave me my Gofer it T-shirt. I went back to the post office and sent home some unwanted stuff, came back
to the hostel and off I went. My clothes had dried and I was clean and full and town had serviced me completely so I
was ready to go. After the initial big climb the hike was easy to the shelter 4 miles away. I met a couple out hunting
for a friend who had a cell phone and had called to proclaim he was going to commit suicide. The local police was
hunting for him and I never heard weather or not they found him and in what condition he was in. I made it to the
shelter and had been here an hour when three men from Baltimore came in to stay. One was a dentist and the other
two were brothers. They hike together every chance they get and loved the trail just like most people on the trail.
They shared their great food with me. I had two hot dogs and later they cooked hamburgers for me. I love trail
magic! They pitched tents and I had the shelter to myself. This shelter is close to a retreat where we were able to
get water from a hose bib. This was here in 1981 also. Thank you.
September 18, 2005 - Kirkridge Shelter to Leroy A. Smith Shelter
I have been gone one month today. I left the shelter after thanking the Baltimore three and hiked down to 191, Fox
Gap. There were search parties and dogs getting ready for another day of searching. I had a hard day with the
rocks all day. I met the men I camped with last night at Wind Gap. They gave me some water so I could stay on the
trail. I stopped south of the Gap and cooked up some dinner. I am short on lunches but have a lot of dinners. I just
have to stop and cook them. I have all the time in the world! I will go into Palmerton Pa. tomorrow. There is no water
for 10 miles tomorrow. I am with Pig Pen and Tuna tonight. Pig Pen started out hiking with The Tooth Ferry in Maine.
I met her in Mass. They like a fire as did Tooth Ferry and we had a nice one here. I am smoking my pipe and life is
good. The water here is good but a full ½ mile over the hill.
September 19, 2005 -Leroy A. Smith Shelter to Palmerton Jail House
I left the shelter at 7 a.m. with others still asleep. It was level hiking so far today as of 11 a.m. The rocks are
something else though. I have hiked 7.5 miles today so far and am now out of gas. I take many breaks and keep
moving. I have one spring coming up and may stay there and go into town tomorrow. I had to smoke a cigar to keep
the gnats away from me. They are really bad in this area. I continued on and never did find Metalica Spring. I then
had to hike on to Palmerton. There is no more water till town. Since there is no water I will have to go on in to town.
This next four miles were brutal on a hot day. It is a barren area from a zinc mine from years ago. It is coming back
now but for decades there has been no vegetation growing here. This was a super fund clean up site. I noticed a big
difference since I was here in 1981. The water in the area is still tainted in places. One thing for certain is that it didn’
t kill the rocks. There are plenty of them and many are sharp and hurt your feet. I feel sorry for hikers with tennis
shoes on. The decent down into Lehigh Gap was indescribable beautiful. You walk out to the end of ridge and drop
down steep rocks and big rocks a lot like the boulder field up on Katahdin. The trail went around this area in 1981
and followed the railroad grade down. There was still a climb but it was not as pretty or brutal as this. When I got to
the road I began to hitch into town. The President of the Allentown Hiking Club picked me up and took me to the Jail
Hostel where I checked in. This was here years ago and is about the same as before. I got groceries at the I.G.A.
where I got a free apple. I had a little problem getting travelers checks cashed but after a while did it. I went to a
Chinese restaurant and had beef with broccoli. I went back and repacked all of my new found food and hung out
and read at the hostel. I spent the evening at this place alone too. This building has a pay phone, soda machine,
basketball courts, showers, and 14 beds. They are nice people in this town. I did some laundry and came down to
boiler room where it is warm to hang up my laundry. I walked by some 17 year old fellows playing basketball and said
hi. They looked at me and did not say much. The boiler room which is right under the court is where I was a few
minutes later and I could here the boys talking. The one said I wonder who he was. Another said I don’t know, but he
looks like the unibomber!! I laughed and wondered if I had got that skinny?
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