Duncannon, PA-Delaware Water Gap, PA
Early in the morning of July 4, Swede and I were picked up by a shuttle driver and driven to a trailhead 19 trail miles north of Duncannon. We spent the entire day talking and getting to know each other. It was a great hiking day, which ended with our descent at dusk back into Duncannon, and another night at the “Kind Of Outdoorsy“ hostel. During that day we had run into The Wrong Missy and she had offered to have her husband drive us back the next morning to the trailhead.
I think it was that next day, finding that we hiked well together and enjoyed one another’s company, and also that we had similar finishing the hike goals, that we decided to commit to joining forces as long as it made sense, and hiking on as a team.
Over the following days we hiked and camped together, figuring out a rhythm and getting to know one another. Apparently dad jokes are universal! By the time we’d made it to the Lookout Hostel, where we spent a couple nights and found the hospitality of Yard Sale and Crazy Hair so lovely as we slackpacked from there for a few days, we found we were working really well as a team. I was so grateful for this as we began to find out what the big deal about “Rocksylvania” really is. Y’all- that was some really really tough hiking. Not just the physically challenging bouldering and rock wall climbs we’d find later in NJ and NY. The trail in the later third of Pennsylvania has an inhospitable way of filling itself with miles of small, sharp rocks with no place to put your foot to rest. It was completely constant, but enough that it became mentally exhausting. Hearing Swede sing out, “Here Comes the Rocks” (a la the Beatles), and other wonderfully bad “rock” edited songs, was as helpful to my attitude as the post-lunch 5 to 10 minute naps, and mid-afternoon “fika” breaks we began to take.
