Downtown Delaware Water Gap
DWG is a very trail-friendly town, up there with Hot Springs and Damascus. The local church, the Church of the Mountain, allows hikers to use a few rooms in the lower floor of the church as a bunk house and commons room. Maybe the most important gift to hikers is access to the shower, yum. Outside, they have picnic tables and a little lawn space for tents.
Called mom and dad -- described PA. Dad offered to develop my film, so rather than drop it back to the dudes for keeping, I'll send Dad the rolls.
Funny to take a day off in a trail town again, and pound so many miles just out and about. The hiker box has been good to me at the church. Picked up a peaked cap to keep the sun off the nose, and a pair of shorts that aren't too far gone at the seams. Lunch with Magoo, Indiana Jean and D.C. at the Trails End Cafe. Fun to reminesce with Indy about trail life such as Mt. Mama's where they'd let you run a load of wash in their washing machine -- 'oh yeah, it's around back' under a blue tarp. Life in trail towns.
As we were going to have down time, Indy and I elected to go catch an early afternoon movie at the multiplex in nearby Stroudsburg. Forrest Gump was playing. Returned to DWG, only to run into Slacker, D.C., Magoo and Yeti. They were heading out to the mall for a double-feature of Wolf and True Lies. What the heck. DWG triple-feature day. Wolf was a bit of a disappointment.
Rereturning to town, a huge hiker crowd collecting. Memphis, Sourball, Model T, Wandering Jew, Drifter... a lot more expected. Tomorrow is apparently a hiker picnic put on by the church. A call to REI re the boots - more sole to soul issues. Replacements will meet me at Bear Mountain.
Photo: Indiana Jean, Magoo, BadDNA heading to either elevenies or lunch proper.