7-22-11 Delaware Water Gap, PA to Culvers Gap, NJ

7-22-11

Just played my last show with Killshot because I will be furthering my education in the fall at IUP. My main man, Prophet (Ben Smith), has decided to join me on the AT. The Weather Channel was calling for a heat index of 110°F. I started to worry about our chances of dying from heat related issues.

We headed to Culvers Gap to park Margaret, Prophet's car. That took almost 2 hours from the Croc Rock in Allentown. Parked the car at Culvers at 11pm. Then an hour drive to the Budget Inn of East Stroudsburg. Nice room and all, just a little hot when we got there. Thank you Pete for getting us that room =D.

7-23-11

Cowboy Dan headed out of Delaware Water Gap

Awoke at 6am, later than I wanted because I wanted to try and beat the heat. Prophet showered, and we headed out. At 7pm we got to Delaware Water Gap. We could feel the humidity. We got out of the lot by 7:15 and started our 28.4 mile weekend trip on about 5 hours of sleep.

Eastern Box Turtle

We made it 4.8 miles to the Backpackers Site where we ran into an Eastern Box Turtle.

Nom nom nom

After Sunfish Pond, a glacial lake, Prophet launched himself backward at the sound of a rattle snake. It was large and dark colored with gold spots. We weren't able to snap a picture, mainly because we were afraid of it lunging at us.

Sunfish Pond

Mohican Outdoor Center

We got to Mohican Outdoor Center at 2pm. The heat started to get to me. We paid $9 each for a tent site. We met 2 fine women who had also started at Water Gap that day, but were thru hikers. Their names were Chickadee and Bumblebee.

Sheppard's Potato Stew with Beef was on the menu for Cowboy Dan and Prophet. It was awesome after a long day. 71% of our daily sodium, much needed after a day of sweating.



A NoBo (North Bounder) who was at the AMC visitor center asked us how long we would survive without the Sun. We told him that once the energy (warmth) from the Sun stopped reaching Earth, we, and everything living, would freeze to death. He told us that he wouldn't die until he finished his thru-hike. It showed how dedicated he was to completing the trail.

Most of the NoBos left to hike 10 more miles in the late afternoon. Bumblebee and Chickadee stayed at the campground, along with Dust and No, 2 people who want to get to Maine, but didn't start in Georgia.

It was difficult to sleep, everything was sticky from the humidity. Somehow I was able to get to sleep through that and No's annoying loud mouth.

Got up at 4:30am, made oatmeal, broke down the tent, packed up, and rolled out by 5:15. It was just enough light to see, and hopefully enough time to beat the heat index of 105°F for today.

On our way to the AT from Rattlesnake Trail, we saw what we think is a porcupine. It was small and dark, we could barely see it though through the ground cover. I was just glad it wasn't a black bear cub.

Sunrise after Mohican Outdoor Center

Right when we intersected the AT, we saw a breath taking sunrise at an overlook, such a great way to increase moral after a long night.

We missed another spring believe it or not, we were supposed to find Rattlesnake Spring, but now we will just push for Blue Mountain Lakes Road. There are plenty of water sources marked in the book, just no obvious signs pointing to them.

Copperhead on the trail

We saw a copperhead and a SoBo (South Bounder) on Millbrook-Blairstown Road. The copperhead wouldn't move off the path, so we chatted with the SoBo. He did 35 miles the day before in the blistering heat. He said he enjoys hiking in the heat. We thought he was insane.

Well at Blue Mountain Lakes Road

Blue Mountain Lakes Road was our halfway marker for the day (7 of 14 miles). There was a well there, the first that I have seen on the AT. We had to pump out the water, it was neat-o! Refilled water, refueled calories, took off boots, and relaxed for 15 minutes.

We saw our first bear!!! It was about 10 feet to our left. Prophet didn't believe me at first, then he saw the bear's head. We said "Hey Mr. Bear, how's it goin'!?" The bear just walked away, it didn't even care that we were 300 lbs of food for him.

We planned on eating lunch at the Buttermilk Falls, but it was 2 miles off the trail, and it looked downhill. We just went further up on the trail and ate on some rocks. We didn't eat a meal, just snacks, sun-dried mangoes, trail mix, and granola. We had 3.8 miles to go until Brink Road Shelter.

But first, a nice ascent on rocks up Rattlesnake Mountain. Something about the "Rattlesnake" in the names of these places is scary. A very nice view at the top, we could only see one house for miles, it was all trees.

Second bear sighting

About 3/4 of a mile before Brink Road Shelter, we saw a bear crossing the path in front of us. The awesome thing about this encounter is if I hadn't stopped to check out a potential hiking stick, Prophet and I would have found ourselves face to face with a black bear. This bear too, ignored our presence and went about its beary ways.

Brink Road Shelter

We made it to the shelter around 1pm. The NoBos were getting ready to roll out. Bumblebee and Chickadee were napping.

We ate an early dinner at 3pm. Asian Style Chicken. Good stuff as always. The shelter had a really nice spring, it was clear and cold. Dust and No go to the shelter, and No decided to drink from the spring with no filter, I thought she was stupid.

We made s'mores and apple cider around 6, then went to bed in the tent. the shelter was infested with mosquitoes. It was awful.

A thru-hiker came in around midnight. He said he saw 3 bears, a rattler, and a porcupine, all while night hiking. That is why one shouldn't hike at night!

7-24-11

We got up at 7am. I couldn't lay there anymore, I was hungry after our early dinner. Made oatmeal and hot cocoa. Packed and left at 9am. We were cruising through the last 3.8 miles. We only stopped 3 times, and one of those, we could see Culvers Gap with the lake right next to it. The descent was nice and short.

We made it to Margaret around 10:30. All throughout the hike we could only think of one thing: Dairy Queen. We had seen this Dairy Queen on the drive to Culvers Gap, and couldn't stop thinking about a nice Chicken Finger Basket with an Oreo Brownie Earthquake. When we got there, the signed said they had their grand opening the next day (the 25th). Just our luck. So we moved onto East Stroudsburg to get Friendly's for lunch instead. It was probably the greatest thing I've ever had post hike. Honey BBQ Chicken Supermelt, fries, and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream with Hot Fudge. Prophet and I got all kinds of looks from families that were trying to enjoy a nice Sunday Lunch. Our terrible stench probably ruined that for them.

This was definitely one of my favorite hikes on the AT. I'll be honest, I was quite surprised with the New Jersey section. I didn't think it would be full of wildlife and so nice looking. When I hear "New Jersey", I think of the beach, the boardwalk, and of course Guidos (Jersey Shore). I am looking forward to doing this section again with Leroy Bernard in 2013.

5-28-11 Lehigh Gap to Wind Gap, PA

5-28-11

I finally finished packing at 1:30am. Weighed my pack in at 20 lbs. I need to work on making that lighter for shorter trips. Getting up at 5am to start Lehigh Gap to Delaware Water Gap. Leroy and I will be doing our final hike together before he departs for his new life in Colorado. Jack Masterson and Athena will be joining us again. Time for a 3 hour power now.

10 miles of PA hiking with only 3 hours of sleep. Started at Lehigh Gap, crossed the bridge, then started the ascent. The climb was almost 1,200 feet of loose rock. Some sweet views up on top of Lehigh Gap. It is literally a rock scramble. Really awesome though, I loved it. After we climbed up, we reached the ridge again. It was a beautiful grassy knoll. Only downside to that was the abundance of ticks! We found them by the tens, all climbing in our wool socks and up our legs. After that, we stopped for lunch just after Little Gap Road. It was hot, humid, and sunny. Another rocky climb, not too big though.

Lehigh Gap - At the top!

Taken on 3-14-12

We were running low on water and our only source for 5 miles was a .6 mile hike down steep switchbacks. After filling up, we went back up the hill and set up our camp. Had our tent up, bags hung, and I was out for a nice 2 hour nap.

Made dinner - Jamaican Style Chicken! Leroy and Jack made a fire, I went to the tent to catch up on sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, Athena started barking at something in the woods. Jack thought he saw a coon in the tree. Athena kept our bags safe. Thank you Athena!

5-29-11

Started a 4.5 mile hike to Leroy A. Smith Shelter. It has 3 springs. The last for 16 miles, so we were sure to fill up. Stopped here for water and lunch. Shepherd's Potato Stew with Beef, so delicious.

Leaving Leroy A. Smith Shelter was difficult. Last water for about 16 miles. It was so nice there, I didn't want to leave. It got hotter. Sun came out, humidity sky rocketed... it truly sucked. Worst part was the flies. They would continually fly around us, irritating Leroy and I to our limits.

After a few more miles of hell, I thought about calling it quits. I evaluated the water situation, and was demoralized. We finally got to Wind Gap. This is where I said my final farewells to Leroy, Jack, and Athena. I called it quits. I could not continue. We decided it would be better if the had 2 people anyway. They could have more water this way, plus I could take some weight from them to help them out.

This was my final hike with Leroy, Jack and Athena for 2011. I enjoyed every moment. They made it safely to Delaware Water Gap, but they told me they barely made it with enough water. I couldn't imagine if I had gone with them. There are times when being a coward is the right decision, this is one of those situations. It wasn't worth risking my health.

4-15-11 Port Clinton to Lehigh Gap, PA

4-15-11

It all started at Port Clinton on Friday at 5pm. Leroy Bernard (LB), Jack Masterson (John), Athena (John's Dog), and I, Cowboy Dan were racing against the sun so that we could have a shelter to sleep in. We started with a 1600 foot climb and about 500 feet up we saw a man taking care of business behind a tree. Athena ran up to him and disturbed his peace. We finally made it to the shelter at 8pm after 5 miles. We had to share the shelter with atleast 9 boy scouts. I always wanted to become a boy scout, until I met that group. Made Louisiana red beans and rice. All the food we had was dehydrated, so we only needed to add boiling water. Long night with the noisy boy scouts.

4-16-11

It was about 7am as we prepared for the long day. We made oatmeal with milk and blueberries. Weather forecasts predicted heavy rain and 35 mph winds. We had to do 11 miles to the next shelter. All was well until we made it to Dan's Pulpit, about 6 miles in. It was now 12 pm. Beautiful view... until the rain came of course. We got our rain gear on and prepared for a miserable 5 miles. We were on a ridge, which basically means there is no protection from the elements and there are many rocks. This was easily the worst time of my life... I was disoriented, visibility was about 20 feet, and I was far behind from Leroy and Jack. My hands were numb and my vision was blurry. All this while walking on large, slippery rocks. We saw a sign that read "Welcome to Rocksylvania!". I was ready to shoot someone at this point. We ate lunch behind a tree, the food was frozen. Tastycake, pb and j, apple, and trail mix. All delicious.

We finally made it to the Allentown Shelter after 3 hours in the rain and wind. I was so glad to see it. We hung our clothes to dry and got in our sleeping bags, trying to get warm. Made dinner, Sweet and Sour Chicken. Asian food baby! We met an African American father and his son, Sim Senior and Sim Junior. Nice people and all, but the father snored like no other. It kept me up through most of the night.

4-17-11

Got up late. Everyone was exhausted. We made a fire and had breakfast. Maple sugar oatmeal. Nice to have a hot meal after a cold night. Packed up and moved out at 10:30 am. We had a 16 mile day ahead of us. None of us had ever done 16 miles in one day. Ate lunch just after Route 309. Chicken noodle soup, ginger O's, and a cliff bar. Refilled water and continued.
Made it to Bake Oven Knob at 4 pm, which is just a massive pile of boulders. It was the halfway point. We had to do 8 more miles in less than 4 hours. We realized how screwed we were. We began doing a faster pace. It was hard to keep up. Leroy Bernard kept slowing us down. He couldn't keep the pace. So we left him a few times then waited further down the trail. Saw 6 wild turkey while in the state game lands. Very beautiful overlooks. However, the sight of the sun going down made it impossible to stop and enjoy the sights. The last 3 miles were the longest. We were all tired, and we could see the end. Our knees hurt from the long descent. It was rock after rock. We stopped for water at a stream. Used the filter of course. Later I found out that the water was tainted with pathogens.
We finally finished at 7:30 pm, loaded the car, and went on our way to get Leroy's car at the start. On the way, I threw up the water from earlier. Sucked a lot.
Went to a steak house for dinner. I got a 6 oz. steak with ribs. My god it was delicious... Good way to end a 32.2 mile trip to the Appalachian Trail.