Day 113
Start: Leroy Smith Shelter
End: Field
Miles Hiked: 13.9
Miles on AT: 1291.2
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When I got out of my tent this morning, everyone was gone. I got a late start due to my late arrival to camp last night, but today wasn’t going to be too difficult. My aunt was coming to meet me the next day to take me to NJ and spend some time with family. I wanted to get close to Delaware Water Gap so I could meet her at 9:30 am, but I didn’t need to do a lot of miles to accomplish that goal.
Oh, and when I woke up this morning, I had a not-so-nice surprise waiting for me. Yesterday morning, Miles had woken up and felt a slug in his shoe when he put his foot in it. I hate slugs with a passion; they’re gross and slimy and just all around disgusting. Traumatized by the thought of unwittingly having a slug in my shoe, I made sure to check both shoes this morning before putting them on. Sure enough, there was a slug waiting for me. Eeeewwww!!! I poked the slug (while internally screaming) until it fell off and made sure to have my socks on before putting my feet in my Crocs. Yuck!
On the trail, I was feeling a little tired today and not really in the mood to hike. But, of course, I started making miles. There was a hiker friendly motel at the next road crossing, so I planned to stop there for snacks and a break. My trekking pole had been chewed on during the night, so I had to get adjusted to my new grip. It was still pretty warm outside, so I was relieved to make it to the motel at midmorning so I could have a cold Coke.
I bought a few snacks and sat on the couch outside. A guy came out of his room to chat with the motel manager and said today was the day he was leaving. Apparently he was getting back on trail after flipping up from VA and had spent 10 days at the motel so far. He went back to pack his things up, but only a few minutes later, he came back out and said he was staying one more day. Getting back on trail is hard!
The morning was growing old and I didn’t want to get stuck for too long in this vortex, so I started packing up. Just as I was going to leave, Stretch arrived. Part of me wanted to stay and chat, but the better part of me knew that I needed to leave while I could. I said my goodbyes and found my way back to trail.
Now, it was even hotter than before. With my low energy and motivation levels, I needed a little pick-me-up. That meant music! With my headphones in and tunes blasting, I tackled the next climb and the next few miles of rocks with way more ease than if I had been music-less. While there is something pure about hiking undistracted, I find that not all miles can be done easily that way. Sometimes the trail or terrain is so ‘not fun’ that the negative feelings I have about it are at the forefront of my mind. The negative thoughts can be hard to shake, but adding music that makes me want to dance to the mix lightens the mood a lot. And, despite the rocks that I encountered on that stretch, I danced my way down the trail with a smile on my face.
Along the way, I found another victim of the Pennsylvania rocks. Someone lost the whole sole of their shoe on the trail. I’m not sure if that says more about how rough the rocks are or how poorly the shoes were made.
Anyway, I continued on, stumbling and stepping over and around rocks until I reached my next road crossing. Water was pretty scarce on this stretch, but I’d seen in FarOut that there were a few gallons cached at the next shelter. It was after 4 when I got there, so I took a break. I’d only gone about 13 miles so far and wanted to do another 4 or so, but I wasn’t really feeling it. Maybe today would be an early day for me.
And it did turn out to be an early day. Not too far after the shelter was a campsite in an open, grassy area with a beautiful view of the valley below. I couldn’t give it up. It was perfect! Especially when I was looking for an excuse to stop early. So I did.
After setting up my tent, I video-chatted with Janitor while eating dinner, happy to be able to share the view with him even if it had to be done virtually. After that, I got comfortable and enjoyed laying in the sun, feeling the warm rays on my skin. Around 7, Stretch showed up; he had stayed at the motel for a couple of hours and didn’t want to hike any further today either.
As the sun started to go down, the sky became a beautiful periwinkle. Previous hikers had left a bundle of sticks by the fire ring, so Stretch and I started a fire for the heck of it. It was a short lived fire because we didn’t have a lot of wood, but it was great for the 20 minutes it lasted.
Before I knew it, the time came to turn in and head to sleep. The low mileage day was well worth it to enjoy such a nice campsite. Tomorrow, I would see my family and enjoy time off trail.
And that’s day 113.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.