#23 Wind Gap to Unionville

7/21: We ate leftover pizza for breakfast and were out on the trail! And it was hot! We had a climb out of town, and that was pretty tough. Once we got on the ridge though, we didn’t have any more big climbs. I took a lot of breaks because of the heat, and shout out to my diluted Gatorade that I packed out for being an extra supplement to my water. I stopped for water at a stream at about 7 miles in and splashed water on my face and neck. It felt amazing. Then there was a section called “Wolf Rocks” which had a few boulder climbs, but it wasn’t too bad. I also got some good views up there above the treetops. After that, it was rocky and hard to get a good stride in, but I just took it slow. A few miles down, and I ran into some trail magic! There were hotdogs, ice cold water and pop, chips, and cookies. Sunshine, Otter, and I sat and snacked and talked to the trail angels for a while. We grudgingly got moving again, but luckily the terrain was pretty easy. I cruised for a while, took a break, and then hiked some more. At one point the trees opened up and I got a gorgeous view of a mountain with some exposed rock and that was probably my favorite view in PA!

I was a little less than 3 miles from Delaware Water Gap, where we were staying for the night, and I saw clouds in the distance and then a lightning strike. I hiked as fast as my legs would take me down the mountain, hoping to beat the storm into town. At some points I was even jogging. I made it to the church that hosts hikers and hung out under a roof while it rained. Then Sunshine, Otter, and I got apple pie at a local bakery, some ramen at a Japanese food restaurant, and then milkshakes! And after all that food, I was soundly ready for bed.

7/22: We had to have a bit of a late start because I needed to get a package from the outfitter and they opened at 10. So I got breakfast at the Apple Pie Bakery with Carver and another friend from the hostel. Also, yesterday I kept a pair of underwear on the outside of my pack because I had sink washed them and wanted them to dry, but they must’ve fallen off because I couldn’t find them. Unfortunately the outfitter didn’t carry them, so I’m down to 1 pair of undies until I can get them ordered online. Oops. Anyway, Sunshine, Otter, and I finally get on the trail at around 10:30. We had a one and a half mile road walk and passed over to New Jersey! Finally we got into the woods and had a gradual climb for a few miles. It’s still hot though, so it’s a bummer. There was a cool lake that I took a break at and I was serenaded by the bullfrogs.

I was moving slow, but by 2 it was threatening to rain and I still had 6 miles left. I was walking as normal and suddenly I heard a rattle and a hiss and 10 feet in front of me, a giant black rattler slithered into the woods. I ran backwards and gave it distance until stopped rattling at me. Then I made a big circle around it through the ferns on the other side of the trail to avoid it. And it worked out great! Unfortunately though, I still had to worry about the rain. From my experience setting up my tent in the rain a few days ago when water got inside, I wanted to avoid that scenario again and beat the rain to the campsite. Dear reader, the rain won. There was a quick downpour around 3:15 and then an hour later, it started raining and hasn’t stopped yet. The trail quickly flooded so I was splashing through puddles a lot today. Every part of me was soaked. There was the constant sound of thunder in the distance as I walked, but I missed the worst of the storms. I chanted “No pain, no rain, no Maine” in my head, and that motivated me the rest of the way. I finally got to camp around 6 and set up my tent smarter so that rain didn’t get in, peeled off my wet clothes and snuggled in tight to warm up and get dry.

7/23: I did not want to change into my wet hiking clothes and leave my cozy tent, but I did eventually. It was a cool and overcast morning. Water from the trees and plants fell on me as I walked, and I knew that there was very little hope of me getting dry on trail. It may sound dreary, but there were sooooo many little orange salamanders on the ground and they are just the cutest things in the world, so I was ok.

I also saw a wild turkey walk out from a bush a few miles away from the campsite, and then its offspring ran after it into the next shrub. It drizzled on and off as I hiked. There were a few gorgeous viewpoints that had expansive views of the mountains and the rain clouds. New Jersey is beautiful!

I met up with Otter and Sunshine, and we decided to push into town so we could dry our clothes and our gear. I was pretty motivated to go quicker once I got the idea of town food in my head. On one of the overlooks, I went up a little bit and I saw a rattlesnake coiled up on a rock a little bit away. This was the first time I had seen one before it got mad at me, so I took a blurry, zoomed in picture. I got to the road at about 5:30 and a trail angel was kind enough to drive us to the town nearby so we could stay at a motel. We got Italian food at the restaurant next door for dinner and watched Hitch on tv before going to sleep with freshly laundered and dry clothes.

7/24: We got an Uber out of town and back to the trail for some more hiking adventures. Otter and I both took a break to dry out our tents at a viewpoint 2 miles into the hike. In terms of time management, it wasn’t a great choice because it was a long break for only hiking 2 miles, but my tent was a lot lighter once it was dry, so that was good. There were still a bunch of orange salamanders on the trail, so that made me happy. It was a cool morning and the perfect temperature for hiking. I took another long break for lunch at a pavilion on top of a mountain and enjoyed the great views while I ate a peanut butter and honey wrap with dried bananas. Then, I hiked down a little more because I needed to get moving, and there was trail magic at the parking lot! I was already full from lunch, but I ate a banana and filled up on water. There was a group of girls with giant packs and they reminded me of leading those kinds of trips as a camp counselor, and I was grateful I got to do that, because without that experience, I probably wouldn’t be hiking the AT. Maybe some of those girls will do thru hikes too! A few miles away, I saw a black rat snake and I was going to take a picture, but then it started mimicking a rattler by waving it’s tail and then shot off into the woods. But then I saw a fawn and walked right by it without scaring it away, so that was pretty cool!

Again today I had some stunning views of the mountains in the distance! Once I was closer to the shelter, there was a tough climb that kicked my butt, but at the top, there was a lookout platform and I could see for miles all around. It was so beautiful. It almost made the rocks that I was swearing at 10 minutes earlier worth it. I finally got to the shelter around 6:30 and I pitched my tent so I wouldn’t have to deal with bugs. Then I made Spanish Rice, filtered water, and cleaned up my cook stuff before heading back to my tent where I listened to the rushing water below to help me fall asleep.

Now we’re in Unionville for a few hours before heading out on the trail again! We hiked 7 miles this morning, and will hike 6 more after lunch. I got a new pair of underwear (don’t worry mom) and we’re excited to keep pushing the miles!

Happy trails :)