Week 4 - 2024

Delaware Water Gap to Vernon, NJ - 63 miles

HIT ANOTHER MILESTONE: We’ve walked 200 miles, 1300 total on the Appalachian Trail. Woohoo!

WHAT A WEEK! WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK:

We’re “rock”stars! (Thanks Shelby and Bev).   We appreciate all the comments and encouragement y’all gave after our last post about our journey through the rock fields and boulders of Rocksylvania.  We love that you thought we were brave and amazing but in all honesty, we didn’t think we were. We were so scared. We didn’t want to do it.  We wanted an easy way out but didn’t know an easier option was available. If we had known we surely would have taken it. 

Isn’t that the way though, when the going gets tough, you want an escape, to run from what is difficult or find an easy way out. What we learned was if we just focused on one step at a time, not looking ahead at the giant rock field in front of us, relying on the strength of each other and mostly God, we could do more than we thought we could. I guess learning all that does make us pretty amazing!

Sidenote:  It seems this rock scramble field is a big topic of conversation to us hikers that have completed Pennsylvania. Some took the easier trail, some took the challenge but said they never would have done it in the pouring rain like we did … I guess we’re not too smart, nope, I’m still sticking with “we’re amazing!”

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hoo, hoo that smell. Can you smell that smell? Hoo hoo that smell, it’s all around you.  It was a cool, wet, and foggy morning so visibility wasn’t that great so we couldn’t see much before or beside us, but our “hearers” and “smellers” were working just fine. We heard rustling in the bushes first and then smelled the distinct odor of wet and musty.   We instantly knew we were not alone and that we were being watched but we couldn’t see through the fog enough to determine where our stalker may be lurking.  His smell was a dead giveaway that he was close. We are thankful he let us intrude in his home environment and that he chose to be unsociable and let us move on. And that's all just “beary” fine with us!

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No Farmer Jane yet.  As you know from past hikes, my nose becomes leaky when hiking so I know you’re all wondering how I’m progressing in my attempt to master the farmer blow.  It’s a work in progress. Sometimes I can make a clean snot shot but there are still those times that I end up wearing it, mostly on my boots.  Don’t even get me going on spitting, that is a disaster, and I will never master that!  Do they have classes on learning these things?

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We’ve had a lot of R&R lately.  Rain & Rocks!        The rocks did not stop at the state line at New Jersey, not quite as extensive as Pennsylvania but still quite rocky! But now add more rain, not a good combination when having to walk over wet rocks, roots and leaves.  FROG promised me before we left on this journey, if it got so miserable and we were not having fun, that we would retreat to a hostel or motel for some real R&R!  I tried real hard to be a happy camper, really, I did, but I have to admit, back-to-back days of hiking, all in the pouring rain - I was completely miserable and not having any fun.  Dun ta ta dun! Superhero FROG to the rescue! As we’re praying both nights that we stay dry, he calls and makes arrangements for us to stay the next day in a warm hotel room to dry ourselves and our equipment out.  The upside of staying in a hotel … we get to eat real food at restaurants and lots of it, the downside, I’ve gained weight!  Guess who continues to lose weight?

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Knock, knock, who’s there?  It’s always been our routine that when staying at a hotel, FROG goes to the vending machine for soda and then fills the ice bucket on his way back to the room.  I hear down the hallway someone knocking on a door (not our door, mind you) and speaking loudly “Lori, open the door.”  I run to the door, open it and see my husband a few doors down on the opposite side of the hallway knocking on someone else’s door.  I whisper (loudly) “Brad, over here!”  He turns towards me, a look of shock, wondering why I’m at another room and not the one he’s knocking at, then we break out in laughter.  I’m thinking maybe we’re staying in hotels too much since he can’t remember where our room is or maybe he’s just looking for better company from someone else. Thankfully no one answered the door he was knocking on. That may have been much more of a shock for him if someone had answered.

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Everyone has a story.  We were staying at the Yellow House Hostel with fellow hikers, Smalls snd Service.  We had returned earlier in the day from slackpacking an 11 mile day so we were tired and ready to just chill for the evening. So when our wonderful host, Marty, said he was making spaghetti for everyone, we were thrilled.  As dinner time approached, another hiker ( I think he was a poser and was actually homeless) and his dog stopped by, Smalls invited him to look through the hiker box (box of free things left by hikers for hikers) to see if he wanted anything. He said he’d take anything we had for free. He seemed content talking with Smalls when no one else was around. She was the type of woman that you felt comfortable around, so caring and giving, so I understood why he felt most comfortable talking with her.  She fixed him a large plate of spaghetti (forfeiting most of her portion) so that he could have a good, hearty meal and sent him to the front porch to sit and eat with the rest of us while she got her dinner of what was left.  He came out onto the front porch with his plate of food, chopped it up and then held it out to his dog to eat off the plate.  I watched in shock as he proceeded to put the plate of food on the ground for the dog to continue eating. Now don’t get me wrong, I love dogs,  but this plate of food was meant for the hiker, especially since someone was going with less so that he could eat.  Maybe some for his dog but certainly not the whole plateful.   Because he wouldn’t speak to the men when they asked him questions, Marty asked if he spoke English.  It was said innocently but this question made the hiker mad, he grabbed the food away from the dog, left the food on the bench and left without any words or even a thank you. We all just sat there in silence not knowing what just happened, shaking our heads in wonderment.  What had happened in his life to have made him this way? What is his story? Fearful of men, socially distant, unclean, homeless, etc.  Every person is made in God’s image, so even with a hard and ugly exterior, there is beauty inside somewhere you just need to find it.   It took awhile for me to find some beauty, but I did.  The love and compassion he felt towards his best friend, his loyal dog, was so evident. He cared for his dog’s wellbeing more than he did his own.  That shows a self-less love.  I learned yet again, we all have a past, a story, things that have hardened us, but if we take the time to find the beauty within, maybe we won’t judge people so harshly without fully knowing their story.

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This is a bunch of croc!  I wish I could say this was the first time this happened to us. But unfortunately it is a repeat of what happened last year when hiking.  I’m pretty sure it’s called insanity when doing the same thing, expecting different results.  Anyway, FROG uses his croc as a weight for the rope used for hanging our food in a tree at night.  He attaches his croc on one end and flings the rope up over a tree limb expecting it to come back on the other side of the limb successfully so he can pull our food bag up off the ground and high enough out that the bears can’t reach it.  Most times this works. But there’s that one time when the croc does not cooperate and gets stuck on the limb and won’t budge! Wala, this week was the week!  Meantime, I’m in the tent getting my nightly chores done when I hear choice words loudly coming from the woods.  I immediately know what he did and come out to analyze the situation and to try to calm him down as he’s hopping around one croc on, one stuck in the tree still angry. I understand he’s just tired and ready for bed and then for this to happen really is an inconvenience. I remember how we were shown last year to get it down so I calmly say, “I know we’ll get this, but hold on, I need to get a picture of this to show everyone.”  It helps to lighten the mood as we find a long branch that was v-shaped, got underneath it, and pushed it up over the limb. Maybe we really aren’t too smart. Nope, still going with “we’re amazing!” 

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55 miles in 5 days! We passed many groups of students this week.  We learned that in Newark, NJ it is a requirement that high school students (not sure which school or if all) backpack from High Point, NJ to Delaware Water Gap, PA, 11 miles a day. We saw a mixture of expressions, some so excited to be there to wishing they were anywhere else but on the trail.  So much can be learned out on the trail about yourself, others, learning to live with so little, survival skills, team work, food prep, etc.  I think this is wonderful! So many kids never leave city life and get such an experience. What do you think? Do you think more schools should make this a requirement?

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He kicked me, twice! I was sleeping soundly in my sleeping bag when wham! I get kicked. Before I can get a sound out a second kick occurs and harder! This time I scream out in pain.  “Why are you kicking me?” FROG alarmed by my scream wakes right up.  I ask again why he kicked me and twice. He said that some big guy was coming after him and his first reaction was to kick him where it hurt.  I asked him if he won the brawl and he said he didn’t know because his wife woke him up!  If his kicks to me were any indication, I think he got him pretty good!

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Trail Magic strikes again!!  What a week we had!  Met 3 older ladies from Virginia out hiking New Jersey, they were handing out clementines to hikers as they passed them by. So delish!  We stopped at a home that advertised cold drinks, we found a cooler in the woods with cold drink, chips and cookies, a state employee that if you mentioned her name, Johnnie, at the High Point Visitor Center you got a bag of goodies, but our most favorite this week was our stop at Robin & Dave’s (aka the other Dave) house. They opened up their home to us for 3 nights, allowing us to slackpack for 2 days, picking us up and driving us back to the trailheads, feeding us delicious home cooked meals, letting us sleep in a comfy bed, relieved that we took many showers, mailing Tigger to our next stop and …

We were up early, our last morning at Robin and Dave’s, eating a light breakfast in anticipation of a 9 mile hike into Greenwood Lake, NY.  It was cloudy outside and Dave had given us the weather report that about 10:00 am it was going to rain for about an hour and then again maybe about 4:00 for an hour or so. We knew we had our raincoats ready and thought we’d be at our hostel by the time the afternoon shower hit. We were not prepared for what was about to happen.

We put our backpacks in the back of the truck and the four of us got in and got buckled in for our 40 minute ride to the trailhead.  Robin had picked us up at the trailhead the day before so knew exactly where we needed to go and so was our navigator that morning.

As we’re leaving their home, we hear thunder and a few sprinkles start but we’re hopeful by the time we reached the trailhead, it would be fine.  

As we get to the road that leads to where we need to start hiking we see tree limbs and branches all over the road and then come upon a police officer that is trying to clear a tree that had fallen across the road. Dave gets out and helps him get the job done faster.  As we proceed further up the road we come upon wires that have fallen across the road and more trees that have fallen in yards and on the road. There was no way we would be able to go any further on this road.

Turning around and heading back the way we came, we took another road that would lead us to the trailhead in the other direction. The same thing happened. Too many downed trees and no way to get to our destination.

All during this time, it is pouring out and during one of our stops were told a tornado or microburst had come through the area and another was expected in a couple hours.  This made us all rethink whether we should even be backpacking if it was only expected to get worse.

We all decided it would be best to take us directly to the hostel we were planning to stay at and see if we could check in early and just take a day off from backpacking in this unpredictable weather.  Directions were put in for the hostel and we thought we were golden now, we would just bypass all the downed trees.

Who knew the direction we were headed was where the center of catastrophe had occurred?

We made 3 more attempts, the GPS rerouting us a different way each time to get to the hostel and again, roads blocked.  We were so close, just 2 miles away, but we just didn’t think we could get there.  The skies were still dark and it looked like maybe our only option was to get out and walk there.  Dave wants to try this one last way and see if we can get through. I’m not sure about anyone else, but I know I was holding my breath for those last miles praying that we could get through.  Finally, the hostel appeared to our right. We had safely made it! What should have only taken 40 minutes ended up being 1.5 hours.  What an adventure that I know none of us will ever forget.  

I am so thankful we were not on the trail. We talked to a hiker that arrived at the hostel as he explained his experience on the ledge of rocks that we would have been on. He was pretty shook up and literally thought he would die up there during the lightning, thunder and high winds.   We didn’t get it verified but we heard there were hikers up there that needed to be rescued. 

We have since learned that they are not calling it a tornado or microburst, it was a fast moving storm with straight line winds.  I don’t care what they’re calling it, it was scary, dangerous and not something that would have been safe to be in.  As far as I know there were no fatalities, (even a tree falling on a school bus but no kids hurt, just shook up), and a lot of property damage.

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And finally … childhood memories are about to unfold. If all goes as planned, we will get to relive a childhood memory this next week. Stay tuned to next week’s report.