May 25, 2018
Destination: Campsite at mile 1303.2
Today’s Miles: 12.80
Start Location: Stealth Campsite at mile 1290.4
Trip Miles: 1303.20
I got up early to get into Delaware Water Gap with time to run errands, look around, and hike out. On the hike in, a porcupine sauntered right across the trail in front of me!
I took a video, albeit not a great one: https://youtu.be/_LC1PxjfgHY. It was cool seeing the Delaware river for the first time from the trail. I saw three deer in the way in as well. I love getting started on the trail early!
Delaware Water Gap was smaller than I expected. I had a good time there running into hikers I hadn’t seen for a while! Traveler, Ben and Rose, Clothesline, Cheddar, and I met Honey and Moon and a guy named Moose, all NOBOs. I ate richly at the Apple Pie Cafe and resupplied poorly at a gas station there. I bought a bunch of milk chocolate candy bars that would just be melted for a few days. There is a donation-based church hostel in town that has free showers, so I took a shower before hiking out. It was great! They had a guitar there too. I hadn’t played in a long time, so I picked the strings a bit before leaving.
I crossed the Delaware in a style not like George Washington at all – I walked across the bridge as it shook and swayed from the cars traversing it. It was a hot day and I stopped at the Park station to feb a Gatorade before hiking across the road and back into the woods. Later PA!
I didn’t hike that far as I had burned through a lot of time in town. The hike out of DWG was along a beautiful trout stream at first, then climbed further up into a ridge. I found a campsite with a lovely view. Water was going to be weird – the water spots are more scarce here in terms of springs, so I had to pack out water from a really off-color brackish creek. It’s fine to drink once filtered, but the water retains a brown tint. Not my fave, but water is water! I sat, looked at my pretty view, called my wife to chat and ate. I also found a pinhole leak in my CNOC water collection bag. I think it’s a manufacturing defect so I emailed them about it.
I was grateful to see old faces anew today, and for the good discussion and social time in DWG. I was also grateful to see a porcupine – how awesome!
You might also like
