Sprout Day 46 & 47 (Thursday & Friday, May 12th & 13th, 2016)

We stayed at Church on the Mountain Hostel, which is a great place for hikers to stay in Delaware Gap. The hike in was steep but I swear I could smell town food from a mile away!  

I made it to town and went straight to the church.  The bunk room was nice but it smelled like dirty hikers and the bunks were close together.  I decided to set up our tent since there was plenty of room outside and there wasn't any chance of rain in the forecast. The people who ran the hostel were nice and said we could set up the tent anywhere there was grass. The hostel had a shower and it felt so good to get cleaned up.  We were glad the post office was right next to the hostel because it was easy to pick up the food drop box.

After I set up the tent and got settled in I made my way to the ice cream shop for a chocolate milkshake.  That evening we went to the pizza shop and got some pizza and subs with Mountain Man and Karma. The subs were about 2 feet long and only $11!  The town is known for great apple pie so we picked one up and ate some of it.  It was delicious.

We took a zero the next day, which was nice, because there really wasn’t a place to do laundry close to the hostel.   We got a ride to the next town and did all of our laundry.

Views from the trail today

Rock Climbing

More rocks!

Trail into the forest

Farms

Loving the trail!

Campsite fire ring

Marker on Mount Minsi

Cool ruins along the trail

Mt. Tammany

The trail today

A beautiful hike

Hit the rocks again

More climbing

Cool climb

Eureka Creek

Great hike today!

There are so many bugs

Smudgy Cheeks enjoying his sub

I thought this was really funny.  It was pouring down rain and there was a man in his car with long gutters hanging out of the car.  The man wanted the woman to come to the car to talk to him (she wouldn't have been able to get into the car it was too full with gutters) but she didn't want to walk to the car in the rain.  He kept laying on the horn until she went out in the rain.  I'm happy it wasn't me helping this guy with his project!

Day:  46 & 47
Miles hiked:  6.4 & 0
Total Miles hiked on the trail:  428.3
Bears:   0
Butterflies:  8
Chipmunks:  3
Cows:  24
Crawfish:  1
Deer:  20
Horses:  12
Inchworm:  1
Really Big Dog:  1
Mice:  2
Nest of bugs:  2

Newt:  1
Rabbit:  1
Skunk:  1
Snail:  1
Snake:  1
Squirrels:  11
Toads:  2
Trout:  2
Turkeys:  4
Turtles:  107
Vultures:  6

Woodpecker:  1

Bubbles Day 46 (Thursday, May 12th, 2016)

Today was a wonderful day of hiking. Everything is blooming and thriving.  The woods come alive in the spring. It makes me feel grateful for the life I am living.  Everyday is a treasure to be cherished.  I am blessed beyond belief.

While I was hiking by myself I met up with a man named Craig. He was a much faster hiker, but slowed his pace to meet mine. We talked about hiking and the mountains and I learned a lot from him.  He is a photographer and loves taking nature pictures.  He pointed out different birds to me and showed me the best views from the mountain.  He gave me a banana and then shared an orange with me.  It was great to have fresh fruit and even better to hike with someone.  He hiked with me for three miles and then turned around to head back to his car.

After sitting and enjoying the view (for probably too long) I started down the mountain and Rabbit came up behind me. For the second time in one day a hiker slowed their pace to walk with me.  We walked all the way down Mountain Minsi and into Delaware Water Gap together and chatted. It was really a wonderful conversation. I enjoy rabbits company. He is such a wholesome good person. I love to hear him talk about his family. You can tell how much he loves them.

When I got into town we split ways and I went to the Church on the Mountain Hostel and met up with everyone. I took an amazing shower. The water pressure was so strong it felt like it took the first layer of skin off, and I didn't mind!  After showering we went to the pizza place down the street with Karma and Mountain Man. Teddy bear (a hiker from Maine) joined us. It was great to sit, have some drinks, and eat together.  We stayed there until closing time and then went back and sat outside the church and laughed until the wee hours of the morning.  Tomorrow we are taking a zero and I am very much excited to do laundry and relax.

Hostel