Jeckles Geek Blog

Pennsylvania Rocks

When I talk about backpacking, I try to convey that the getting there is as important as the destination.  Hell, the destination is often no more than some little road in the middle of nowhere or a mostly flat spot to pitch a tent.  There is nowhere in particular that we are going to, just the next stretch trail.

This trip was different.  5 years ago when I went on my first serious backpacking trip, we were dropped off (in the pouring rain) in Maryland, we walked for about 4 miles before crossing into Pennsylvania.  Since then, I’ve walked all of the trail in Maryland, plus the seven miles that go through West Virginia.  I’ve walked over 300 miles in Virginia.  Most of that 300 plus miles has come on week long trips.  In contrast, before this trip started I had walked just over 200 miles in Pennsylvania, all of it done over weekend trips.

That has been my backpacking experience; week long ventures in the beautiful and majestic mountains of Virginia and weekend trips along the rocky ridges of eastern Pennsylvania.

I hate hiking the trail in Pennsylvania.  The trail is littered with ankle bending and toe kicking rocks, which occasional give way to boulders.

These thoughts are on my mind as we drive the three hours to Delaware Water Gap.  My friend is kind of enough to drive up with us.  We park my truck just across the Delaware River in New Jersey and Captain Shutter, WAN-Man and I pile into her minivan to head to the trailhead.

Fall Trail

We drive to the tiny Village of Delps and make our way to a parking lot for State Game Land access.  It’s just about 2 o’clock on Friday afternoon.  We thankour friend for driving and head up a blue blazed trail.  We climb about 700 feet in a little over a half mile where we intersect with the Appalachian Trail.  It’s the same spot where I had sat and waited for my dad, but he never came.  I tell myself that this trip will end better than that one.  We grab a snack and then hit the trail.  We don’t walk long before the trail turns rocky.

We make good time, covering the rocky 6 miles to Leroy Smith shelter in about 3 hours.

I am out of water, all of the the water sources that we had passed were dry.  The spring right next to the shelter is also dry.  We have to follow the blue blaze most of a mile to get to a running spring.  Captain Shutter and I sit by the little spring pumping water through a filter into our water bottles.  I drink one liter bottle and refill it before we walk back to camp.  Efficiency with water is important.  It would do me no good to fill the bottles up and then feel thirsty enough to want to drink one once we made it back to camp.  After the bottles are watered up and I am “cameled up” we head back up the trail to the shelter.  WAN-Man is there waiting there and another hiker has come in while we were at the spring.  He is a SOBO thru-hiker.  Meaning that he started his hike at the Northern Terminus of the AT, Mount Khatadin in Maine, and intends to walk all the way to Springer Mountain in Georgia, the Southern Terminus.  We chat with him for a little bit but he is staying in the shelter and we plan to tent, so we move our gear to the area designated for tenting a few hundred yards away.

Friday's Camp

We set up our tents as the sun went down. Once our tents were up and our gear stowed, we sat around the fire ring to make our respective dinners.  We don’t build a campfire.  We rarely do, backpacking is all about efficiency.  I boil water for Ramen Noodles on my small gas stove.  The warm soup feels good as the temperature drops.

There isn’t a cloud in the sky and through the thinning foliage of the tall trees the stars shine above us.  It’s beautiful, but we know that with no cloud cover, the temperature will plummet.  We put on additional layers to keep warm.  I boil some more water, to help clean out my pot, but also to use for tea.  Backpacking is about efficiency.  We hang our food from a tree to keep it away from any critters.  We sit around the fire ring, with no fire, in the dark and talk.  Eventually, the cold drives us to our tents we retire for the night.

I brought my lightweight sleepbag, so i change into my fleece pants and micro-fleece pullover before climbing into the bag and liner.  I pull the mummy bag tight around my head, so that the only part of me that is exposed is my nose and mouth.

I drift of to sleep knowing that New Jersey is about 20 miles away and by the end of the weekend I will be able to honestly say that I have walked every step of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, a milestone that I have been work towards for five years.  In spite of the cold and the howling wind outside, I drift off to sleep content.