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July
16, 1983 Saturday (1006 mtg) From
Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal
The
trail dipped into the valley between Sharp Mountain and Second Mountain,
crossing the later in a gap along the ridge, and then descended
toward a small grocery store in a spread out, small town called
Green Point. We had only traveled four miles this morning before
arriving at the store, but since it was there…. We all stopped
and bought something. I ate a pint of Tin Roof ice cream, a flavor
I had never experienced before. I described the taste as "real
good." While we were at the store I experienced why this group
had been traveling together for a long time, they were nuts -
but sure knew how to have a good time. Everyone broke out their
cameras and began taking pictures of each other - It was "Camera
Wars!" I drank an A&W rootbeer before continuing on toward
Swatara Gap, where the Swatara Creek cuts through Blue Mountain.
After crossing under interstate 81, the trail crossed the creek
on an old iron bridge before beginning the nearly 1000 foot ascent
of Blue Mountain. The ascent lasts for about two miles and then
levels off and follows the crest for the remainder of the day. The
Pennsylvanian rocks encountered here I would describe as numerous,
covering the trail almost everywhere, either as large rocky piles
of boulders, or beds of loose, small flat slabs ready to slide from
under your feet, or at times protruding from the ground at an angle
of about 45 - 90 degrees with their edges ready to cut into the
side of your boots. The trail seemed to be poorly maintained. The
rocks were one thing, but the vegetation posed another threat -
the threat of having your exposed thighs and lower legs cut and
scraped by the numerous briers that were growing over the footpath
and had not been cleared. My legs experienced the sting of the initial
contact and then again as the salt in my sweat ran down my legs
during the heat of the afternoon. This seemed like the longest and
hardest day yet. Hot and muggy. After twenty-one miles I arrived
at an intensely cold, spring fed pond at Schubert's Gap, where I
washed my sore legs and soaked my feet in the freezing water. There
was a rope suspended over the water that people, apparently mostly
locals, were swinging out over the water and jumping from. Upon
entering the water, their immediate reaction was to exit as fast
as they could. The water was just that cold. I set up camp a little
below the dam, and was comforted by a cool breeze that came off
the pond and over the dam to the "hollow" where I was
located. I believe today was the day that I met "The Three
Doberman's," a pair of hiking female nurses named Mary
Kancevitch & Deborah Tag accompanied by their Doberman Pincer.
There was no way that these women could be approached along the
trail without being detected by their dog. It did not discriminate.
Anyone getting near would set off a volley of barking that would
alert them of any potential threat.
*Just a note for those who have their monitors set to 800 x 600
- you are missing almost one third of the image at the top using
your current setting. Changing to 1024 x 768 will reveal Fuzzy Jim
in true character on this page and other things on other days pages.
To change, go to start > settings > control panel > display
> settings.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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