At 3am I reasoned that since I was going into town there was no point in getting up at 5 and arriving in town before anything opened. So I had a luxurious extra hour of sleep.
I had heard that it was super easy to hitch a ride into town but I tried it from the wrong side of the bridge. Then I decided to just walk along the highway since it was now only a mile, but the highway shoulder got narrower and narrower, so then I walked beside the railroad tracks. The whole thing was a bit dicey but I made it into town and stopped at Bert’s steakhouse for a breakfast of French toast, strawberry sauce and whipped cream. Just as it arrived Ghost and Bull walked in so we sat together. They had woken an hour after me and arrived ten minutes after me. They crossed the bridge and got a ride within seconds of sticking out their thumbs.
The resupply went well except that no one in town seems to carry fuel canisters. I’m on day 9 for this canister and I’m not sure it will even do tomorrow so I may be cold soaking for a while. That will be unpleasant but maybe I’ll discover that I can ditch my stove and fuel.
The climb up from the highway after returning from town was steep and technical with a strong sun beating down. Then the trail followed a rock-strewn ridge with stunted pines and very little shade so I drank a lot of water. The FarOut comments for last night’s shelter had warned that there were no springs for the next 20 miles. Luckily some very kind souls do a daily water jug drop at several points where the trail crosses a road, so I was able to fill up at such spots twice.
By 6pm I could feel tendinitis in my right shin (previously it was in my left) so I decided to camp as soon as I found an okay site. A man my age, Who Knows, was putting up his tent right beside the trail. We got to talking and I decided to look for a site nearby.
In spite of walking almost a third less than yesterday I’m tired and sore and looking forward to bed. Possibly the fatigue is from the high temperatures. At least it’s cooling down now.
Mile 1260.8 to mile 1274.5 = 13.7 miles. That doesn’t include about 4 miles of walking between trail and town.
View south from the ridge climbing up after visiting Palmerton
An easier section of the trail