McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 10/02/2024 | AT Mile 937.1 | Day Total: 20.3 miles | Gain: 2252 ft

Woke up just before 7 this morning. Ate breakfast in my tent with my sleeping bag draped over me. It’s a cooler morning which I’m okay with.

Began hiking at 8. This mornings hike is boring in terms of views aside from gas and power lines. Lots of rocks to avoid on trail. I’m stubbing my toe every once in a while but my shoes prevent any injury. They are not big rocks just lots of small pointy ones that over massage your feet.

I had some company on trail this morning. It was striding nobo about 50 yards away from me. I assume it was heading to Katahdin until I interrupted its path. I yelled at him and it ran away – no biggie.

After that encounter I messaged Kill Bill who was a little behind me. He got some new shoes in Delaware Water Gap and camped about 3 miles before I did.

The rest of the morning consisted of me, you guessed it, walking through the woods. No views or any other animal encounters. I did pass a road with a water cache that I took a short break at. Other than that I walked until lunch.

I stopped to have lunch just after some power line on a tree that fell over the trail. Kill Bill showed up while I was eating. His new shoes seem to be working well so far. He got the same one that I currently have, just a different color.

About an hour after lunch I climbed down and up Little Gap. There were some really nice views at the top. I’m constantly on the lookout for rattlesnakes. I’ve seen lots of comments on FarOut about seeing them. Today’s it’s cloudy so most of them are probably on their den under a rock.

This afternoon was very scenic. The trail has turned into a very rocky/desert landscape. It’s neat but due to an old Zinc Factory that released toxins and killed most of the vegetation on the mountain side. It’s now a restoration area with great views.

Tonight I plan on going to George W. Outerbridge Shelter, just on the other side of Lehigh Gap. Lehigh Gap is where I ended a short hike with Noah (hiking nobo in 2023) and Nathan. I’m excited to revisit the 40ish miles that I did just over a year ago.

The descent into Lehigh Gap going sobo is very rocky and steep. I haven’t seen trail like it for a long time. It’s a dry day today keeping the rocks grippy for which I’m very grateful for. The views coming down were spectacular. The trail comes down a point where you have nearly 270 degree views of the road and town below.

I remembered a picture that my dad took on his hike in 1999 of the mountain. I dug through my photos to find and it and replicated it. You can tell the vegetation has grown back quite a bit since then.

The climb up to the shelter wasn’t too bad. It’s only halfway up the mountain and I’ll do the rest in the morning. A year ago I stayed at this shelter but in a campsite just up a bit. There’s lots of bear activity in the area. A hiker named Whittler said he had a mama bear and two cubs come into his camp last night here. I’m definitely staying in the shelter tonight…

I talked with Whittler for awhile before Kill Bill showed up. I made some marinara penne Knor pasta for dinner. In the past year they have installed a bear box here which I’m grateful for. There wasn’t one when I last visited. Hopefully we’ll get a good nights sleep undisturbed.