This sign says it all, although we were already 4/5ths done with the state when we passed this sign!

This sign says it all, although we were already 4/5ths done with the state when we passed this sign! It is amazing how one area can be so concentrated cheap alaskan cruises with one thing, rocks in this case. Did God end up with a ton of extra rocks and just decide to toss them all in one place? We thought it was probably related to the latitude of PA and the elevation of the ridges, being the perfect area for a lot of freeze and thaw cycles over the ages.
The "Taj Mahal" privy, a ridiculously oversized outhouse, that must have been a testament to how awesome the hiking club was that built it? Just open space and a typical "one-holer." I'd rather they spent the time doing trail maintenance. The light colored spot near the door is from a porcupine chewing on the plywood. cheap alaskan cruises Andrew heard it gnawing away in the middle of the night, so he grabbed the camera and his headlamp and got some photos.
Andrew chased the porcupine out from under the privy in an attempt to convince him his painted plywood addiction was a bad idea. It immediately went up a large oak tree, and was greeted by a gray squirrel. There was a brief but tense standoff, until the porky decided to advance, and the squirrel cheap alaskan cruises retreated.
One of the nicer shelters cheap alaskan cruises we stayed in, where we were fortunate enough to meet Gus, a great trail friend! It was so well maintained. The maintainer seemed to be here almost every day keeping things up and checking on everything.
A freshly cheap alaskan cruises burned area. Not sure how it started, but it was not prescribed, and we were told by other hikers that it had been extinguished just two days before our arrival! This was one of three freshly burned areas we hiked through.
Andrew's feet got this dirty each and every day! He was wearing his (non-waterproof) running shoes this time, which he was very pleased with, but the dust passed cheap alaskan cruises right through to his feet. It was funny getting to a shelter and seeing people's reaction when he would pull off his shoes and socks to let things air out. He called it his "natural blister protection!"
cheap alaskan cruises This extremely steep rocky ascent was coming up the ridgeline above the Palmerton Superfund Site. A zinc smelter operated on the other side of this ridge from the 1880s to the 1980s, completely deforesting the ridge with it's pollution. When it was closed it was taken over by the EPA for cleanup.
We really enjoy scrambling up rocky ledges like this, but we were forced to carry the whole days water (about a gallon and a half, which is twelve extra pounds!) because of a lack of springs for seventeen miles after the shelter we'd left this particular morning. cheap alaskan cruises Normally we each carry a 20 oz. bottle of water from spring to spring. We've found we can "camel up" at a spring, then go up to about seven or eight miles with just 20 oz. if you pace yourself right, and it's not too hot to go dry for the last two miles or so. The extra weight made this particular ascent a little more work.
The large flat rocks were much easier to walk on than these little guys! It's hard to find a good place to set your foot where you don't have a sharp edge digging in somewhere. Days with lots of this ended with the dreaded "hamburger-feet" feeling.
The storm Andrew is looking back at caught up to us shortly after this photo. We were about 18 miles into a 21 mile day, and were lucky to get off the very sharp ridge we were on, right before things got really ugly. It was very windy, with a fair amount of lightning, but it only sprinkled lightly until we got to our campsite for the night. We had a photo finish setting up the tent as it was really starting to precipitate, and got just a little wet before we dove into the tent and the storm really let loose. It was quite a thunderstorm that unleashed some real fury for most of the night.
The view looking down on the Delaware River. Notice Andrew is in his rain jacket... We got a very nice steady rain for the last eight or so miles of our last day hiking. It was our only day to walk in more than just a sprinkle. We kept waiting on a good rain day, which neither of us mind, and it was a great day to have it happen!
And Gus! How awesome it was to meet such a cool guy that drove an hour each way to come and get us, then take us back home to have a fantastic family dinner with his folks. We've heard several experiences from other hikers, about getting cheap alaskan cruises taken home by strangers and getting fed a wonderful home cooked meal. The people you meet on the trail is one of the best things about the whole experience. We had shared a great night laughing and conversing with Gus at a shelter, and he mentioned he'd come and get us if we called... But talk about hospitality!
Trekking up to the top of North America... It has been a long time coming and we are super excited just to have the opportunity to be on the grandest mountain we have ever seen, Denali. It is quite the journey to the top and only 50% of people who attempt it will actually make it to the top. And we know that it is not all about the summit, cheap alaskan cruises but that is definitely the icing on the cake! The journey up the snowy slopes will be pretty satisfying in itself.