Days 126 + 127
Day 126: Mile 1294.7 | Church of the Mountain Hiker Center @ Delaware Water Gap
We got up late, around 10am, and left the motel to get back to the trail. We realized we were pretty close to Delaware Water Gap and there was free camping in town at a church so we decided to head there. I got breakfast at McDonald's on my way out of town and chugged a large coffee. At the trail head we ran into Josh, Tang, Murdock, and TNT! We hadn't seen them in a while! All of us caught up and talked for a while. The sun was hot and we didn't have that far to go, anyway. When we got to town, we headed over to the free church hostel. Shirtpants greeted us! He said he might have a pretty bad injury and might have to get off trail for real this time. He showed us around the hostel and said we should be able to set up our tents near the gazebo. We went and set up our tents under a big pine tree.
I left Miles there in search of Gatorade and snacks. On my half mile walk to the gas station I came across a little stray cat. He came right up to me, meowing, and let me pet him.
The encounter made me tear up a little. His little purrs were so comforting. I missed Bonnie and Clyde. This cat really made me feel Clyde's death more tangibly. I sat on the sidewalk and patted the cat for a long time. Half an hour maybe. I left him, eventually, and walked the rest of the way to the gas station. On my way I passed the Sycamore Grill. They were running a wings special that night. Just the word 'wings' made me crave them. Hiker hunger was real.
I got two Gatorades and a new bottle of water for myself along with a few snacks and went back to the church. Miles and I agreed to go get wings at the Sycamore. We ate our messy wings, tiredly, and talked to a couple other hikers there.
Back at the church after dinner and tried to go to sleep early. Other hikers at the church sat up in the gazebo near our tents talking for a long time. I couldn't sleep. I laid in bed and read for a while. They went to bed around 11:30 and I finally fell asleep after that.
Day 127: Mile 1301.8 | Stealth Camp before Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles and I headed out of camp at 9am. In the church parking lot as we headed out of town we ran into Krafy and Blackbird! They were getting off trail for ten days to go to a wedding out in California. I was disappointed. I thought we'd finally get to hike with them for more than a few days. We said goodbye to them and exchanged phone numbers.
Miles, Biscuits, Supersize, Roadkill, and I walked up the street to the local bakery to get breakfast and coffee. We all talked about future trails while we ate breakfast. Biscuits said he might hike the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) next year and Miles discussed his ambitions to attempt the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in the future. Roadkill, who had already completed the PCT, told us about how different the three Triple Crown Trails were from each other. About the PCT Deserts and Huge climbs and the CDT's barren waterless stretches that extend up into mountain ranges. He amazed us by the amount of miles he could accomplish in one day on those trails.
After breakfast, Miles and I headed out of town while the other hikers stayed behind. It was slow going at first. A road walk got us going and I tripped on the sidewalk twice. Somehow I was better at walking on trails than paved, flat sidewalks... The New Jersey border came up toward the end of the road walk. It was such a relief to leave Pennsylvania. The rocks and the hard things I faced in that state could finally fall behind me. I knew at the New Jersey border the rocks wouldn't just suddenly disappear, but I hoped they might be less painful for my feet...
We finished the road walk portion and walked into the busy woods. Day hikers were everywhere and the hot, dry sun beat down on us. Up and over a big hill, we came across the 1300 mile marker.
It felt so much less exciting than I thought it would. 1300 miles and the New Jersey border seemed surreal and exhausting to be honest. I don't know it if was the heat or if I was just worn out but it didn't seem so special this day. We were tired and we were struggling. There were no water sources and we had each only brought a liter of town water.
We passed a pond it was a pretty sight but neither of us felt comfortable drinking from it.
When we finally reached a water source, it was dark yellow. Both guidebooks (AWOL and Guthook) said it was okay to drink from as long as it was filtered. We got a bunch of water and filtered it. Miles sat down to filter his and said he didn't feel good and his head hurt. He wanted to lay down. Honestly, with the heat and the dehydration, all I wanted to do was lay down, too. Since we hadn't done laundry in almost a week I took all of our hiking clothes and washed them.
Washing Laundry in the Woods:
Gather clothing and rinse it out in a body of running water (stream or river preferred. Lakes and ponds aren't the best for this.)
Use rocks to help work out any mud, dirt, and sweat. Wet the item of clothing and squeeze it against a rock. If the fabric is durable you can rub it in a ball against the rock.
Fill two water proof bags/stuff sacks (we use our food bags). Carry the bags filled with water at least 400 feet from the water source.
Add shampoo to one bag. Close bag. Shake Vigorously. Add clothing and shake vigorously again, use hands to massage the outside of the closed bag.
Open soapy bag. Take each item of clothing one by one, ring it out, dip into non-soap bag, ring it out again. Repeat this step until no soap or suds are left on the clothing.
Set out all clothing to dry on rocks/gravel in the sun or hang up on a clothes line if you have spare rope. Laying it on the side of a tent in direct sunlight can also work. Alternatively, for smaller loads, trekking poles can be used to hang clothing off of.
This process can be time consuming, but it only took me an hour. It's about the same amount of time as waiting in a laundromat and this way is free. I wouldn't do this every time your clothing needs to be washed, but once in a while doing a small load this way can be good. The problem is you have to have enough sun to dry the clothing and a running water source near camp. It's very helpful for removing salt from clothes to reduce salt chafe.
After I did the laundry I lay in my tent to avoid the bugs and read a book on the Kindle app on my phone and ate a lot of snacks. Later in the evening, Biscuits and Supersize rolled up on our camp! They set up nearby and we all piled into Miles' tent (somehow the largest of the tents) to have a snack/dinner party. The bugs were terrible. None of us could bear sitting outside with the mosquitoes. We all missed Krafty and Blackbird (the original Woo Crew). It was a nice night hanging out with our friends. Laughter echoed in the little valley we camped in.
We all went to bed late and happy.