July 17: Delaware Water Gap / Church of the Mountain Hostel   Miles Today : ~14 Miles to Katahdin : 889.8

Wow is my body tired. Even though I have been hitting camp early, the high mileage and constant rocks have worn me down. I have earned a day of rest!

Today, was no different. Colorado woke up very early, around 5, to hit the trail and get bith of our mail drops before 11:30 when it closed. I, with beat up legs and tired feet, was able to take it a little slower and leave a little later. The rocks were again bad, not tolerable, but the temperature was again on the rise. Fortunately, water was not a problem as there were two wells just off the trail.

Also along the trail, I took my time scowering the woods for a new hiking stick. After a few different selections, I finally found a cherry tree sapling that had just died. It may be a bit on the brittle side but only time will tell.

I got to the Delaware Water Gap just before noon and headed straight for the local hostel., Church on the Mountain. This place is already packed with thru-hikers such as Sir-P-a lot, Papa Squa, Pending, No Mass, Chickpee and Honeydew. There are also many other hikers here just taking a .5 day off. Some of these hitting the trail this afternoon are Professor Booty , Checke-Man, Plank and Miles.

There really is not much to do in the town, Save for tubing down the river. I went to the local bar and ate chinese food for dinner, but other than that this place is pretty dead. Fortunately, most of the hikers from the jailhouse started straggling in, such as DB, Red, Peach Buzz, Butterfly, Wasp, Wood, Sage and several others. Unfortunately, there is not nearly enough room here.

After hanging out with this group for half the day, I find myself anxious to get going again. In fact, if it wasn't already dark when I got the idea, Colorado and I were gone tonight, don't get me wrong, this group are all a bunch of good people, but there are just too damn many of them!

Tomorrow, I am definitely relaxing for the morning, but I may leave late afternoon and hike about 10 miles with Colorado. Of course, there is a jazz concert free here at the church tomorrow night so I am torn about what to do.

It's funny, I have been hiking so hard, trying to catch up to a good group of people, but when I actually do, I want to get away, weird.

HIKER WORKSHOP: OK, so you have read about me complaining about the rocks and you probably think "hey, they can't be that bad!" well, I found the perfect test for you non-hikers. Find a stone wall with these sharp rocks cemented on the top, you know, so people can't sit on them? Well, put on the thinnest pair of shoes you have and walk on the top of these walls for 5 hours!

Ok, I am done for today. Tomorrow it's a big breakfast, hanging out down by the water and who knows what.

-Chomp

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