April 11, 2017 by Kylena

AT – VA South River Picnic Area to Big Meadows

Shenandoah National Park seemed a reasonable choice for leading a Trail Dames backpack. Fool’s Weekend was so apropo for this event! We had some new backpackers along and this route tested the limits of some. However, WHAT FUN!!!! Who better to test limits with but Trail Dames!

On our way! White blaze of the Appalachian Trail.

Clouds moved in and out all day. One moment we would be basking in the warmth of the sun and the next pulling on an extra layer to guard against the gray sky and stiff chilly breeze. We hiked about six miles on day 1, and that was quite enough for some of our group.

BoobOnARock skipping down the mountain 🙂

We all set up our tents around Bearfence Hut, then gathered around the firepit to eat dinner. AND OF COURSE, there was a fire! Kathleen & Overkill did a fantastic job getting a fire started with wet wood. Nice! Smoky at first, but worth it. 🙂

Trail Dames leaving Bearfence Hut – Morning of Day 2

As I sat in my tent, snuggled into my bag for the night, I realized I was exhausted. Leading a day hike is one thing, but taking responsibility for a group of women on a backpack, is leveling up in a huge way. Did I pass? I think so. Could I have been more supportive? Probably.

A welcome break at Hazeltop summit

So I sat there and thought about things that had happened during the day and found myself writing a silly little poem…which I will now share here…remember I am a math instructor not a poet. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Wind blowing

Fire crackling

Where did the miles go?

Water boiling

Teeth chattering

Listening to everyone’s woes.

Snap of a cracker

Crack of a twig

Make the tea

Take a swig

Feeling the warmth of my insides grow.

Hike On!

November 26, 2016 by Kylena

AT – VA Gravel Springs Gap to Compton Gap

Did you opt outside for Black Friday? I headed down to Shenandoah National Park to complete a section of AT with my friend Lola and her daughter.

Slipping out of my house sans Sidekick Pauli always takes a bit of logistical brilliance…so boots and pack were stowed in the car the night before. I absolutely avoided looking directly at her as I grabbed a grocery bag of food and headed out the door! No worries for the dog…she will go out with me on Saturday somewhere. 🙂

The ranger at the north entrance reminded me the gate would close at 5 pm. No problem, I will be long gone by then! You know unless tragedy occurs, which it won’t, but if it does, hmmm…nope, no tragedy today, period. I made my sacrifice to the Trail Gods on Wednesday.

What timing! I pulled into Compton Gap glancing into my rearview…and there was Lola right behind. Excellent! And it was now 50 degrees out. Yay! Weather cooperating. We left my car at Compton Gap, then drove down to our starting point at Gravel Springs Gap in Lola’s minivan.

Now the passenger, I took the opportunity to scan the woods for wildlife (okay, bears) without having to watch the road. I was pretty happy searching the woods until Lola and daughter saw a bobcat right off the road and I missed it! Ergh! The bobcat disappeared before I could see it. Life lesson here…don’t go looking so far beyond that you miss what is right in front of you!

Took about 10-15 minutes to reach Gravel Springs Gap and I think the weather had chilled a bit. However, I warmed up quickly as I headed up South Marshall Mountain, but not enough to shed a layer just yet. I was just starting to look for a place to break when a great overlook presented itself. Just off the trail, no extra effort required, thankfully!

BoobOnARock atop South Marshall Mountain feelin’ like a boss! 😀

Next up…North Marshall Mountain. The climb up went quickly and again, we were rewarded with an amazing view back to South Marshall. I love it when I can look back at where I have hiked as it is such a feeling of accomplishment!

Looking back at South Marshall Mountain from the overlook on North Marshall. Better than getting a ribbon!

Coming down North Marshall

The first two climbs of the day had not been as difficult as I had anticipated. The mist hovered and dipped down as we crossed over both South and North Marshall. The scent of late fall hung in the air and recent wind storms had littered the path with deep piles of leaves. *crunch, crunch, crunch* I felt like a kid again kicking in the leaves that came up past the top of my boots. I was brought sharply back to the present when I slipped a little on a rock beneath the leaves! The humility…let me NOT be the sacrifice to the Trail Gods today, thanks. 🙂 —the gate closes at 5 pm— haha!

Descending to Jenkins Gap. When the kid is caught just staring up into the sky, you know the hike is a win. I found myself doing the same many times. Beautiful day!

Reaching Jenkins Gap, it was time for the final climb up to Compton’s Peak , whew! I stopped a few times to catch my breath! Do mountains ever really get easier? I am familiar with this stretch of AT though. Once we passed the campsite on the left, I knew we were almost to the cut off to the view. This is a view you have to work for…and even though the trail post says 0.2 miles, it feels like more. Not a difficult walk down, just rocky, and when you are at the end of your hike, well…tempting to just pass it altogether. But don’t, worth the extra walk!

This pic I took of Lola on Compton Peak encapsulates the feeling of the entire hike.

We had the whole park to ourselves for most of the hike, or so it seemed. Descending to my car at Compton Gap, we now shared the trail with many others who had decided to take a hike on Black Friday. Welcome, and good-bye! Hike On!

September 25, 2016 by Kylena

AT – VA Ashby Gap to Manassas Gap

Connecting dots. I started this section last year around the same time, then fell trying to dodge a cicada killer bee. Cracked my knee, hobbled back to my car, and promised myself I would be back! Luckily, this time around I had some hiking pals with me, so no out and back silliness!

Look at the size of this tree that came down! Wow!

We met at the 725 trail head at Manassas Gap, then shuttled back to Ashby Gap to begin our trek. After crossing Route 50, we came face to face with a young deer. Go back in the woods, Bambi! Route 50 is a split highway with high speed traffic…no place for a deer!

The first mile or so, after meeting up with Bambi, was climbing. Worth it! We came out in the high meadows of Sky Meadows State Park which were in full bloom. Lovely!

The High Meadow

We cruised along through Sky Meadows, taking our first sit down break at the intersection of the North Ridge trail. And then, guess what??? An older Virginia gentleman, who had come up the North Ridge trail, recited a poem for us. Always something interesting happening along the AT. Haha! So cool! Definitely made my day! 🙂 I inserted a link to a video of his performance. 🙂

Poem on the Appalachian Trail

This hike had two memorable pieces for me and that was one of them. The other was the visit to Dick’s Dome shelter, a geodesic dome. It looked like an Icosahedron to me…yep, math girl here! I was delighted by the equilateral triangles and just being in the dome. 🙂 🙂

Dick’s Dome

0.4? 0.2? It was a ways down to the shelter…

Hiking Pal Lola’s Rockstar Daughter

IF I could somehow manage to spend a sabbatical researching mathematics along the AT…well, I’d be all set! Hike on!

June 7, 2016 by Kylena

May 28 Day 3 of Shenandoah Weekend!

Shhh…I did something totally against the rules today…sorry, sorry, sorry, it was a total blunder on my part, but no one saw us and we left NO trace.

More on that later. Let’s start at the beginning. Sidekick Pauli not wanting to get up!

At home she has hours of down time to kick back and relax. Here in the campground she was on constant alert. Add that to 7 up and down miles yesterday in the heat…and well, no smiles this morning.

Don’t worry, once the “Bully Biscuits” were out, ALL was good! 😉

I gave her some down time by heading south to Loft Mountain. She crashed in the back of the car and came out a new dog once we reached Loft Wayside. Even so, I figured an easier day of hiking wouldn’t be a bad thing.

It looked like a pretty nice hike could be had by taking the Frazier Discovery Trail up to the AT, then loop around Loft. Straight uphill, so much for taking it easy! We found a spring of nice, cool water, which Pauli immediately claimed for the next few minutes lapping furiously.

The Frazier Discovery Trail has some pretty cool rocks along it, but I wondered what else I was to possibly discover. Mostly wooded, I continued to slog uphill. It was already hot and it was only 8:30 AM!

Reaching the AT, I found an awesome outcropping where we took a short break before continuing along the AT. Short because I could feel myself getting skin cancer out there on the rocks. Seriously. It.Was.Hot. (and super sunny)

Summit Smooches are a Sidekick Pauli specialty!

The loop around Loft Mountain on the AT ended at the Amphitheater. At which point I met up with a woman I had previously passed on the trail. She was camping at Loft and wanted to do the Loop, but she couldn’t take her dog on Frazier Discovery Trail since DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED!!! “Oh crap!” I exclaimed, “I just came up that way!” Now, for most people, maybe they wouldn’t care that they had just done something like TAKE THEIR DOG IN A PLACE SHE WASN’T ALLOWED…but I felt really, really, guilty! But there was no sign. I looked when I went back down the hill, because, seriously, it bugged me. There was a sign for “no bicycles” but nothing about no dogs. I can say, though, that my dog was on leash AND I cleaned up after her…left NO trace! But now that I know, well, I won’t do it again.

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Back at the campsite, the neighboring campers came over and warned me about a deer that is especially aggressive towards dogs. Apparently, this is the deer who has been stashing her baby fawn in the campground area. I happened upon this fawn yesterday over by the Big Meadow picnic grounds. I got a picture with a zoom!

Anyway, good for the deer! This place had become a cluster…and so many people had dogs off leash without any kind of voice control. ergh…

When I was a kid at camp, one of the activities we did was to close our eyes and just listen, making note of the sounds heard. I closed my eyes…wind in the trees, families conversing, buzzing, birdsong, rangers beeping at people out on the main road, motorcycles, Pauli turning over in the grass, and MusicMan’s radio…Hike On!

June 4, 2016 by Kylena

May 27 Day 2 of Shenandoah Weekend!

Appalachian Trail Day: Pinnacle Picnic Grounds to Mary’s Rock

5:30 am, why is it that I cannot sleep in???

Put some water on to heat for tea with my little Esbit stove, then attended to Sidekick Pauli. She refuses to eat plain kibble when we camp. Don’t worry, I spiced it up with some doggie yum. 🙂

Do you spoil your dog much?

Headed out to Pinnacle Picnic Grounds to hike the section of the AT to Mary’s Rock (and back). Full disclosure here…I didn’t want to run into any bears in the woods with Sidekick Pauli. I didn’t know how she would react. So part of my choosing this hike is because it is up on a ridge, and I figured the bears would be down low munching up all the green stuff they could find.

Headed to Mary’s Rock (and back)

Even so, setting off down the trail at just after 7 am, I was verbally pointing out all the sights to Sidekick Pauli! “Oh, look at that flower! Did you see the fog hanging in the top of that tree?” hahahaaaa …and so on!

We didn’t run into any bears along the trail, thank goodness! Although, after the hut, there was bear scat. That sent me, again, into Chatty Kathy mode for awhile.

Looking north towards Mary’s Rock from the Pinnacle

This section of the AT has some beautiful views. It also has some nice ups and downs! The day felt much warmer than it was as we rolled along the ridge towards Mary’s Rock. However, I am marking this section as one to come back and do in the fall. It would be absolutely stunning with the fall colors.

Just so we are clear that this is the AT

At Mary’s Rock

Sidekick Pauli had a delightful time meeting everyone on the trail EXCEPT stupid people with dogs. There is a leash law for a reason people. And don’t look at me like my dog is the problem!!!

Sidekick Pauli at Mary’s Rock

Anyway, no reason to get too hot under the collar because we, well I, was already sweating buckets by the time we had hiked back to Pinnacle Picnic Grounds. I was so hot, I literally soaked my head down before driving back to Big Meadows. Ahhhhh refreshing!

So another micro-section of the AT completed! Hike on!

March 8, 2016 by Kylena

Not Quite Spring, Not Quite Winter! A Stroll in Shenandoah NP

Cruising along Skyline Drive it occurred to me that maybe this hike wasn’t going to be the hike I had conjured up in my mind yesterday. At that time, I sat on the edge of my bed, maps spread out around me and Sidekick Pauli sprawled beside me catching rays from the afternoon sun.

Now I found myself facing mountains that still showed vestiges of winter. I pulled over no less than three times along the drive just to look, gaze in wonderment, lost in the beauty of Shenandoah. I decided we would hike where the snow still lingered.

I want to go there! Right there, on top of that snowy mountain!

I had been headed to Elkwallow Wayside, but stopped short when I got to Overall Run Falls trail head. Yes! We ARE STOPPING RIGHT HERE!!! The trees were all sporting a fresh layer of rime and the trail was perfect with about an inch and a half of dry snow. Oh, it was gorgeous! Like *gasp* gorgeous!

Not the best pic…but the only good pic of the rime on the trees!

I took a look at the map and started down the AT to Elkwallow, I would decide whether to backtrack or loop once I got there. Sidekick Pauli was hiking with me today and is still sporting a pretty good scar down her neck…so it just depended on how she was doing when we got to Elkwallow.

Oh boy! Into the woods!

The AT to Elkwallow Wayside is a fairly moderate hike with a view that was nice! Sidekick Pauli scrambled up the rocks and stared into the distance with satisfaction. Oh, she was definitely happy to be back on the trail! This was our only overlook, although, there were nice forest views along the way. We passed over Skyline Drive on the AT, then headed slightly up before passing the PATC Range View cabin and descending to Elkwallow Wayside.

At Elkwallow, we took a detour down to the picnic area…for a pit stop. While I was, um, otherwise engaged a family had driven up to also use the bathroom. Apparently, this was the only bathroom open in the area. When Sidekick Pauli and I exited the bathroom they just lost it. They were gabbing away in a language not understood by me. They were simply in fits!! I didn’t get it, what the heck, haven’t they seen something like this before??? I heard their laughter and felt their pointing until we disappeared into the woods. Haha! Glad I could add something to their Shenandoah memory!! 😀

Sidekick Pauli was loving it! I decided to loop down to Matthews Arm campground, then climb back up to the AT via the Traces & Tuscarora Overall Run Trails. The weather had warmed a bit and there was no snow on the Elkwallow Trail down to the campground. A nice picnic on a damp log awaited us! Sidekick Pauli gobbled down several of Queen V’s home made doggie treats!! I made do with a PB&J. 🙂

I didn’t make it … but I didn’t destroy it either. I enjoyed the oddity of it as I made my way down the Elkwallow Trail.

The birds were rocking out while we sat there in the middle of the otherwise quiet woods. Lovely to listen to but my butt was getting wet…time to move!

YAY! we don’t have to rock hop across the creek. 🙂 I think Sidekick Pauli is disappointed…

Soon after crossing the bridge we reached Matthews Arm campground. We found the Traces Trail after crossing the parking lot. This trail starts to climb, and the climb goes on, and on. Maybe it was because I left this piece of trail for last…but man, oh man, that climb! Between 800 and 1000 feet! To say I was happy to reach the snow line would be an understatement! Whew!!

Ahhh, yes! Finally! Jees…why did that hill feel so long? Oh, 800 feet of slippy, slippy…got it!

I reached the car and began getting ready for the drive home. Took off the layers, traded out the hiking boots for sandals, did a few not helpful stretches, grabbed the cheezits…

While storing my bag, boots, and clothes in the back of the car, a ranger pulled up. “Hey, just wanted to let you know there is some weather coming in overnight so we are going to be closing Skyline Drive.”

No problem, ranger! We are ready to go! Hike on!

July 2, 2015 by Kylena

AT – PA Wind Gap to Delaware Water Gap (then to parking in NJ) ~18 miles

Day 7: June 26, 2015 Last day!

Snuggled in my sleeping bag in Stempa’s garage I said out loud, “I just had a sadistic thought.” Of course, Google and CanDo insisted I share. “Well, if it is going to rain on Saturday, then why don’t we just hike through to Delaware Water Gap tomorrow? It’s only 16 miles.” Google had been thinking the same thing and soon CanDo was in agreement.

So off we went to Wind Gap, again slack packing…Delaware Water Gap or Bust!

Of course, there was a climb coming out of Wind Gap and it seemed to go on for a long time! As usual, once on top it was the usual rocky and we were able to move pretty quickly along the ridge.

We DID NOT bypass the rocks! It was such a gorgeous day to be on the trail and we wanted to go up and see the view!

Our first landmark was Wolf Rocks about seven miles north of Wind Gap. So glad we did not take the bypass as the weather was great, the sky was blue and the Rhododendron was in bloom. Just gorgeous!

Up on Wolf Rocks

Rhododendron!!

Google wondered if we would have thought these rocks were as easy if we would have had to climb over them on day one or two. Regardless, they were flat and didn’t tip over! Beautiful walking across them!

CanDo in the thicket…or the thick of it!

Beautiful Day for a long hike!

One rock at a time! Google and BoobOnARock coming down from Wolf Rocks.

Coming down off the rocks was slow-ish…but still not too daunting. So off to Kirkridge we went!

Woohoo! Props to us, we made Kirkridge by 12:30 pm!

This was a personal challenge day for me and I felt good about progress so far and that my body actually felt good. My face showed my determination to finish this off.

Determined!

Why I wanted to get done, I am not sure. Maybe because seeing that little Bongo on the trail the day before made me miss my own Sidekick Pauli and the rest of the pack. Whatever, I was on my way and not going to be denied Delaware Water Gap today. 🙂

A few more rocks, a fire road walk that seemed to go on forever, then the descent into the Gap was all that was left.

Regular Rocky Trail

Google

A lot of Fire Road Walking prior to Mount Mimsi

A lot of Fire Road Walking prior to Mount Minsi

The best…like a serpent coming up out of the ground! Across the Gap.

Of course we got ice cream! How do you think we made it 18 miles? 🙂

It was a great week of challenges met!!

I wish I could say I was finished with the AT in PA, but I need about ten measly, little miles between Swatara Gap and 501. No problem…I will be back PA when my ankles are again their normal size! 🙂

Enjoy the Flipogram and Hike on!!!!

July 2, 2015 by Kylena

AT – PA Smith Gap to Wind Gap ~8 miles

Day 6: June 25, 2015 My Dad’s Birthday

We hiked this section starting at Wind Gap and hiking south to Smith Gap. There were more thunderstorms in the forecast, so we agreed to another night in Stempa’s garage.

I thought about my Dad today as I hiked backwards to Smith Gap. He has Alzheimer’s and his mind is not what it used to be. My moving south, instead of north, confused me at times and I wondered if my Dad could relate. We ran into hikers that had passed us yesterday. My Dad runs into thoughts daily that have passed him over the years. Is it now, or is it then? Have the years passed since meeting you, or am I meeting you for the first time? I hate what is happening to my Dad. I hate what is happening to my Mom as she experiences my Dad’s erratic behavior. I hate that I cannot help my sister and brother who are taking on the brunt of the responsibility for making decisions for my Mom and Dad out there in Hoosierland. I hope someone reminds my Dad that it is his birthday as I hike down this trail backwards.

***************************************************************************************************

The first climb going south out of Wind Gap is a climb, but not one that deserves much attention. Here are a few things that stuck like glue in my memory of our hike from North to South.

CanDo at Hahn’s Lookout

1) There was a negative guy wearing snake guards who I never met but I knew him intimately through the stories of other hikers. My eyes scanned the trail and shelters for this guy all day long…never ran into him! My takeaway…Be positive, Be polite, Be helpful if possible, and for God’s sake, smile at people on the trail…they are spreading stories about you the minute they run into another hiker!

No sign of Snake Guard Guy.

2) A thru-hiker at the shelter carried avocados with him. He put a whole avocado on a bagel, making an impossibly huge, awkward sandwich that I thought he would never be able to fit in his mouth…um, yeah, I was wrong! As impressive as that was though, it was his care in packing out the pitts that stole my heart. ❤ ❤ 🙂 🙂 Well, that, and when his friend got to the shelter, he insisted on the friend relaxing while he went the half mile down to the third spring (the only one with water) to refill all of their water bottles. My takeaway…Good friends are hard to find and once you have them make sure to continue to nurture that relationship.

Breaktime at Leroy Smith Shelter with the Bagel & Avocado eating thru hiker. 🙂

3) There was a trailer park across the road from the Wind Gap parking area, and Stempa was surprised none were trying to help these hikers who were out of water. My takeaway…People may not be able to help a hiker if they are in a position where they are having trouble just keeping their lives together. Or People may just not want to help … or may not know they can help. They may see a hiker and think “Wow! that guy must have a great life if he can just come out here and go for a long hike.”

It’s a great life being able to buzz around on the trail! Water or no Water, part of the fun is figuring it out! 🙂

4) Met another section hiker who, just by coincidence, was waiting at Smith Gap in her car when we arrived. She gave us a ride back to Stempa’s, without a second thought! We exchanged contact info…I plan to help her with the Maryland section, shuttles and such. My takeaway…never shy away from the opportunity to build your network of hiking friends!

An Unexpected Ride to Stempa’s smashed into the back of an SUV. 🙂

5) Met Bongo! A boston terrier hiking the trail with her humans. Adorable! You can follow Bongo’s journey through her human’s journal.

Bongo!!! Human’s admitted that she slackpacks occasionally. Love this little cutie!

It was a fun hike, but lacking the drama of climbing out of Lehigh Gap! But what I know for sure is this: Sometimes the trail itself does not excite, but the people are ALWAYS interesting! 🙂

Delaware Water Gap or Bust…Hike On!

July 1, 2015 by Kylena

AT – PA Lehigh Gap to Smith Gap ~12 miles

Day 5: June 24, 2015

Okay. Yes. Um. I’m ready? Maybe. Okay. Yeah. Let’s Go!

The most anticipated day on this section. I had Googled it, YouTubed it, and sufficiently freaked myself over it! Then I pronounced we needed to slack pack our way up Lehigh Gap. I got no argument from Google or CanDo. Hmmm. What a surprise. 🙂

I had also found out that the water sources were pretty much nonexistent on the ridge between Lehigh Gap and Kirkridge Shelter (where there is a spigot!). So why not also stash water at Little Gap in CanDo’s car. This would make our packs even lighter! I still carried a liter and a half plus Gatorade…but it felt super light with everything else stashed at Little Gap!

So here we go!

Car is locked, let’s go!

Climbing was steeply uphill through the woods at first. No problem!

When I saw we were coming out of the tunnel of foliage, I knew the hike was about to get real. My heart started fluttering…argh! too many darn YouTube Videos!!

The First Look Down

Not so bad…except the blazes go straight up after this. 🙂

I took a deep breath and just told myself “put one foot in front of the other. This is just another mountain, just another pile of rocks, I got this!” So I climbed along the exposed ledge. No problems. Doing good! Oh FRICK… WHAT THE HELL??? I have to go where???

I had a “come to Jesus” moment when I got to a place that really pulled on everything I got to get up on the next level of rocks!!! It was like this: My feet were teetering on a thin little ledge and my arms were fully extended, fingers curled into notches that were barely more than slight indentations in the rock face. I looked down…oh, absolutely NOT going back down! I looked up and like a mantra repeated the “F” word several times in a row. I told myself there is no room to be self conscious about how I get this done. So I hurled myself up hissing the “F” word, pulled with my arms inhaling the “F” word. I was pushing like crazy with my legs, my feet flailing and scraping the rock face..more “F” word mantra with occasional short grunts. Cripes, it felt like child birth!!! Pain in a different place, but still! But I had that baby, yes, I did!

My “Come to Jesus” Moment

No thinking, Just Climbing! (Thanks Google for the pic!)

Google & BoobOnARock
Making our way UP!

Crawling over the top…Not a pretty picture, but major concentration going on here. Climb up, throw poles, climb to poles, throw them again…

I continued to cleave to that mountain until I crossed over the top of it and had a nice sit down by the FLAG…God Bless Freaking America…where you are free to kill yourself on any mountain you want! Whew!!!

I made it!! Happy Day! This is so cool up here! 🙂 (Thanks CanDo for the pic)

We made it to the top in an hour and a half, unbelievable…we thought it would take much longer. For sure, wanting to get off those crazy rocks is a mighty motivator! 🙂

Once at the top, the walking is easy and the views are absolutely gorgeous. I went between feeling like Maria in Sound of Music, to Heidi in …well, Heidi. Wildflowers, cool temps and great breeze. It almost felt like hiking in New Hampshire. 🙂 🙂

Google on the ridge

Superfund Sign
To find out more about Palmerton & Environmental Travesty caused by Zinc Smelting you can access the Lehigh Gap Nature Center Site
http://lgnc.org/conservation

On the approach to Little Gap, Google stopped to talk to the Ridgerunner about the water situation. We were all mulling over different plans in our heads, but none of us was talking out loud about anything yet…just thinking. The Ridgerunner mentioned John Stempa, who we knew from the FB section hiker page. Google texted a hiker friend for his number…then we packed up our packs, refilled on water, WATER…like I was now carrying my full pack and nearly 5, FIVE, liters of WATER. Camel I am NOT!!

Up we climbed out of Little Gap, slowly. Very slowly up a rock jumble hill. Stepping oh, so carefully, I felt the swing of that water and tried my best to stay ramrod straight!

Arrived at Delps Trail and campsite at 4:30 pm. CanDo headed for the woods, while Google and I dumped our packs and started talking. The water situation. We had enough for tonight, but the spring at Delps was dry, so what about tomorrow?

Taking a break!

Nice Campsite, but no water!

We went back and forth. Google checked her phone and saw that her friend had provided Stempa’s number. She puts in a call, maybe he can give more info on the water situation.

John Stempa did more than that! What a guy! He enticed us to hike another 2.7 miles to Smith Gap by offering us showers, water, dinner and his garage to sleep in! We took the bait and hiked that last 2.7 like a boss (after ditching most of the water we had struggled to carry for the last 5 miles).

Dinner at the Kunkletown Pub with John Stempa. 🙂

If you are ever hiking in the area, look him up…a Trail Legend! $10 to stay at his place, extra for dinner at Kunkletown Pub!

Delaware Water Gap or Bust…Hike On!

June 29, 2015 by Kylena

AT – PA Eckville Shelter to New Tripoli Campsite 13.3 miles

Day 3: June 22, 2015

Well, after an evening of thru hiker tales, including one about a hiker who took part in “hike naked” day, I conked out before it got dark in the Eckville Shelter!

Up early, ate my granola bars, and was ready to go! I swore off oatmeal after the last backpack. Why? I mean it is so good for me! It’s gross. It’s mushy. I have never liked oatmeal and do not see any reason I should eat that crap on the trail…unless it is cold out…then I suffer just so I can have something warm to eat. But I am working on an alternative to that also… 🙂

Watched several hikers leave as I sat at the picnic table and waited for Google and CanDo. Wondered for a moment if they would be offended if I just started hiking. But then I decided it was probably better to stick together since I didn’t want to do anything crazy without someone to spot me!

After getting back on the trail it resumed the regular rockiness. After a bridge crossing, the trail ascends steeply to the ridge. Nothing like a climb to get you warmed up in the morning!

Cute little bridge crossing this morning.

After passing the side trail to Hawk Mountain it is just another mile slightly uphill to Dan’s Pulpit. I was looking forward to this as it would give a view back to the Pinnacle…and I love to be able to look back at where I hiked before. It was blessedly sunny today, which allowed for a good view at Dan’s Pulpit.

Dan’s Pulpit looking at the Pinnacle

Pennsylvania raised its rocky head afterwards! Lots of fun rock jumbles meant tedious walking. Nothing like stepping on a rock that decides to dance with you! Add to that rising temperatures…whew. Every once in a while a great breeze would catch me unaware and I would just be like “Yesssssss!” The heat and the rocks had us slowing down a bit and I was happy to pull into the Allentown Shelter for a break and lunch. 🙂

Passed the Tri-County Corner

Yay! the Shelter at 7.4 miles.

Lunch!

I chugged my Gatorade, took off my shoes and rubbed my feet! These rocks were getting to be serious business. But after the shelter…smooth sailing. We got to Rt. 301 relatively quickly. It was flat fire roads again with beautiful ferns lining the path. Overhead, the blue skies and puffy white clouds went on forever. A gorgeous, hot day!

Nice trail after the shelter!

We found the turn off for New Tripoli Campsite without any drama…but when we started to go down steeply I was momentarily discouraged. Down, down, down. It seemed like forever! It was totally worth it. Great campsite with access to a very nice water source, a stream. How delightful to soak my feet in the stream after a hard day hiking. 🙂

Awwwwwww…..nice and cold!

It was a long day and when I climbed into my bag I fell asleep almost immediately. Tomorrow – the big day, Knife Edge and Bake Oven Knob. *snore* ZZZZzzzzzzz

Delaware Water Gap or Bust…Hike on!

Girl Gone Hiking

One step, then one step more

Tag Archives: section hiker

AT – VA South River Picnic Area to Big Meadows

AT – VA Gravel Springs Gap to Compton Gap

AT – VA Ashby Gap to Manassas Gap

May 28 Day 3 of Shenandoah Weekend!

May 27 Day 2 of Shenandoah Weekend!

Not Quite Spring, Not Quite Winter! A Stroll in Shenandoah NP

AT – PA Wind Gap to Delaware Water Gap (then to parking in NJ) ~18 miles

AT – PA Smith Gap to Wind Gap ~8 miles

AT – PA Lehigh Gap to Smith Gap ~12 miles

AT – PA Eckville Shelter to New Tripoli Campsite 13.3 miles

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