Day 83 (7/12) - Allentown

Day 83 - 22.6 mi/1231.5 mi tot
Port Clinton, PA to Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

Got a real early start today (5:45 am) to try to beat the heat that we were supposed to have today and did 15 miles by 1045. The morning was a great hike with cool temps, non-sore feet, a light-feeling pack and a surprisingly not tired Snowfox after struggling to fall asleep last night. The two climbs weren't that bad this morning and the trail wasn't too rocky. I made it to Eckville Shelter early and took a nice 3 hour break which was good timing for it as the humidity jumped soon after I got there. The break gave me time to take a shower in the solar shower, eat a nice relaxing lunch and hang out with some other hikers for a while.

The afternoon started to get cloudy so I got moving again to try to stay out of the rain, which I was successful at. The afternoon trail, while only 7.4 miles long, had a bunch of really rocky sections that aggravated one blister and slowed me down somewhat. although there were a bunch of sections maintained by the Allentown Hiking Club where there was a visble effort to move some of the worst rocks off the trail and make it more passable for hikers. I made it to the shelter and was able to get a primo spot there for the night so I won't have to pack up a wet tent in the morning.

So I sat in the shelter, ate my dinner and watched the rain start to fall being thankful I am not stuck out in it somewhere. Heading into Palmerton tomorrow afternoon and staying the night there.

Some upcoming estimated arrival dates (subject to change):
- PA/NJ Border: 7/15
- Unionville NY: 7/18
- fully into NY: 7/20
- Fort Montgomery NY: 7/22
- Appalachian Trail Train Station (from Grand Central): 7/24
- Into CT: 7/25
- Kent CT:: 7/26
- Into MA: 7/28

Those all assume that I have no zero days or other low mileage days thrown in there, so the later ones are more likely to slip some. But if anyone is trying to plan a visit to meet up with me somewhere, those should be a good approximation for now.

We're waiting here in Allentown for the Pennsylvania we never found.

- Snowfox

Sent on the go from my Peek