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.