Entry for August 5, 2007
Pennsylvania Rocks!!!
People have been saying Pennsylvania rocks for a while now. I knew about Maryland from before, and I thought you could say as much about Virginia at times too. But now I know why people say Pennsylvania rocks: because there are so damn many of them!!
I promised myself I would try to enjoy it, and other people tease about the state too by saying, "Pennsylvania rocks!" but it is hard. After a day of walking on boulders, loose rubble, and pointy ankle-breakers, your feet, ankles, and knees are really ready to take a break.
The picture here is of me going up from Lehigh gap, the site of zinc strip-mining near Palmerton, PA. Strip-mining in Pennsylvania, you say? Yes, I'm afraid even PA isn't immune from dirty industy like strip-mining, coal mining, steel mills...
Most of the walking appears to be on fairly flat terrain, and I'm not sure if the trail goes above 2,000 feet more than a few times - it is mostly a ridge walk. The tops of the ridges can be as slow-going as any terrain I've been on so far though when there are so many rocks. There are stretches that are like five miles long (about two hours of hiking) where over 75% of your steps are on rock, at least partially. There are also stretches where you can't even see dirt trail for a few hundred feet!
It has been a bit of a challenge, but I am glad to get out of Pennsylvania and into New Jersey. I can feel a change in trail style already, which is partly due to where the state and hiking clubs have arranged the trail to go, and greatly due to different scenery itself. I feel as though I have seen more different trail in NJ in 2 days than I did in PA over 2 weeks... and maybe that's a little harsh, but tell you what, it's a little hard to look around when a small lapse in attention can lead you to roll your ankle and curse. New Jersey, you've been okay so far, but you seriously need to cut down on the rocks if you really want to seperate yourself from your tedious neighbor.
That's all for this one, I'll try to give you some more tonight. It's late already, but I computers have been hard to come by in the last few town areas.
- Sudoku
