APR 9th, 2012 - PREP HIKE 1
(75 days 'til the trail)

“Courage is doing what you're afraid to do.  There can be no courage unless you're scared."  -Eddie Rickenbacker

As one of our “prep-hikes” to test our equipment and minimize our pack-weight, Heather and I headed off to Lehigh Gap, PA to do a two day 21.2 mile trek (16.7 miles on the first day and 4.5 miles the next morning). We had both read and saw pictures of the steep climbs and beautiful views there and were eager to try it. Because most thru-hikers pass this section under the intense June Sun, many have understandably nicknamed this climb “Dante’s Inferno.” With a temperature of about 55 degrees though, we should have nothing to worry about.

Then why does Heather look so worried? Recently, Heather has gotten a little , how shall I put this, obsessed, with the possibility of seeing a venomous snake. On the A.T. there is the possibility of encountering Copperheads or Timber Rattlers and while I wouldn’t say she is scared, I’d definitely say she doesn’t want to walk past one. Needless to say, I walked in front today…

We got on the trail about 9:45am. The trail almost immediately headed straight up. The wooded climb quickly yielded to a steep field of boulders. Completely exposed now, the wind whipped at a constant 30mph with gusts over 40mph. Leave it to us to pick the windiest day of the month to do this climb. Footing proved difficult in the strong gusts. Whenever you extended your leg toward the next boulder, the wind seemed to kick up, pushing you back a bit, not allowing you to place your foot down. Stuck there balancing with one leg hanging upwards towards the wind, you felt like Karate Kid. Huyahh! Some hand over hand climbing came next and when I popped my head over the ridge I was blasted with what felt like hurricane force winds. Not a good day to do this hike at all! But I doubt we’ll get 70 days of perfect weather this summer so we’ll have to roll with the punches, and hopefully not down this hill!

We hugged each other at the top and breathed a sigh of relief. In the Summer it may be called “Dante’s Inferno” but we certainly agreed that in early April it will henceforth be known as “Frosty’s Freezer!” In true A.T. style, never knowing what you will encounter next, we were greeted by a sign indicating a trail re-route due to a Superfund site (abandoned hazardous waste site). Few things grew on the barren rock and desolate soil. A casualty of careless mining and few environmental regulations. Remind me not to refill my water bladder in any nearby streams!

After a couple of miles on nice, soft dirt paths, the trail turned to rocks. Not the nice big boulders that you hop from one to the next but medium to small rocks. The sharp edges of the medium rocks stung through your boot soles while the small rocks wobbled, straining your knees and ankles. 13 more miles of this! Yikes! Eager to get to camp we took only a couple of short breaks. I was never happier to see a 40 year old three walled shelter with the occasional mouse droppings on the floor. Home sweet Home! Its amazing how hiking for just one day can help you to appreciate what you have.

I built a fire while heather got food ready. Nobody else was at the shelter so rather than throwing our sleeping pads and bags on the floor of the shelter, I began to set up our tent in the shelter. As I unrolled it I realized I had packed my single person tent rather than our double. Heather had a good laugh about it but later that night, squeezed together between the nylon tent walls, we couldn’t help feeling like a sausage. Hope Bears don't like Bratwurst!

I woke up to rain…not outside but inside the tent. Because it was a single person tent there are fewer air flow vents so the water vapor from our breath condensed on the walls of the tent and the occasional “rain drop” would land on my forehead, telling me it was time to wake. I’d rather wake up to “Drip…Drip…Drip” than “whaaa…whaaa…whaaa” any day!

After a quick breakfast of candy bars and raisins, we jumped back on the trail. The second day was quick and uneventful. After a few miles we saw another hiker on the trail and realized we hadn’t seen a single soul in over 24 hours (besides each other). Finally we arrived at the car, exhausted! We were pleased with our pack weights and plan on making just a few adjustments for our next prep hike.

~ Brian (Daddy Long Legs)