Bama➡️Baxter Day 115&116 

Day 115: 6.4 miles

This morning we all slept in super late in the shelter. We were in no rush to get to town because it was only six miles away. So all of us just slept for as long as we wanted to. I got up around 9/9:30 a.m. and turned my phone off of airplane mode and immediately began to get a call. It was from the medical office that I am trying to reach out to to have my ER bill eliminated. The timing could not have been better. The woman who I spoke to was super helpful and guided me through everything. She answered all of my questions and reassured me that the bill would likely be reduced entirely once I submitted all the paperwork. That was such a relief!

After that everybody got up and we packed up. Then all of us set out to walk into the Delaware water gap. We didn’t even get walking until 10:30 a.m. Road Soda wound up joining us on the walk to town too! He’s just gonna get a ride back to his car later on today.

Beautiful views on our walk into the Delaware water gap.

The trail was super chill all the way to town. It was pretty flat to start and then the rest of the morning was spent descending into Delaware Water Gap. Once we were in town, we headed over to a pub to grab some lunch. I got the most ridiculously delicious beer cheese Philly cheese steak with sweet potato fries. And we decided to all take a shot of tequila to start off our nero day.

The sign when we entered into the Delaware water gap.

After that we walked over to a spot nearby that sold fresh pie and ice cream. I got a mini key lime pie and a milkshake because my appetite just couldn’t be stopped. While we were sitting at the pie shop, Not Today, who owns Live Life Hostel, came by to give us a ride. He’s said that he’d take us to our hotel for the night and then bring Road Soda back to his car. He pulled up the directions and we all headed over. We said goodbye to him and Road Soda and then headed inside to check in. And I shit you not, we were at the wrong hotel.

A bunch of pies at the shop in town.

Sweet Pea and I posing with the hilarious sign at the pie shop.

When Not Today had put it in his GPS, he put in place with the same name but different address. Apparently, the hotel that we booked was actually walking distance from the pie shop that we were at earlier. So Not Today drove us back over there and then we said goodbye to the guys once again. It was such a hilarious situation.

Peg Leg, Boosted, Sweet Pea, Road Soda, and Squirrel.

We checked in to the hotel and all got showered up after that. It felt so nice to get clean! Then Squirrel, Sweet Pea, and I went over to the indoor pool at the hotel. It was actually really nice too. I can’t remember the last time that I swam in an indoor pool. After we finished up there, we all showered again and then got our stuff together to do laundry. Then we walked over to the pub once again to get more food. Boosted decided to hang at the room and just lounge instead.

The three of us headed over to the pub and wound up sitting at the bar. The bartender was clearly in the weeds, so it took a really long time for us to get drinks. Then even longer for us to order food. I got beer dip with a pretzel and French onion soup, which was all really good. While we were there, I took a couple shots of tequila too with everybody. Three other hikers, Bookmark, Ranch, and Mimic, were at the bar too and joined in on a couple rounds of shots with us.

Then we headed out and back to the room to watch TV and hang out. All of us chilled for a while longer back the hotel and then called it a night.

Day 116: 17 miles

This morning we all slept in a bit at the hotel before getting up. We had to head over to the post office before leaving town, so we weren’t exactly in any rush. Once we were all up and moving, we decided to head over to Dunkin Donuts for some breakfast. At the Dunkin Donuts we ran into a few other hikers that we met a week or so ago. And after we finished up there, we headed to the post office.

Roxy begging for food at the Dunkin Donuts

My new topos had arrived, which was super exciting. I never got any sort of email confirmation, so I was really just hoping that they would be there. The ones I have currently are a complete wreck and are close to becoming uncomfortable. I’ve put about 850 miles on them, just like my last pair of topos. I’m only just now starting on my 3rd pair in over 1,700 miles.

We headed back from the post office and packed up our things in the room to hike out. Then we hiked out of town. The trail continued through Delaware Water Gap briefly along the road. Then we crossed the bridge, which marked the official end of Pennsylvania and the start of New Jersey! That was pretty damn exciting. While we walked along the bridge, we all tried to get cars to honk for us, which was a big success.

Crossing the PA/NJ border on the AT!

Once we crossed over the bridge, we continued on the road for a bit longer. Then the trail picked back up and we headed into the woods once more. There was a gradual climb right off the bat, but it was really well graded. And when we got up to the top the trail walked around a beautiful pond that was surrounded by mountain laurel. It was a lovely stretch of the trail.

Passing the AT 1300 mile marker.

We found a nice spot next to the pond to stop off and take a break. The mountain laurel wrapping around the pond was beautiful.  I really had never seen anything like it. After sitting by the pond for a while, we continued along. The next few miles we did a slight bit of gradual uphill, but it was nice and easy. Though at one point I wound up rolling my left ankle super bad. That isn’t something that happens often but definitely can. This was certainly the most painful ankle roll that I’ve done so far on the AT. It was pretty damn sore afterwards but didn’t seem too bad.

Views of the beautiful pond surrounded by mountain laurel.

After about five or so miles we came upon a road and Cookie’s parents were there again and doing trail magic! She was there too hanging out, along with a handful of other hikers.

The trail magic set up that Cookie’s parents had going.

All of us hung out there for a while and enjoyed some soda and snacks. They even had a cooler with cups of Italian ice, which were so nice and refreshing. Then after a bit we decided to head down the road to the Mohican Outdoor Center, which is where we were planning to go for our next break originally.

The Mohican Outdoor Center apparently serves some food and drinks, so we wanted to stop over for lunch if we could. Plus, you can send packages there, so Sweet Pea had his brand-new pair of shoes sent there, which was great. We all got a sandwich when we got there and sat inside to eat and hang out for a bit.

The sign for the Mohican Outdoor Center.

After we ate our lunch there, we continued along. Rather than backtracking down the road, we were able to follow the Rattlesnake Swamp Trail for a while and reconnect to the AT. The trail was pretty nice but a bit overgrown in places. But it wasn’t long before we were back in the AT. Then we walked for another few miles until we passed by a beaver pond outlet, which was our last water source before our camp site for the night. All of us filled up on water there and took a quick break.  We only planned to do another couple of miles under we came upon a nice camp site.

At some point over the next mile or so we wound up seeing a porcupine! First it was walking around on the ground and then it climbed up a nearby tree. It was so close to us, so we were able to watch the whole scene in perfect view. I was so stoked because I’d never actually seen a porcupine in person before. That was awesome.

A porcupine climbing a tree!

We wound up getting to a tent site not long after that. Another couple was there who we’ve been leapfrogging with a bit recently. I got set up and then laid in my tent to do my stretching before I sat out with everybody. Then I ate some snacks for dinner and hung out with the guys before finally calling it a night.

Beautiful views along the AT.

Looking out at some epic views.