Day 15 (July 7th) - JersDay

"Our culture runs on coffee and gasoline, the first often tasting like the second."
-Edward Abbey.
[Hikers run on snickers and mole skin...]

Start: Church of the Mountain Hostel
Finish: AMC Mohican Outdoor Center
Today: 10.7 mi
Total: 149.4 mi

Off by 7:45 AM, we made her way through the Delaware water gap along the AT. We walked across the River on the I-80 bridge. It's so strange that I drove over this bridge so many times on my way to and from college and now I walk across it as part of a 1000+ mile adventure. As cool as it feels to be doing this it's a bit unnerving having 18 wheeler tractor-trailers flying by within feet of me at 65 miles an hour. Even scarier is the subsequent trembling of the entire bridge as the enormous weight of the truck vibrates the ground. But what is going on in Brian's world? The song "Good Vibrations" by Beach boys.

We finally got out of PA and entered NJ! As Heather and I walked in the early morning we spoke of the rocks of PA with hopes that they diminish in New Jersey (that's the rumor on the trail). We also both agreed that the new state flower of PA is the sharp rock.

We started ascending a 1000 foot climb along the banks of the stream. The sound of the water spilling over falls and swirling in Eddies soothed my mind. By 11 AM, the day had grown noticeably hotter and shortly after it was scorching hot and very humid. Working my body so hard in this weather turned up the sweat factory. Before long, I looked as though I just jumped into a pond with my cloths on.

As I walked up the trail, I finally heard it. The unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake stopped me in my tracks for the third time in my life. About 5 feet away was a big, thick, young (had all its rattles) Timber Rattlesnake. Heather was behind me so she didn't hear it but she did get to see it slither away.

We summited Mount Kittatiny at around 12:30 PM. The name Kittatiny is derived from the Delaware Indians' name for the mountain "Kekachtanin" meaning endless Mountain. I agree!

Just before arriving at Mohican Outdoor Center the skies darkened and the wind kicked up with the sound of thunder in the distance. The storm brought us a bit of rain but it was still so hot we called it a day.

~Daddy Long Legs