Miles today: 17.4
Miles to date: 70.2
It was a long hike for Dave yesterday, but he was fully energized after his night in a motel, a shower and big breakfast in the morning. He had good weather and was eager to get to the hostel in Delaware Water Gap by late afternoon, which he did. It's a popular shelter, run by a Methodist Church, and all the beds in the hostel were filled by the time he got there. Fortunately there was an overflow shelter where he was going to pitch his tent. The hostel had showers, and that was the real appeal!
He had dinner in another pizza place, ordered a stromboli this time, and drank several glasses of tea. He decided to skip the beer - but not the ice cream! He estimates he had at least 24 oz! As he was leaving the restaurant, the man leaving right behind him (a local) asked Dave if he was a hiker. When Dave said yes, the man said, I have something for you ... and pulled a big ripe cantaloupe out of the back of his truck. Dave said he could smell it immediately and told the man he was grateful to have fresh fruit. Dave plans to share it with the other hikers this morning.
Some hostels are run by nonprofits and/or churches, some are for-profit. Some provide transportation to restaurants, shops and even back to the trail for a few bucks. They often have boxes of food and clean clothing left by other hikers and you can take what you need and leave what you don't need. Occasionally Dave would put on the clean clothes in order to be able to wash all of his, then leave the hostel's clothes for the next guy.
Just Walking is the trail name of the guy sharing the shelter with Dave last night. Dave asked him where he got on the trail, and after listening to a l-o-n-g explanation of how he spent a whole day just finding the trail, Dave thought his name should be Just Talking. Dave left the shelter, made some calls, and wasn't going back until he saw the guy get in his sleeping bag. Dave uses a Mountain Hardware bag, if anyone has wondered.
Dave said he and Pyro have met some though-hikers that have already walked from the southern terminus in North Georgia! At this point on the trail, they are in full stride and go faster than Dave. (Dave is not a fast walker, but he is steady and can go forever.) He thinks that by his 3rd week, he'll be in the kind of shape he needs to be to keep the same pace - and he'll be meeting more hikers that have Maine as their destination.
Pyro met up with his sister who lives about an hour away from the hostel. Dave is on his own now, and though he will be fine, I'll be happier when I hear he meets someone he enjoys hiking with, or at least seeing at the shelters in the evenings. A guy - a guy!!
Dave said he called Dale, to wish him a Happy Father's Day, and to remind him that yesterday was Rhea's birthday. Rhea was Dave's daughter (Dale's sister) who died when she was only 6 years old. Rhea would have been 40 yesterday.
Yesterday was also Jack Terndrup's birthday - a wonderful man who is missed by many.
Today is 2011's Fathers' Day. Cheers to the fathers who have been, and are, important in my life, especially my own Dad.
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