June 15 - 17.7 / 1,248.4

Before I forget, one of my former Young Life kids has passed away. I do not have many details, but I ask that you keep him, his family, and our YL kids in your thoughts and prayers.

I woke up to the problem of trying to get my bear bag rope out of the tree. Fusion and I tried tying his rope to the end of mine and pull the rope back over the limb. That didn't work and my throw bag just got more tangled up. We then went to plan D or E. I wrapped the rope around some other trees to gain leverage. As I pull as hard as I could, Fusion cut the cord on my throw bag with my knife that he had tied to the end of a 20 foot limb. It was a perfect cut. My rope and carabiner fell to the ground while the throw bag stayed wrapped around the limb. I can get another one further up the trail.

Both of us were planning to leave camp early, but the bear bag set us back about an hour and a half. The hike was over lots and lots of rocks. We made it to the Knife Edge around 7 miles in. This was a stretch of huge boulders and even required a little scrambling. I could have tripped and fallen about 30 or 40 feet down. Some places were further than that. Sometimes it baffles me on why the trail goes where it does. We also went over Bear Rocks and Bake Oven Knob. Bake Oven Knob was one of the dirtiest places I have seen on the trail. It is a few hundred yards from a road. I guess the locals think they can use it as a trash dump. The trail up on top of Bake Oven got a little iffy. There were many times where Fusion and I would spend 10 to 15 minutes trying to find a blaze. Half the time, I don't know if I should look for them on rocks or trees. Other times, I have to walk back a hundred yards and try to relocate a blaze.

The rest of the day was filled with many breaks and many more rocks. We did come across the best WORST trail magic on the trail so far. Yes, that means it was the lowest of low. I don't even know if I should classify it as trail magic, but here is the story. (Disclaimer - not for younger audiences) Fusion and I were coming down a hill to a road crossing. An older couple got out of their car and started to approach the trail. We could tell that he wanted to discuss what we were doing. We stopped, and he started to ask the typical thru hiker questions. He even through out a "you ins" which made me laugh. Anyway, he gets finished asking his questions and Fusion and I head on our way. We then hear him yell, "Hey!" Thinking he was talking to his wife, we headed on. He then yelled it again, but this time it was a lot louder. We figured he was talking to us, so we stopped. He looks at us and says, "she lost a bet." Not understanding, we asked, "What?" Again, he says, "she lost a bet." As he says this, this 70 something year old, over-weight lady lifts up her shirt and exposes her breasts to us. Both of us stood there not knowing how to even respond. You can't say thanks, what are those, what the heck, wow those are nice, wow those are old. However, words do come out of Fusion's mouth. He asks, "What was the bet?" The gentlemen responds with an "alright," turns around, and starts walking to his car. Fusion and I immediately turn around and start walking as fast as we can up the hill. The biggest climb of the day felt like nothing as we were still shocked at what just happened and couldn't stop laughing. We warned a guy hiking south about them. He probably didn't even believe us when we told him the story.

It was 5 more miles before we got to town. I made it to 2 to go when I had to stop and rest again. My feet didn't want to go anywhere. We eventually got up and went on into Palmerton. The hitch was pretty quick. We were picked up by two gentlemen and a lady. They were very polite. One of the gentlemen, Ox, even hiked the trail back in 2007. We discussed the trail on the ride in to town. They dropped us off at The Borough where the city allows hikers to sleep in the basement. I think the building used to be used by the Police Department. We dropped our packs there and claimed a bed. There were three other hikers already there. One of the guys says that he had over 10,000 hiking miles from all over the world. Fusion and I know he was full of it. These people were more drifters than anything. It did get a little hairy a few times.

Fusion and I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening exploring the town. We went to the library, got adult beverages, washed clothes, and ate dinner. A local bought us a beer which was nice. Dinner was at the Palmerton Hotel. We made their happy hour from 9-10. I had nachos which were some of the best I have ever had. They had the cheese like Taco Bell puts on their nachos. El Hefe joined us for a drink too, and then the retired back to The Borough.