10/07 - 10/12 Pennsylvania Part I

Day 89

Thursday October 7th

895.5 - 906.8 = 11.3 

We are headed back to the trail today, even though it would be easy to get sucked into the vortex and stay longer! After more waffles and oatmeal for breakfast, we take more showers and I get all the food packed up. I get to use Terry’s pantry to make us three days worth of delicious chocolate turmeric oatmeal for the trail. 

We do pretty well with time and are out the door by about 9:30. We don’t plan to go far today and didn’t care about getting an early start. We’re back to walking around about 10:30 after saying our thank yous and goodbyes to Jeff and Terry. We have come to think of them like family and always love visiting with them. 

Right away the trail takes us across the Delaware River on a bridge which we share with interstate 80. We are separated from traffic by a waist high concrete barrier but get to feel the wind created by the cars blowing past and we can also feel the bridge bouncing as big semi trucks go past. We could have had Jeff and Terry drive us over to the other side, but we wanted to step foot into Pennsylvania ourselves. 

Once across the bridge we pass through the little town of Delaware Water Gap and then we are climbing back up to the ridge. Along the way we have a series of fine views of the Delaware River valley and of Mt Tammany across the gap. We go over Mt Minsi, where we once came on a day hike with Jeff and Terry. When the the trail levels off we cruise through the ridge top forest for miles and miles of monotony. We had expected to go just 8 miles today, stopping at the first shelter, but we have plenty of energy and day light, so we keep going. The shelter also has no water source, so we’re motivated to keep going to the water!

In the early evening we reach the Wolf Rocks with another fine viewing ledge where we stop to cook dinner. The trail around the view is strewn with slippery jagged boulders that are covered in soggy slippery leaf litter. In spite of my attempts to go slow and be careful, my feet go out from under me and I go down sideways. Luckily I land on a fleshy part on my thigh and  am not injured but it is scary losing control and could have been worse if I’d slid into or onto the jagged rocks! We’ve been hearing for months that Pennsylvania is full of rocks, it’s been given the nick name Rocksylvania. We doubt it’s as bad as they say and we are determined not to hate it, but this wasn’t a good start!

We go about a half mile past the rocks to a spring to collect water and then a further mile to camp in a random flat spot alongside the trail. It’s almost dark by the time we stop at 7. Water will not be plentiful over the next couple days and possibly even longer. We haven’t looked very far ahead. We are lucky that this evenings spring was very close to the trail and was also nice pristine water that was flowing out of the ground and accumulating in a big cold and clear pool. Springs are neat! Some of our upcoming springs will be down off the ridges on side trails. 

A picture Terry took of us where they dropped us off, at Kittatinny Point 

Crossing a frontage road and heading for the Delaware River Crossing 

We cross the river on the highway 80 bridge. We have our own sidewalk, but it’s still loud and windy with the cars and trucks blasting past. 

The Pennsylvania state line is right on the bridge 

Walking through downtown Delaware Water Gap 

Deer Head Inn on the left looks like a pretty neat place to stay, but we were not in need of a place to stay!

View of the Delaware River and highway 80 bridge from Lookout Rock 

View of Delaware River and Mt Tammany from Lookout Rock 

Nice rhododendron tunnel 

View of Mt Tammany from the Mt Minsi overlook 

Another view ledge looking East over the Delaware River 

A black rat snake 

Lots of nice views of the Delaware River Valley today 

This invader can’t be stopped. There were swarms of them when we crossed the river and at lookout rock. So many of them it was gross.

Slippery rock slabs to walk on 

A nice dinner picnic rock 

More slippery rocks to walk on 

Day 90

Friday October 8th

Delp’s Spring 

906.8 - 923.1 = 16.3

It’s dark in the morning when our alarm goes off at 6:30. We’d like to get going earlier but it’s hard to get going quickly when it’s dark and we’re unmotivated to get out of the tent and pack up. It’s after 8 by the time we’re walking. 

We spend most of the day looking at the ground, watching our footing. We have rocks to look out for all day, with varying degrees of difficulty. Around noon we go though Wind Gap, a road crossing and then under PA Route 33, before continuing back up onto the ridge. The road is trashed and is in need of a clean up and the forest today is rather trashy too. We see a grocery bag and try to contain a bit of the trash but the bag ends up being full of poop (dog I hope!) and Jeff almost gets it all over his hands!!

Just east of the road crossing is the town of Wind Gap, less than a mile away. The town is know as the gateway to Poconos (mountains). It sounds like a nice place and it’s very tempting to go and at least get a meal, but we don’t need anything and we have just enough water to keep going, so we do. In the afternoon we cross another paved road at Smith Gap and keep on going. It’s a real slog today with no views and a monotonous forest. We also have very little elevation gain up or down, just tedious stepping over rocks. 

We make it 16.3 miles in spite of our late start. It’s just about dark by the time we reach our stopping point at the junction to Delp’s Spring. There has been no water on trail all day. It’s almost half a mile down off the mountain to get to this spring. I set up the tent at the junction while Jeff goes down for water. After Jeff gets back we eat a simple no cook dinner consisting of a Pro Bar Meal Bar and a whole wheat tortilla with almond butter. 

While we are finishing up dinner, one of the biggest and creepiest looking spiders we have ever seen begins crawling toward where we are sitting. I freak out. I do not like spiders. Growing up I had bad nightmares about them that continued into my early 20s. I don’t like to even look at them for fear they will appear in my dreams! The spider is black and grey and kind of furry looking with a fat body that is as big as a dime. It reminds me of some similar orange ones that I have seen around Seattle and occasionally in San Diego too. I frantically hurry up and get in the tent and hope this doesn’t become an every night occurrence! Something makes me think spiders are more plentiful in the fall and that we will be seeing more of them. Maybe that’s why they are associated with Halloween?

Our tent site in a pretty bed of fallen leaves, mostly Black Tupelo 

This is what the trail looked like for much of the day 

A nice fall color forest 

And sometimes it’s still completely green 

This is what came in my pro bar sampler, meal on the go bars, flavored nut butter pouches, energy gummies and protein bars. They aren’t really health food but they are quick and easy to eat and digest. I wouldn’t eat them if I wasn’t walking all day. 

Our only view today of a bunch of factories in the former farmlands near Wind Gap 

Day 91 

Saturday October 9th

Bake Oven Knob Shelter 

923.1 - 940.7 = 17.6

The scenery today is far more interesting and we have a much easier trail than yesterday. There are plenty of rocks for the first couple of hours. After we cross Blue Mountain Drive, we are presented with the option of walking on a gravel service road parallel to the trail. We gladly take the road and get to walk briskly for 4 whole miles along the top of a ridge that’s being remediated after zinc mining took place in the early 1900s. Apparently the EPA has been trying to revegetate for 3 decades. Progress is slow but it looks pretty good to us with lots of nice trees along the ridge. 

In the afternoon we are headed down off the ridge steeply, on rock slabs into Lehigh Gap. The Lehigh river flows through the bottom of the valley and we walk over it on a busy road bridge. Both the hike down and the hike out of the valley are popular day hikes with nice views. It’s neat to have days with lots of scenery and neat to get to do two day hikes in one day!

On the way out of the valley we get the option to take a scenic route which is soon to be the new route of the AT or to just stay on the AT. We choose the scenic route, which is up on a ridge with nice views of the Lehigh Valley for a couple miles. The mosquitos have been absent since we got back on the trail at the Delaware Water Gap, so that is another plus to our day and we hope it stays that way. The ridge has plentiful nice camping spots with stone fire rings and stone furniture, but we keep going until dark again, putting in a full day, from 7 to 7 and making it 17.6 miles. Water was again rather scarce today. We have to walk a little ways down off the ridge and off of the AT near our campsite to access a spring. We camp near the Bake Oven Shelter. A thru hiker named Gary who we’ve seen a few times has claimed the entire shelter. It’s a small shelter and we know Gary snores, so we don’t stay. We’ve taken to calling him gloomy Gary because he seems to have a bad attitude. We ask him about the spring and he says it’s at least 0.4 down the hill and it’s hard to find and it’s not right where it’s marked on our GPS. We find none of this to be true! It’s only a 5 minute walk, easy to find and right where it’s supposed to be! No wonder we call him Gloomy Gary! As soon as we have our water we go off to set up camp, cook dinner and get to bed. 

A high point on the ridge with a view thanks to the power lines and the momentary lack of trees. It is unnamed as far as we can tell, but we know it is a popular because people have left their mark with lots of graffiti.

View from the top of the graffiti rocks down the powerline 

View South from the rock mountain 

Taking the road walk alternate alongside the zinc remediation site 

Surprisingly nice forest here where there once was none due to zinc mining. 

The road paralleled these fenced off zones for a few miles 

It was unclear to us whether or not we were allowed to walk on the road or not. A sign on the other side made it seem like it was allowed and we did see a day hiker on the road. The road used to be the AT and the current AT is parallel to the road, but rocky and thus less desirable. 

Open rock ledge above the Lehigh River Gap 

View of the Lehigh River and Palmerton in the background 

A steep section of trail getting down to the river. 

View South toward Walnutport. There are so many towns along the AT and we don’t have time to visit them all! 

A bright spot of fall colors. Seems the black tupelo trees are turning first.

Crossing the Lehigh River on a road bridge. 

PA Route 873 bridge over the Lehigh River 

Nice bicycle trail. Every time we see one we can’t help but long to be rid of our backpacks and flying down the trail!

View of Palmerton and PA Route 248 from the scenic alternate 

We see barberries growing along the trail and in the forests all the time. The red berries are very pretty but it’s an invasive plant. The berries are one of the most antioxidant rich fruits you can eat, but are tart like cranberries. 

More views of PA 248 and Palmerton. You can also see our previous ridge, on the other side of Lehigh Gap.

View north of highway 476. The highway goes underneath the ridge, through a tunnel! We kept wondering why we never had to do down in elevation to a gap, cross the road and go back up! 

Nice black pine on the ridge. 

Map showing the new and old routes of the AT 

Day 92

Sunday October 10th

Dan’s Spring 

940.7 - 943.9 = 13.2

It rains in the night and the forest is soggy in the morning. Although it’s no longer raining, it’s foggy and dim and we’re slow to get going. It’s almost 8:45 by the time we’re moving! We haven’t gotten that late of a start since the first few days in Maine we think.

The first several miles are foggy and rocky. We miss a few view points, including Bake Oven Knob, which is a popular day hike. We walk on teetering slippery boulders and fragments of rock slabs. We go though a particularly tricky section called the Knife’s Edge that requires us to use our hands for stability. It’s not always easy bending, squatting, reaching and doing side planks with a heavy backpack on.

Just after noon we cross PA Route 309. There is a lodge at the road crossing that has a restaurant inside. It’s called the Thunderhead Lodge. We stop for lunch. We’ve been excited since yesterday thinking about fries and salads. We order sides of the vegetable of the day, oven roasted potatoes, sweet potato fries, salads, coleslaw and hot pretzels. After our order is in some guy who we think must be the owner comes out and asks us if we’re vegetarian and if we want them to make us some real food instead of just some side dishes. On paper that sounds really nice, but he’s real arrogant about it and he’s basically threatening to take away all of our hopes and dreams of the last day! We really like all of those side dishes, potatoes are among my favorite foods! We’re going to Cracker Barrel in a couple day in Hamburg where we can get all of those things, and I am not good at saying no, so we agree to try the chefs mystery dish! We have no idea what it will be, but we end up with giant bowls of pasta with mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, grape tomatoes, onions and garlic on top. It’s delicious and keeps us full for nearly 4 hours which is rare for us! We usually eat every 2-3 hours. We still think we would have enjoyed the side dishes more though! They are “real” food just as much, if not more than white pasta. 

We are full and happy when we leave there and are delighted by some easier trail. For about 5 miles, the trail is a dirt road and we make good time for a couple hours. We stop earlier tonight at 6, because the fog has rolled back in and we know it will get darker earlier. We started late, went to a restaurant and ended early! That’s a recipe for a lower mileage day for sure! It is ok though as we have a reservation for a hotel in Hamburg in two days, on Tuesday night.  We don’t have that that many more miles to go to get there, so there wasn’t much point in going further today. It sure was a dark and dreary day with fog most of the day. Hopefully it’s better tomorrow. It’s supposed to be!

Slippery rocks in the fog on the way up to Bake Oven Knob 

Making our way through the Knife Edge in the fog

Partial view to the valley below from the Knife Edge 

Veggie surprise was pretty tasty and filling too with lots of local mushrooms.

There is a chicken of the woods way up in that oak tree. We haven’t seen any in awhile and they usually grow on downed logs instead of live ones!

Balance Rocks view. The rock with the blue blaze on it teeters when a rock beneath it is pushed!

Day 93

Monday October 11th

953.9 - 968.6 = 14.7

It’s dark and foggy again in the morning and again we are slow to get going. It’s more big boulders and rocks to walk over for several miles. We are low on food today, down to just a few bars and protein powder to hold us over until dinner time. We have run out of oatmeal, bread and tortillas. We thought we’d be going to a town sooner but have skipped them all so far in favor of saving ourselves the time it takes to go to town. A couple hours in while we are stopped making a protein drink, we meet a lady day hiking up to where we’ve just come from. There’s a little view point called Dan’s Pulpit which must be where she in headed. Her name is Millie and she stops to talk to us and offers to help us get around town (Hamburg) tomorrow. Wow! How nice! Gary blows past us as we are talking to her. He was camped several miles back from us and must be quite an early riser.

We hike down off of the ridge that we’ve been following since New Jersey’s High Point, about 100 miles ago. We cross a paved road called Hawk Mountain Road and near there we see an older Japanese couple out hunting for mushrooms. They give us the name of the ones we’ve been seeing most frequently recently, honey mushroom, and we learn that it is edible! After the road we climb out of the valley and go up onto a parallel ridge. We enter into a popular day hiking area near the Pinnacle. For many miles the AT follows an old road and it’s easy walking. 

We have much nicer weather today and much nicer walking conditions and also more water available today too, several springs and even a good stream! It’s not a blue sky day, but there’s a bit of sun and the visibility is good. When we reach the Pinnacle view ledge we can see the ridge we walked on, all the way back to Delaware Water Gap. The great viewing today makes us feel better about missing the views yesterday since we can see all of it today. This is supposed to be the best view on the AT until Virginia. It is an impressive view of endless farm fields and little hills.

In the afternoon, after the Pinnacle we reach another viewing area called Pulpit Rock and can see the ridge line of the pinnacle and more surrounding country. It’s Columbus Day, but we surprisingly don’t see too many day hikers. This is supposed to be one of the most popular hiking areas in the state. There is an older couple there and Jeff chats them up, a skill I simply don’t possess. A little ways down the trail they pass us and offer us some of their extra snacks. We each get a Nature’s Valley biscuit sandwich and some rainbows end trail mix to share. We were so hungry all day, it is such a relief to have a little extra and as a result it tastes soooo good! 

Today feels leisurely and pleasant like we’re out on a day hike again. We easily make the miles to camp and well before dark. Just before we stop for the night we happen upon a nice young and tender cluster of chicken of the woods mushrooms. We haven’t seen any for days and are so excited as they will make our dinner far more filling! We are just 4 miles from town now and will have an easy time getting there in the morning and it’s so nice knowing a ride will be waiting for us. We have Jeff to thank for both of our social interactions today. I am too reserved to ever make a connection with strangers or strike up a conversation. 

More big rock slabs to start off the day 

Honey mushrooms 

The first big creek we’ve seen in awhile. We stopped and soaked our feet and that always feels nice!

Some easy walking on the network of forest roads near the Pinnacle. Nice variety of shapes and colors in the leaf litter.

Still seeing these newts most days. We learned that they can be found along the entire length of the trail, so we probably just didn’t see them at the beginning because they weren’t active yet. We will probably stop seeing them soon, as it gets colder.

Big rock pile just before the pinnacle view. It’s so popular that they felt the need to also post the name in Spanish!

Turkey vultures soaring above the cliffs at the pinnacle.

Great visibility of the farm lands from the ledges at the pinnacle. You can also see on the left side of the photo, the ridges extending all the way back to Delaware Water Gap!

A beautiful red oak leaf that has fallen and changed color.

It wasn’t easy all day. Big rock slabs on the trail between the Pinnacle and Pulpit Rock.

A neat little passageway between the big rocks 

View back to the pinnacle from Pulpit Rock

Nice young and tender chickens of the woods!

Day 94

Tuesday October 12th

Port Clinton/Hamburg 

968.6 - 973.2 = 4.6 

It’s foggy again in the morning but we only have to hike a couple of hours to reach Port Clinton and the road to our next resupply town, Hamburg. We are pretty much out of food, but had just enough for a light breakfast consisting of a protein drink and mini pro bar. 

Millie, the nice lady we met yesterday, is available to help us, just like she said she would be. She meets us at the trail in the little town of Port Clinton. She even comes bearing gifts of food! She made us pumpkin bread and has a cooler full of other snacks too. We weren’t sure if she’d want to just drop us off or what, but asked if she might want to come to breakfast with us. To our delight she does want to join us and brings us to Cracker Barrel, a place we’ve been talking about for months on the trail. This is the first Cracker Barrel we’ve come to and it doesn’t disappoint. The menu has too many options, but I finally settle on pecan pancakes. They are delicious and surprisingly filling too! We learn at breakfast that one of Millie’s sons hiked the trail in 2019. Now it makes more sense that she is so helpful and understands what hikers need!

After breakfast we figured she’d want to be done with us, but she offers to take us to Cabela’s and also to Walmart for our resupply. We can’t believe how lucky we are. She truly is an angel. The shopping is a little spread out, so we are very glad to have a ride and a place to keep our backpacks so we can shop unburdened. Jeff is normally having to push a shopping cart full of our backpacks in the stores while he follows me around, but not today!

The Cabela’s is massive and is said to be the World’s Largest. Inside is a gallery of taxidermy animals. It’s a bit overwhelming just how many there are. We are grateful that Millie lets us take our time looking around. One room is just deer and must have at least 100 deer! We learn that there is a huge variety in the antlers which are described as typical or non typical. Typical is the more common growth pattern and the non-typical are less common and more highly sought after. It is interesting to learn about this as I previously had no knowledge about hunting or antler variations. There is a display of Alaskan animals, as well as African animals and many animals we have never even heard of. There’s a full size float plane hanging from the ceiling and an aquarium of fish and a restaurant too. RVers are allowed to park and sleep here. It is truly a roadside tourist attraction. Shopping wise, we didn’t really need much, Jeff gets a spare pair of socks and we get a banana flavored Moon Pie to try. 

Next stop is Walmart, where we are able to get all of the hiker foods we desire plus a few fun items we didn’t expect to find like the brand of ginger candies we like and the pickled lupini beans we like for salty snack variety. Again we get to take our time, which is so nice! After shopping Millie takes us for a hot beverage at the down town coffee shop and we take a little walk around the block. I get to see row houses for the first time and they are really neat! We also visit the post office and send ahead the box that we have already bounced once, from Palmerton. Inside the box is our warmer jackets, which we still don’t need for another another week.

By two we are at our B&B for the night, the Bismarck, saying our thank yous and goodbyes. We had such a perfect, easy, stress free resupply thanks to Millie! I felt so comfortable hanging out with her, like we had known her for years. We were lucky to get the last space available in our b&b for the night, the only other hotel in town, the Microtel, was full. This place is cooler anyway. There is a note on the door for us with instructions for self check in. Downstairs are common rooms and upstairs are 3 guest rooms. We don’t see any one else around though. The place is really neat inside with ornate wood furniture and fixtures. 

Our laundry is done for us while we wait inside of our room and take showers. We eat salad and fruit while we wait. For dinner we contemplate walking back to Cracker Barrel because we love their steak fries and baked sweet potatoes, but in the end we decide it would be better for us not to walk any extra. Instead we go to a local Italian restaurant right around the corner called Pizza Como and have very nice eggplant and pappardelle pasta dinners. There is a local grocery store across the street so we go in after dinner and find a few more nice items to add to our resupply, whole wheat tortillas, a mini pumpkin pie, peach flavored true lemon drink mix and sweet and salty pretzel pop tarts (which I’ve really been wanting to try). 

Before bed Jeff reads coffee table books and I work on the blog. It takes a lot of time to keep it up and currently I am behind a few weeks! I have to sort through photos, upload the photos, caption the photos and then add the text which I type out each night in the tent. I manage to get one post finished so that is a nice feeling of accomplishment. 

It’s always fun to look around in the Cracker Barrel store! Giant snickers, Kit Kats and Reese’s cups! The Reese’s were half a pound per cup I think! 

The grand entrance to the World’s Largest Cabela’s!

The view just inside Cabela’s with the path leading us to a giant mountain of taxidermy Alaskan animals

Jeff and our Angel 😇 Millie!

Polar bears, dall sheep, mountain goats and a wolverine

Musk oxen, white wolves and a float plane 

I didn’t know you could taxidermy an elephants. Maybe it’s just a replica? Below is a photo of Dave Cabela with the details of his elephant hunt.

Hall of African animals, many we had never seen. The lion was absolutely enormous!

Another view of the Alaskan animals display with moose and bears 

They even had a selfie wall! This place is definitely a tourist attraction. There must be lots of billboards on the highway. 

Hall of deer. I couldn’t believe how many there were!

The Bismarck B&B in downtown Hamburg. I think we were very lucky to get a space here, as they only have 3 rooms! Our room is upstairs on the left. 

A look down 4th street from our B&B with lots row houses 

Our elaborate room upstairs. It’s way too nice for a couple of thru hikers!! Laundry and breakfast was included, along with a ride back to the trail, all for $100!

Room with a view down to 4th Street

Resupply from Walmart with a few fun items from Cracker Barrel, like Hydrox cookies and horehound candy drops. We got a banana flavored Moon pie from Cabela’s. We found Dr Pepper baked beans at Walmart and they were REALLY good! We also have our standard grocery store salad, pickled lupini beans and bamba peanut butter puff snacks. We also found our favorite ginger candies and our favorite pretzels from the unique pretzel company.