Trail Journal 05.10.05

I'm a two-digit midget--98.4 miles left to go until I hike the entire AT.  Walked 10.9 miles today.  Not too bad.  Crossed boulder fields at Lehigh Furnace Gap, Bake Oven Knob, Bear Rocks and the Knife Edge.  But I also followed some relatively rock-free stretches of trail at times.  Oh how my feet delight in stepping upon soil.  Day was warm but I had plenty of water.  Also got most of my mile done before 12:30.  Took a nap at lunch and did Bear Rocks and the Knife Edge Afterward.  The nap sure helped.  Those rocks would have been even more difficult without rest.  Met section hikers Just Walking (PA to VT) and Old Gray Mare (Port Clinton to DWG) plus a coup of day hikers walking from Route 309 to Lehigh Furnace.  Also met a couple of college women (said they were juniors) who were curious about the trail and the thru-hiking experience.  Pulled into New Tripoli Campsite around 3:30.  Not a particularly good campsite--well worn, few good flat spots--but it has good water and I don't feel like humping water back up the side trail to look for a site farther south.  I'm enjoying the leisure.  Saw two deer today:  a whitetail doe and a deer butt (probably a doe).  Pennsylvania rocks are blistering my feet, especially my Achilles tendon.  Nothing I use for bandage or protection stays in place.  With almost 100 miles to go, the blisters could become a real problem.  I managed to walk all day today and the blister on my right foot seems no worse but now one is coming up on my left foot.