Appalachian Tra

April - May 2024

An open-ended adventure by Chrissy Read more

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Traveler Appalachian Tra
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- May 19, 2024, 2:49pm
- ☁️ 73 °F
- Altitude: 1,417 ft
- United States New Jersey West Milford Township Lakeside Surprise Lake 41.191662, -74.34403341°11’30” N 74°20’39” W
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Day 43
New York!
May 19 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F
Excited to officially reach the New York portion of the trail. The climb out of New Jersey was called “Stairway to Heaven,” with steep rock steps up Wawayanda Mountain for about 2.5 miles. A few miles later after that, at the top of the ridge, you cross into New York State.

The trail in New York is reputed to be hard — and I can verify the reputation is deserved. Yesterday was the toughest day on the trail for me so far, and I am enjoying a rest day today to give my body a break.

Several trail buddies and I are staying at the perfect motel — the owners are angels who shuttle folks back and forth to the trail and do laundry, and there is an ice cream store, post office and eateries within walking distance. And when I arrived after my hard day, my buddies had pizza and beer waiting for me.

And I had packages at the post office! My replacement boots and a mountain of goodies from my sister/trail angel Aimee “Ginger.” Thank you🥰

P.S. Tenting at a drive-in movie theater is not that great. I forgot that cars would be coming and going during the Saturday nite double feature. And I was too tired to watch the movies!Read more
Traveler Ginger to the rescue! Well 15 miles is hard no matter what, and if it involves elevation gain too…holy cow! Love those trail angels! 😍
16hReply
Traveler It looks like they cleared a few for you 😆
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Traveler That’s amazing!!
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- May 17, 2024, 7:40pm
- ☁️ 64 °F
- Altitude: 1,325 ft
- United States New Jersey Wantage Township Colesville Lake Rutherford 41.267868, -74.67591941°16’4” N 74°40’33” W
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Day 41
Eating through New Jersey
May 17 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
This week I’ve put in a few longer days, thanks to legs that are getting stronger, no rain, and fewer rocks. It’s been good but I am looking forward to a few shorter days ahead. The trail is going in and out of New Jersey and New York.

The “deli trail” is living up to its name. I the last 24 hours, I have had a hamburger and beer at the Wits End Tavern, ice cream at the Main Street Scoop, a breakfast sandwich at Horler’s General Store and Deli, a hotdog at Mitch’s Roadside Grill, plus various other snacks. If I’ve lost weight on the trail, I am probably gaining it all back this week 😀

Highlights of the week include reaching the highest point on NJ (1,800 feet); sleeping in the Main Street park in the village of Unionville, NY; and long boardwalk trails through various bogs, including the 1.5 mile Pochuck Boardwalk. Tons of red-wing blackbirds sang encouragement along the way.

Tonight I am actually tenting at a drive-in movie multiplex. I am not sure how much sleep I will get but how often do you get the opportunity to sleep at a drive-in?!Read more
Traveler On the stairclimber right now—- hope my legs can catch up with you 😊
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Traveler You look strong (and happy)
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Traveler That’s so cool!
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- May 14, 2024
- ⛅ 70 °F
- Altitude: 1,411 ft
- United States Pennsylvania Monroe County Shawnee on Delaware Sunfish Pond 41.001186, -75.07844541°0’4” N 75°4’42” W
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Day 38
New Jersey is still cool
May 14 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
The past couple days in New Jersey and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area have been great, despite the off and on rain. I splurged on a meal and a bunk (complete with indoor plumbing!) at the Mohican Outdoor Center. Met up with some trail friends and a bunch of cool new folks there, including a Road Scholar group traveling on and learning about the trail for several days.

I’m now entering what’s called the “deli section” meaning there will be delis and restaurants really close to the trail, given the dense population of this area. Today was a good start — Mo’s BBQ was just a few steps away, topped off with a beer at Gyp’s tavern. Somehow I managed to walk 7 more miles after the beer to set up camp!Read more
Traveler Love those smiles!
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Traveler Sharing ❤️
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Traveler Looks like a cool place to hang out!
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- May 12, 2024, 12:06pm
- ☀️ 46 °F
- Altitude: 1,030 ft
- United States Pennsylvania Ross Township Ross Common Wind Gap 40.861295, -75.29217540°51’41” N 75°17’32” W
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Day 36
New Jersey!
May 12 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 46 °F
A new state, finally. I loved Pennsylvania but it was long and rocky. (I am sure New Jersey will have NO rocks LOL)
Traveler 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Your joy is radiant. 🥰
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Traveler Beautiful - i love the squiggly branches
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Traveler Iconic, historic, gorgeous!
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- May 12, 2024, 7:10am
- ☁️ 41 °F
- Altitude: 1,506 ft
- United States Pennsylvania Bushkill Township Katellen Chicola Lake 40.841103, -75.36033740°50’28” N 75°21’37” W
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Day 36
Happy Mother’s Day
May 12 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F
Breakfast in bed, 2024. Happy day to all the Moms!
Likewise. Looks like a nice spot to camp. [Scott]
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Traveler You are inspiring! ❤️
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Traveler Happy Mother’s Day to you, too!!!
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Traveler Same to you!🥰
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- May 11, 2024
- ☀️ 57 °F
- Altitude: 1,509 ft
- United States Pennsylvania Northampton County North Bangor Kittatinny Mountain 40.936717, -75.18700940°56’12” N 75°11’13” W
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Day 35
Climbing out of Palmerton
May 11 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
I had a great rest and resupply in Palmerton. It was the perfect town because I could walk off the trail (2 miles!) to my reserved room in a grand old house, and also walk to a local grocery store and restaurant.

It’s a beautiful town built in the early 1900s to support the workers of the zinc mining plants. That same plant is also the reason the area is a Superfund site. There has been a lot of work done over the decades to replant the stripped mountains, and most of what I saw was coming back and green. Work continues with aerial planting of native plants and remediation to get rid of invasive plants.

The climb OUT of Palmerton and the LeHigh Valley was crazy — probably about 1,000 feet in less than a mile on vertical boulders. It’s the hardest stretch so far, and some say it’s the hardest south of New Hampshire. I’m super proud that I did it well — thanks to Julie and the Utah backpacking trip, both of which taught me how to make those climbs. Go slow, know your footing and lean in, especially with a full pack. My pack was very full given that I had just bought groceries and you have to carry a lot of water because you can’t drink the water in a Superfund site.

Grateful that the rocks were dry and the fog was in so I couldn’t see the valley below. It eased my fear of heights. ❤️Read more
Traveler Holy cow!!
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Traveler Love this
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Traveler ❤️
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- May 9, 2024
- ☁️ 66 °F
- Altitude: 1,385 ft
- United States Pennsylvania Lehigh Township Danielsville Devils Potato Patch 40.807041, -75.52851140°48’25” N 75°31’43” W
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Day 33
Bake Oven Knob
May 9 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
Hiked to the Bake Oven Knob lookout and shelter, and then into Palmerton, PA. I walked a side trail two miles into town, where I immediately had a Chicago-style hot dog, a Diet Coke and a C.M.P., a sundae made with chocolate syrup, marshmallow, and peanuts. Evidently it’s a central PA thing, and I think it should go global. (I did have a salad the next day LOL).

My husband, Greg, is backpacking to Stehekin this week with family and friends. Wish I could be both places at once ❤️ happy trails to them!Read more
Traveler 😮
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Traveler Look like going into town was the right decision.
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Traveler Ouch! 😱
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- May 7, 2024, 12:02pm
- ⛅ 72 °F
- Altitude: 633 ft
- United States Pennsylvania Berks County Eckville 40.634003, -75.95801540°38’2” N 75°57’29” W
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Day 31
Blue Blaze!
May 7 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Today, one of my hiking buddies, Smalls, and I decided to “blue blaze” for a bit. That means we cut through on a shorter trail called Windsor Furnace to avoid a few miles of rock beds and higher elevation on Blue Mountain. This was actually part of the original trail.

Purists might say we cheated — but I am perfectly ok with it. We had a lovely walk along a creek and heard tons of birds. Once back on the official trail, we still had plenty of miles of rocks and hills.

We also had time for a leisurely lunch at the Eckville Shelter, which is a shed behind a beautiful old farm house owned by the National Park Service.Read more
Traveler Sweet!
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Traveler Nice camping area - maybe your next trip? 😉
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Traveler How does your hair look so awesome? You’re hiking the trail!
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- May 6, 2024, 12:03pm
- ☁️ 63 °F
- Altitude: 420 ft
- United States Pennsylvania Berks County Hamburg Hamburg Borough Pool 40.56168, -75.99962540°33’42” N 75°59’59” W
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Day 30
Heading out of Port Clinton
May 6 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
Short 6-mile day after a night in a motel and food resupply. Fun to see middle schoolers camping near me, with a banjo and a ukulele :).
Traveler Makin’ good time! Color me impressed!
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Traveler Wow that’s wild… almost 200 miles already ☺️
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Traveler Oh so cool
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- May 3, 2024, 11:48am
- ☁️ 66 °F
- Altitude: 1,375 ft
- United States Pennsylvania Lebanon County Inwood Lake Weiss 40.496217, -76.4647340°29’46” N 76°27’53” W
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Day 27
Pennsylvania Rain
May 3 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
I guess I complained about the heat too much, because now we’ve had 2 days of heavy rain. Good news — all my stuff is working and I’m keeping relatively dry. And, I have friends who found the pack cover I lost along the way. (Pack covers are VERY important when it’s raining. Luckily I had “belts and suspenders planning” and my stuff in my pack was in a heavy-duty bag.) I am now in a motel room drying things.

I know I’ve talked about the shelter system before. Two nights ago, I stayed at 501 Shelter, named after the nearby road. It’s an old potter’s shed, completely enclosed with a huge skylight, solar shower, spigot for water, garbage cans, and cord for charging phones. Deluxe! I chose to sleep in a tent when I saw mice crawling down the wall. But, we were able to have pizza delivered, which was a real treat. I think the local restaurant did at least 7 runs to that place 😍

I also met the young caretaker. Tyler (Trevor?) and his partner, who live in the house next door. They have full-time jobs with environmental agencies but volunteer for the Appalachian Trail significantly. That evening, he was taking a battery-operated power washer to clean off graffiti from rocks at an overlook on the trail. Very cool young man who makes me feel hopeful for the world. (I know, that may make me sound old :)Read more
Traveler Maybe later in the season 😊
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Traveler Like a kid in a candy store 🤩
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Traveler That’s neat.
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