July 24 Mile 1236

Hot! Very hot! Probably mid 90s and very humid. Feel like I'm at home in Georgia and not in the Pennsylvania woods. Wisely decided on a modest hiking day, due to water availability and the uncertainy on the amount of rocks and boulders we would have to climb around and through. The choice was the right one, as tomorrow we come up on lots of rocky places, so we are told.
So, today, we hiked with Tunes and Tootsie Pops and went up a ridge to Dan's Pulpit, 1600 feet, which had a little view of the valley below. We couldn't linger there long, as the site was full of bees. So off we trudged, thru the green tunnel and over lots of rocks- big and very big. It's actually fun to go boulder to boulder. Some people go crazy on the trail in Pa because of this. We had some trail magic last week and the person who left it wrote a note that many people quit the trail in Pa, due to the rocks, I suppose, and the general monotony of the landscape. We've been in Pa for about 180 miles, and only have about 50 to go. And it will be slow- probably take us 4 more days to get through. That's our plan anyway.
I always thought gnats were a southern thing. Nope- they are everywhere we have been on the trail. Other bugs, too, have been with us throughout. We have lots of Daddy Long Leg spiders, lots of the big black ants- the ones that eat their way through trees, small biting ones as well, all kinds of spiders, ( you walk through their webs across the trail in the mornings, so don't be first in line on hiking) biting no-see-ums, and of course ticks and Mosquitos.
But it's the gnats that are the most annoying. We have had them since the second day out. As you hike, they buzz your ears, you want to brush them away, but your hands are full of your walking poles, so you are trying to shoo them away and not stick yourself with the pole. Then they go for the moist spots on your face- you eyes, nose, and ears. Going into my eyes is the worst. And they tend to send up one gnat at a time to torture us. Where do they come from and why are they everywhere on the trail? This is why so many like to hike in the winter, and why some leave the trail. They are maddening.
Due to the heat took a long break at lunch and actually fell asleep at the Allentown Shelter. Hiked on and had a nice surprise 4 miles later at about 5:30. Came to a highway, and there was a resturant- Blue Mtn Summit- said hikers were welcome, but we had to clean up first- said it was "fine dining night". Sometimes resturants along the way aren't real crazy about us- like in Port Clinton- they think of us as "hiker trash", and, I must admit,a few hikers are inconsiderate. But most of us are normal folks with an extra layer of dirt and a shirt that's a little sweaty ( well alot, actually ). In one town the restaurant stuck us in a side room, away from regular people.
Anyway, the dinner was great, we ate, and hiked another two miles to our camping spot, Tripoli Camping area, getting here just as it was getting dark.
A hot day, but a good day.


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