July 14: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter   Miles Today : 24.1 Miles to Katahdin : 944.4

Due to my being up so late last night, I didn't hit the trail this morning until almost 10. Planning on a 24 mile day, that is typically way too late! But we made the best of it and with my fully loaded pack, headed up and out of town.

Toady, again, the famed PA rocks had theiir way with us. Sometimes you have to scramble over boulders, sometimes you have to step carefully in between little sharp stones and most often times you got some sort of mix. But that is the price you have to pay for no elevation changes, I guess.

There were a couple of very nice lookouts along the way today, the best being the Pinnacle. This is a very large outcropping of rocks (what else) that provided of the PA farmland, very nice.

A little while later, the trail crossed a small field. Just as I got in the middle of the field, I hear what sounded like a jet crashing. What it was was a hawk in middive. I stopped in the field for a while and watched at least 5 different hawks circling around. I also saw another hawk go into a dive, man, thos things can MOVE. They kind of hook their wings back and head straightdown. Very cool.

The last 4 miles for me was extremely painful. My feet were throbbing and my legs just did not want to go anymore. I did manage to limp(not really) to the shelter. That's when I found out that the water here is a half-mile away, and 500 feet down. Wow, was that about the last thing I wanted to hear. Now I am ready to go to sleep early and try to rest up. The 3 of us havethe place to ourselves tonight. Tomorrow, more rocks. Bring'em on!

-Chomp

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