#166 Allentown Shelter to George Outerbridge Shelter - Day 91: MM1242.4 - MM1259.2
...healing is never a completed process, but a direction you hope to continue striving towards.
4-17-2023
One of the guys, who came in late night and set up the tarps and Christmas lights and playing A.M. Golden Oldies, is now sleeping on the floor of the shelter.
His head is completely covered with a blanket, and he’s snoring.
A small battery-operated chainsaw lays beside his pack on the front step of the shelter.
Copter is packed and ready long before I am, but he stands in wait for me to finish my morning chores and pack up.
We hike together about a quarter mile down the mountain, to where the side trail for the spring turns away from the trail.
I tell him to go on ahead and I’ll catch up later. He has plenty of water in his pack, so he doesn’t need to refill. I need some water for the morning’s hike, plus I have some morning bathroom bid’nez to tend to.
Clouds hang low overhead, nearly touching the trees. The trail is empty of day-hikers. I’m loving the solitude.
Reaching an unexpected parking lot just off trail, I turn out of curiosity. I unexpectedly discover Thunderhead Lodge; its prospects make me crave real food. But unexpectedly, it’s closed.
Just beyond it is the unexpected Hwy 309. I have the urge to hitchhike, unexpectedly, of course.
I notice two women sitting on the back bumper of their car with the trunk open. Assuming they own or work for the restaurant, I walk over and ask if they know when it opens. They don’t know. They’re just hanging out.
Today is Monday. Lots of restaurants are closed on Monday.
I ask if there’s there a Dollar General nearby. “About three miles that way,” one of them says pointing towards the small town of Snyders PA.
The other asks my trail name. I give it. They share theirs.
Thanking them for the information I head across the highway to hitch down the hill.
Standing on the side of the road in some weeds, I hear a honk from across the street. Cocoa and Snoops wave for me to get in. They’d told me earlier that this isn’t the safest road to hitch from. From my perspective, it seems to be a perfect road to hitch from, as I climb into the back seat.
Moments later we are pulling into the DG’s parking lot.
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