Tentsite 1248.7 to PA Route 873, 1260.5 (11.8 miles, 235.05 total miles)
I slept well on my second night alone, listening to fireworks in the distance as I drifted off. I only got up once last night, and I woke up around the same time as yesterday, about 7:30 AM.
It was a little faster today, leaving camp at 9 AM exactly. I had a few more miles to go today, and a lot of rocks. Before I left camp, while I was sitting on a log next to the fire ring, a tall middle-age gentleman came into the clearing. He asked if I needed water, since the sources around there aren’t very good until Palmerton.
After my breakfast drink I was going to have about a liter, so I readily accepted two 16 oz Poland Springs bottles. The gentleman‘s name was Mr. Mooney, and he was very sweet, also gave me a banana and an apple. I ate the banana while we chatted, and packed the apple away for later. I thanked him for both.
I told him my trail name is Amelia Airheart, and he asked right away if I was blogging. I told him yes, and he said he thought he’d been on my website and liked to follow some of the hikers. I was very flattered by this.
Mr. Mooney maintains a 6 or 7 mile section between Route 309 and Ashfield road, I believe. I told him the trail looks great, as I even commented to Jack after we crossed 309 yesterday. Mr. Mooney clearly took great pride and passion in his work, and had grown up in the area.
He told me about the Rocky sections up ahead, and to make sure that I watched out for snakes. It was going to be a very sunny and hot day on exposed rock, perfect weather for snakes to come out and sun themselves. He told me rattlesnakes will only bite once, but copperheads will grab onto your leg and empty all their venom into you. It was cheerful breakfast conversation, but good info to know.
Mr. Mooney and I said happy Memorial Day to each other, and he hiked on. As I started my day I could see the rocks picked up right where I left them. It was extremely rocky to the Knifes Edge. This was the only other Knifes Edge that I’d ever heard of, other than the one on Katahdin, which isn’t actually part of the AT.
Up ahead, I could see it was getting sunny and hot as the Knifes Edge went over an exposed ridge. I had come very close to having to hike this in pouring rain the other day, and I was glad I had stopped early yesterday before this spot.
The Knifes Edge is true its name, a rocky spine that seemed to go on for a half mile but was probably only 2/10 of a mile. All the rocks were slanted, and each rock almost had its own knife edge that I had to traverse. I moved very slowly, already sweating in the direct sunlight, paranoid of snakes.
I tapped my trekking poles all around, both to give me leverage and to scare off any snakes that may be nearby. I didn’t see a single snake on all the exposed rocks, but I did see about a hundred spiders. I was glad I had gotten over that particular phobia a while ago.
It was hot, sweaty, and very slow work. By the time I was done with it and back into the woods, it had taken me an hour to go a mile. The views had been nice though, and I felt very fortunate to have made it safely as it was a little sketchy, and I almost fell at one point.
The trail continued on in a very rocky fashion for about another mile, until I came upon a family climbing down from some boulders to the left of the trail. I double checked that it wasn’t part of the trail, and continued on past them, listening to them talking for a while until I left them behind. The nice thing was after that section of boulders, the trail got much nicer back onto a flat two track.
There weren’t many cars at Bake Oven Knob parking lot, which was nice because I know it’s a popular spot on the weekends. The terrain stayed nice for a little bit, before getting very rocky as I figured it would. None of the views lately in PA had been free; you have to pay in rocks. There were quite a few families, groups of day hikers, and dogs heading up to the knob.
Up at the top it looked like there were a couple spots to go to take in the view, but it looked like they would require walking over bonus rocks. I wasn’t really feeling the bonus rocks, so I continued along. I had already gotten enough views at Knifes Edge, and I was ready to break at the shelter for lunch.
The trail continued along huge boulders after the view, and I kept diligently looking out for snakes. So far I had only seen one tiny baby ringneck along the trail earlier. Every time I passed a huge gap in the rocks, all I could picture was a copperhead jumping out Jaws style from below to latch onto my leg. Or perhaps like a thresher from Borderlands.
At one point I threw my trekking poles down the rocks and used my hands to help me scramble down. I was glad I had taken preventative Advil earlier in the day to help with swelling, because my feet and ankles were turning and twisting at all sorts of angles to compensate for the rocks which jutted out every which way.
Eventually it evened off a bit before Bake Oven Knob Shelter. It is an older shelter, that I guess is popular for section hikers or day hikers because of how close it is to the knob.
I saw a couple section hikers looking for water, and I knew that Mr. Mooney had said the springs dry up past the shelter quite a bit. So I asked if they needed water since I had some left over from him, and they said they did find some and were okay.
As I sat down to take my lunch break I heard back from my friends Jeff and Shawn Dimmock, who were traveling back up to CT from South Carolina for one of their daughter’s graduation this weekend. They were going to be near my next road crossing in about two hours, which was perfect because it was just over 2 miles away from me. I had been hiking about a mile and a half per hour so far because of the rocks, so I took a quick 20 minute break to dry my socks and shoes and eat some lunch, figuring I could take a longer break with them.
I got to the Ashfield Road crossing about 15 minutes before they did, after some pretty decent terrain that got very rocky toward the end. They were with another daughter, Delaney, who had grown quite a bit since the last time I saw her, and is just about to finish fifth grade. Jeff is another former coworker from Scranton Chevy, where Ray and I had also worked together five years ago. Jeff had been my sales manager for a while.
I spent about an hour and a half with them, catching up and talking about the trail and what was going on in our lives. Shawn had just finished her Master’s degree while teaching full time (amazing!), and Jeff had learned to find better work/life balance outside of the car business (so happy for him!). They had lots of questions about backpacking, and I never tire of talking about it so I had a fun time explaining how a lot of it works.
Delaney was clearly really interested and excited about the trail, and I loved seeing her enthusiasm. She even said she wants to do it one day, and by then end of our conversation had asked her parents to take her to the AT in Connecticut next weekend. It felt very special to see how cool she found the trail.
Last night as I sat divvying up my food till Thursday, I had realized I had less snacks and lunch food than I liked, but figured I’d get into town hungry or could make one extra stop on the way to DWG if I needed.
Unexpectedly though, Jeff, Shawn, and Delaney gave me lots of food that was exactly what I needed, including cheese, pepperoni, another banana, caffeine drink mix packets, one of my favorite Clif Bars, and some candy. It wasn’t enough to make my bag too heavy, but it was the perfect amount for snacks and lunches for the next few days.
It was truly awesome to see and talk with them, and it gave me a renewed sense of energy when I hiked on. Or maybe that was the muffin, pretzels, and sugary drink that treated me to as we hung out.
I gathered a little water from the cache some nice souls had left at the side of the road, and the Dimmocks had even given me an ice tea as well that I put in my bag for later on. I had about 6 miles to go till Palmerton, and I was pleasantly surprised when the trail took me up an easy ridge into some of the most beautiful hiking I’ve experienced since I started this hike. The trail alternated between soft dirt, grass, and nice beds of pine needles.
Apparently I was following what used to be a blue blaze trail, but was now back to being part of the official AT route. I passed a few gorgeous tent sites, and almost was sad I couldn’t stay at them.
The ridge became very sunny and exposed, and I kept my eyes peeled for snakes again. I walked with one trekking pole on either side of my legs, hopefully to block any attacks that might come my way.
I was rewarded for my diligence, when a few feet ahead on one part of the ridge a snake and I startled each other. It was a pretty big snake, and I swear that thing moonwalked back into the shrubs, never breaking eye contact with me. I couldn’t tell, but I thought it might be a copperhead. I stood there nervously for a minute, watching it retreat into the brush. I was afraid it would loop back around for me, so I made a run for it past where it was hiding. I made it unscathed.
After almost 3 miles I stopped to eat my second banana of the day and saw a day hiker pass by going south, wearing a Canada t-shirt. We said hi just passing by then I saw a few other day hikers as well.
The trail switched to a reroute that had happened only this year, and opened up to the exposed side of the mountain to an incredible view of Palmerton and the mountains ahead as far as DWG. It was probably the best view I’ve seen so far on the trail. The sky was so blue, the trail so flat as is carved around the mountain, and the with the foliage I was seeing, I could have sworn it was just like hiking I’ve done in Colorado.
My pace slowed, as I kept stopping to take in the expansive view to my left. It was wide open, and I could see the highway, the river, the old zinc mining area, and the town.
Around a bend, I heard rustling in the low shrubs, and saw what appeared to be two snake tails coiled around each other. I wasn’t sure if they were fighting or, you know, the opposite.
The day hiker with the Canada shirt came by and I told him there was some snake activity up ahead. The snakes went in and out of the shrub as we watched, uncoiling and coiling tightly back together. It was like something out of National Geographic. The day hiker had lived in PA for decades and had never seen anything like that before.
Eventually, we figured they were busy enough, and cut a path into the ferns around the trail. We started hiking together and talked while we walked. His name is Alan, and he’s a lawyer from the Philadelphia area. We talked about me being a solo female on the AT, about the opera, different trips around the country we’d (mostly him) had been on, tornados, covid, and all sorts of stuff. He explained the views we were seeing from the ridge, and about some of the history of the area, and even some history of New Britain, CT where he’d had family.
He mentioned the big down and up from Palmerton, and I told him that I was planning on staying in Squeak’s backyard tonight. I was prepared to do my first hitchhiking by myself or take an Uber, but Alan generously offered to give me a ride there. The trail provides again.
The AT continued on in glorious fashion as we hiked along, back to the top of the ridge where blighted trees gave the fern forest an eerie but beautiful appearance. We saw several more beautiful campsites as well.
Down the mountain we started, and a little way further came upon the George W Outerbridge Shelter, where I found Jack sitting in his camp shoes. We chatted a bit about our days, and I told him Squeak had said he could accompany me. He seemed settled in, so I continued on with Alan.
The downhill was steep and a bit rocky, and my feet and ankles were feeling it. I was glad it was the end of the day. Alan drove me the 1.6 miles to Squeak’s house, and I got there around 6:30.
She was home early, and I was introduced to her husband, two sons, and neighbor as well. I was even fed pizza, crab, and a huge glass of iced tea. Squeak doesn’t usually feed hikers, but I was the only one there and apparently she’d heard good things about me from up the trail. The kindness brought tears to my eyes of all this love and generosity on the trail.
Squeak is the dean of a school, and clearly wicked smart and empathetic. She moved close to the trail specifically to be able to do this for hikers. Because she isn’t a hostel she doesn’t have to follow all sorts of stipulations and regulations, and calls the hikers her nieces and nephews so we can tent in her backyard.
She also runs a backpacking Meetup group for all sorts of hikers that fall under the umbrella of older, inexperienced, out of practice, LGBTQ+, etc. She is planning on tackling a section of the Hundred Mile Wilderness this year. Go Squeak!
The yard is super comfortable, not rocky or slanted like a lot of my recent campsites. I don’t have to worry about hanging my food, or digging a hole, or any of the usual stuff. I even get to charge my battery block tonight, which is awesome because I’ve used more power than I’ve expected lately.
I took a fantastic shower, and Squeak is even going to do my laundry for me. Amazing! She wouldn’t accept my offer to even do dishes or anything for her, insisting I’d need my rest for the tough miles ahead tomorrow. I can’t say how much I appreciate what she’s done for me and the other hikers here.
It was only mid 80s for temp today, but so sunny that I had gotten gross for sure. I know I’ll get gross again tomorrow, but less than I would have been if I didn’t stop here. The awesome company I’ve been finding along the trail has been even better than things like food, showers and laundry, though. The authenticity I’ve encountered out here has truly filled my heart with happiness.
Again, I have to fight the voice inside me that says I don’t deserve this kindness, I’m not worthy of it, etc. I’m getting better at dismissing it, though, and all the positive comments I’ve gotten about my blog so far at least makes me feel like I am earning that kindness in some sort of way beyond just hiking the miles.
Slowing down has been a really positive thing, and I have a bigger day ahead planned, 15.7 miles tomorrow. It’s going to be a tough climb first thing, I’ve heard, as well. I know there are plenty of tentsites if I need to bail out, and I guess I will see what PA brings tomorrow. After a day full of both some of the hardest and best hiking I’ve done so far on the AT this trip, I’m learning to be ready for anything.