Sherbear and Indy descend toward Palmerton
J: Sherbear, Indiana Jean and I rolled into Bake Oven shelter for the night. It was packed with Sourball, Memphis, a southbounder 'Bruce', and a girlscout troop from NJ. The scout troop camped out as did I and late arrivals Yeti and Steely. The other five crowded into that micro shelter. Water was this trickle spring some ways away.
Today, we headed north. Blueberries slowed our progress, battling through liter jar after liter jar. The Companion mentioned the moonscape ahead, so we loaded up where the plants still seemed healthy.
Walked the ridgeline to the next shelter (0.7 before the road). Read Slacker's register entry about taking a big fall off the rocks, sliding a bit only to be saved by landing backwards on his pack -- grateful for not puncturing his stove fuel bottle and 'wiping out the Palmerton/Slatington/Walnutport metropolitan area.' He then described his difficulty in securing a proper place to relieve his bowels with all the rock and no place to dig - finally hanging over a drop, holding a branch - only to hear the cracking of the wood breaking - too late to save himself from falling; narrowly missing a very messy situation.
Out of the shelter, the brush gave way to sparse scrub and those good ol' PA rocks. The thick lush plantlife was now scattered individuals, the hillside starkly bare. Not dead completely, but ugly in an unhealthy way. But we were headed into a Trail town, and the last one before Delaware Water Gap. Sheri's spirits grew as we headed down the hill and into Palmerton.