| June 25 A Bear Market Paul's AT journey has been eventful since Port Clinton. I had the opportunity to spend some time with Tips as I took a day off from work and drove out to Unionville, NY to pick him up last Thursday. Paul was coming home for another wedding, this time in Falmouth, MA. I was surprised to find out how close he now is, it only took about three and a half hours to reach Yankee territory from Boston. When I pulled up to the little post office where we were scheduled to meet, Tips turned to look at my car and he looked downright scary. He did not realize that it was me at first since I was there early, and Paul is not used to my new Subaru. My first thought when I got out to greet him was, oh no, I should have brought a fresh set of clothes. It was going to be a long ride, with the olfactory nostalgia of my high school football locker room. Immeadiately following our encounter I ran across the street to the general store and bought some deoderant. Of course Tips is accustomed to his own pugent scent, but I still needed to breathe on the ride home. Tips had only hiked about seven miles before meeting me on this first day of summer, which is known in thru-hiker land as hike naked day. Paul said he did not partake in the tradition on his short morning walk. We had a quick drive back to Worcester together, stopping only in New York for lunch in a diner, and also at a driving range to hit a bucket of golf balls. It was muggy and rainy along route 84, passing over the Hudson and making our way north listening to music, which made Tips happy as he has been jonesing for some tunes. On our ride home, I learned that Paul had seen his second bear a few days prior. He was hiking along and spotted a bear standing up to a blueberry bush munching on the sweet fruit. Just a couple days before that is when Tips spotted his first black bear, right on the trail following her cub. Paul spoke of many thru-hikers encountering bears in New Jersey, one woman passed six bears one day, all together, three on each side of the AT as she slid between then as stealthy as possible. I don't think of NJ as a very picturesque state, however Paul has been very impressed with the trail through the Garden State. There are many lakes and swimming holes to cool off in. As much as Tips was raving about NJ, he was not so enthusiastic about Pennsylvania. He told me a story about his experience at Leroy Smith Shelter. Tips has still been hiking with Sleeper and Skeletor right until his break, and when they reached this particular shelter there was one thru-hiker and a group of local kids already occupying the structure. The threesome felt some negative vibes from the local youngsters, and decided to tent a few yards away even though it was rainy. The kids had killed a rattlesnake, and was planning to skin it. Not to mention that they had a gun with them. There suspicions proved to be beneficial, as the one thru-hiker in the shelter had his wallet looted when he went for water for just a few minutes. Pennsylvania was not all bad however. The trio met a guy named Justin one day, who picked them up and brought them to the Palmerton Bunkhouse. Justin worked at the Mugshot Bar, and told them that they should come meet the owner of the establishment, Dave, who had also spent time on the trail and loved thru-hikers. When they arrived at the bar, Dave set them up with plenty of drinks and shots. He said that he wants to rename the bar "zero day", and sure enough after a fun filled night, Skeletor, Sleeper and Tips took an unplanned zero day. Tips should be back on the trail tomorrow, and said he will call as soon as he gets back on track. He would like to meet back up with Sleeper and Skeletor, and it seems like he will, since Sleeper was going to meet up with his family last weekend, keeping him from getting too far ahead. Tips likes this trio as hiking mates. Skeletor is fun, as Paul described her as very entertaining, and many others think that Sleeper and Paul are brothers. I saw pictures, they do look alike. With a much neded new pair of boots, and a reload of fresh supplies, Tips is ready for the remaing section of the AT. Selling the bearskin before catching the bear. Todd |
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