Rocks, rocks and more rocks

Since the last post, we have gotten off the trail for Margaret's grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary and returned where we left at the 501 shelter with our parents. During the three days that we hiked with our lovely parental units, we swam in a freezing cold reservoir, hiked 25 miles over rocky terrain, enjoyed a bottle of wine at an overlook of pennsylvania's farmland, and ate some chocolate covered bacon.

Following our parents departure on the fourth of July, we continued on from Port Clinton. The first night we stayed at the Windsor Furnace Shelter with padre a 74 year old priest who made our parent's complaints of aching joints seem unfounded. After a midnight thunderstorm, we woke up and slowly began hiking again. We did not make too much progress in the morning as we passed two of Pennsylvania's most beautiful views at Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle. That evening we made it into the Allentown Hiking Club Shelter at sundown. We also found that while hiking in a smaller group, we see significantly more wildlife. Today alone we saw several hawks, a turkey and a couple deer.

The following day we woke up early and set off for Palmerton, PA. The hike there was by far the rockiest we have seen. We hiked a section called knifes edge which consists of a long sharp jut of rock with steep drops on either side. The day ended in exhaustion at the local jail house in the basement of the town hall. Fortunately, they open it up for hikers to stay in! We had a nice shower and ate a great local restaurant.

The following morning we woke up at 5:00 AM to begin one of the most unique hikes on the AT. It includes a 6 mile uncovered rock scramble over a bare mountain side. The land is now an EPA superfund site after an old zinc operation ruined the vegetation. We set off to tackle this section with our new friends spice man, rhino, passion flower, voltron, socks and bobby. During the day we saw a 6 foot long rattle snake! Fortunately, it quickly rattled across the trail and left us alone. After another exhausting day, we are safe in our tent avoiding the current thunderstorm. Tomorrow we will set off for a 20 mile hike into the Delaware Water Gap where we will cross into New Jersey and finish Pennsylvania and all of its rocks!