Day 63 - Sunday, August 14

Linda

Had some rain in the night, but it was fairly dry when we woke up. We weren't moving very fast, so didn't start walking until 7:30. The trail all looks the same through this section, with no real prominent landmarks or notable features. It seemed like we were walking forever and not going anywhere. We were about 5.8 miles from Wind Gap, and we came down to the road just before 10:00. Several Northbounders told us not to try to get water in Wind Gap, because the people were refusing to give any, especially the hotel. They must be tired of all the thirsty hikers coming through. It's hard to know what to do, because there is very little water along the trail, and you have to get water somewhere. About the only thing to do is to ask at a house or a store or restaurant whenever the trail comes down off the ridge and crosses a road. We figured we had to try asking for water anyway, or we'd be in trouble.

We passed a mobile home park right where the trail crossed the road. I was elected to do the asking - probably because I was the more respectable looking of the two. We really picked the right place this time. Our guardian angel was intervening for us again today. I went to the door and asked the lady of the house for water. She very kindly agreed and even took our grungy bottles inside and washed them with soap and water before filling them. I thanked her and we started to leave, but she came back out and invited us in for a cup of coffee. We were surprised, but gratefully accepted the invitation and quickly went in. They were a middle aged couple named Margaret & Wally Miechowski. Margaret sort of reminds me of Aunt Alice the way she talks and fusses over people. They made us feel right at home. We had coffee and chatted a bit, then they asked if we would like some toast and eggs. She ended up fixing us a whole huge breakfast of toast, eggs, home fries and juice. They acted like it was no trouble at all, and they seemed to enjoy the company, so we just relaxed and enjoyed their hospitality.

We talked and watched some TV and read the Sunday paper to catch up on the news. They had a Chihuahua named Tippy and Ronald played with her for a while. They must invite hikers in quite often, because they told us stories about all the hikers they've met. Ronald and Wally talked about CB radios while I washed up in the bathroom. Wally is a long haul trucker for Lone Star Industries, so he travels all over the country. He said he'd been in Richmond many times. Ronald gave him some tips on a new CB he'd just bought for his truck. Couldn't work at Radio Shack for that long and not learn something about CBs. We finally said our thanks and good-byes to the Miechowskis and left around 11:30 - well fed and content. They were just one more confirmation that there are still a lot of kind and generous people in the world. We are learning that time and time again as our journey continues.

We felt like we could fly up out of Wind Gap, and almost did. While zooming up the 4.7 miles to Leroy Smith Shelter, we came across Rand Elmquist again, just sitting beside the trail, looking quite despondent. He'd gotten that far yesterday and didn't feel well, so he set up camp and was just resting. We wondered why he didn't at least try to go on to the shelter where he could be more comfortable, but guess he felt he couldn't make it. We went on, hoping he would try to go on to the shelter. We hoped so even more when we got there. Leroy Smith Shelter is one of the nicest ones we encountered. It's an Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) special, with a weekend caretaker, but no fee. It had an outhouse and even a table for cooking. We had to scout around for water, but did finally find some after a long walk down a path past two dry springs. We fixed our hot meal for the day there, since we figured this would probably be the last water we'd see today.

We left the lovely shelter and continued on for another 8.5 miles over more rocks. There wasn't much of anything to say about the scenery along the trail here, except that it all seemed to look the same. The trail followed along the top of the ridge with very little climbing beyond the climb up from the gap - just a lot of rocks and trees. The only thing provided even a hint to our location were the mile markers on the trees. It rained a little for part of the afternoon, but it wasn't enough to impede our walking. The worst thing was the horseflies. They were huge and relentless. They swarmed all around us, and seemed to bother Ronald most. Must be the body chemistry. They also seemed to bite for no particular reason and Repel doesn't phase them in the least. We walked along waving our arms and flapping our bandannas to keep them at bay. The last two miles were murder because of the flies.

We got to a campsite where three guys were already camped and talked to them for a few minutes. We ended up camping just a few yards away, even though I had run ahead on the trail a good half mile to scout out another site. By the time I got back, Ronald decided he'd walked enough for the day, so we set up camp there. I could have beaned him. We did do well today, though. Came 19 miles before 6:30, even with several hours of breaks and a late start. Not bad for our first whole day on Penn's Rocks. Total mileage so far - 895.

Ron

We got on the trail around 7:30 after a restful sleep. The weather threatened rain, so we wanted to make our miles early. The 5.8 miles into Wind Gap went easily. We heard from other hikers that the motel at the gap does not give water to hikers. We stopped at a trailer court to resupply. Linda went up to get water while I checked the maps. Since Linda is usually more presentable than I, she does most of our initial public contacts.

The lady at the trailer was kind enough to wash out our water bottles be for filling them. As we were storing the bottles, she invited us in for some coffee. Well we could not very well refuse the offer. After coffee, she offered us toast then eggs, home fries, and OJ. I just sat there with my mouth open and said yes. For the next hour and a half we sat and chatted about the trail and our experience. Their generosity really touched us.

This couple, like many of the other good people we have met on the trail has really impressed us to a great extent. I only hope that someday we can offer to others some of the generosity shown to us. It really was a shame to have to leave in the rain. The warmth we had found there easily carried us up the next mountain.

About a mile from the gap we found Rand stretch out under his tarp. He wasn't feeling well and had yet to get moving today. He said that he might get as far as the next shelter. We took off an made it to LeRoy A Smith Shelter by 1:30. With the lack of reliable water on the next section, we decided to eat our big meal there and carry some extra water for supper and tomorrow's breakfast. After lunch we were off by 3:15. From then on the trail was good with only a few rocky spots. We were able to maintain a three mile per hour pace on the flat ridges. Around 6:30 we found a found a flat spot to set up the tent and make camp.

(19 Miles - 899.5 Total)