Day 95
Allentown Hiking Club Shelter to Stealth Camp
Miles Hiked: 22.7
AT Milage: 1264.5
Today I got on trail at 8am. I woke up early and wrote the previous two days worth of blog postings to make sure I wouldn’t fall behind. I hiked with Pop Rocks and Flamingo all day and we had a steady pace going. The rocks were really big and they slowed us all down. We took a break on a group of rocks called knifes edge. This was when the day really stared heating up and we wanted to dry out our wet socks and shoes. After taking a break there, we found some trail magic that consisted of water, ice cold drinks, and snacks in coolers. We were so happy to have ice cold drinks because the heat was so crazy. I took a Capri sun and a cosmic Brownie. As per usual the boys chose the beer and packed one for the road.
After the trail magic we climbed bake oven Knob which also has huge rocks. I couldn’t touch my feet to the ground when I was climbing down from a big rock so I just had to let go and try to catch my balance. Well I lost my balance and ended up taking a big fall when my pack weight dragged me down backwards. I scraped up the back of my legs and bruised my ankle pretty badly. I also cracked my phone screen a little bit in the process. I was so hurt and upset for a little bit. I was scared my ankle was going to be sprained because it felt really weird. Eventually we took another break and I thought my ankle would be fine. I put on the gel I received in a care package on my feet and my now bruised up legs. It seems to help. We took another break at the shelter that would be the last place to get water for 18 more miles. I was so hot I just drenched my already wet shirt in the spring and tried to wring the sweat out. It felt like it helped me cool down some.
It felt like we were baking in the sun a day long. Pop rocks left flamingo and I to go into town and see a friend. Flamingo and I kept hiking. We crossed a river and headed up the mountain after Lehigh Gap. It was the hardest climb in PA. I had been looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time for days. Before I headed up the mountain I stashed my trekking poles on the back of my pack. I knew I would need my hands free to pull me up the rock face. I was a little nervous especially after my backwards tumble on bake knob earlier in the day. It was really hard especially in the heat but I had a good time climbing it.
The heat got up to ninety degrees today. I drank 7 liters of water and hiked through the heat of the day. Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the nineties with a heat index of one hundred and ten. I didn’t get to camp until it was dark out. I forgot to get out my head lamp so I used my phone flash light for the last two miles. It was really annoying. I set up camp almost right on a road because my best friends Nate and Teresa were coming to visit me, but they weren’t going to arrive until after midnight. They had a seven hour drive from Ohio! I camped by myself. Flamingo had to keep hiking because he had a package to pick up in town and the post office closed at 11:30 am the next day. He had to hike 30 more miles than me. I think he’s crazy. I would have just bounced my boxes to the next town. I have packages to pick up but I know I wont be in town in time to get them. I will bounce them to the next town tomorrow. Flamingo has to hike over 50 miles today to get there in time. I was so tired at camp, I didn’t even eat dinner. I figured I would just eat more in the morning.
Happy Trails!
Des Hikes Thru 