July 15

In Jail

So we slept in a bit this morning, and hiked in a mile to where the trail crossed the highway.  It was only a mile into Palmerton, Pa., but we hitched, since the road here had no shoulder to walk on and was really busy.  The downtown area of this little town was really pretty.  First things first.  We went in to the laundromat to wash our funky clothes.  Then we went across the street to the Borough Building, which had a free hiker hostel in the basement.  It was Sunday though, and the building was locked.  So we had to go down to the police station and have an office let us in.  He took our names, and made copies of all of our IDs.  This hostel is called "The Jail House".  It was never used as a jail though.  It's more like a civic building, used for town meetings and such.  There's an old basketball court on the main floor, and showers.  Getting clean again was amazing.  The pressure on the shower heads would peel any remaining dirt and funk off of you that any soap missed.  We needed to get some lunch, so of course, stopping at the ice cream shop was a great idea.  Brownie sundae, with mint chocolate chip and German chocolate cake ice cream scoops.  Warm, gooey brownies had just come out of the oven.  OMG.  I then got real lunch, at the diner.  Really good cheesesteak sandwich.  We just hung out all day, walking around town, and chillin' at the hostel.  Rainbow Eyes and his friend headed out.  Tink and Samson headed out soon after.  Slims, Apache, and I started packing up, and filled up all of our water bottles.  As soon as we started to leave, the skies started to get dark.  A massive thunderstorm blew through the area.  We decided not to hike.  I hope everyone else is okay.  Especially since the climb out from Palmerton is really treacherous.  There's about a 1000 foot climb up an exposed rock scramble.  Lots of hand over hand climbing.  We didn't want to do this part in the heat of the day, but doing it in a storm this severe was a bad idea too.  The rain settled down a bit, and we went to a local pizza joint to get dinner.  Palmerton Pizza is amazing.  Best I've had on the trail.  Some of the best I've had, ever.  The owner running the shop there even gave us a bunch of extra slices to take with us as she was closing up for the night.  On the way back, we stopped at the Country Harvest grocery store for a small resupply.  If you tell them you are a hiker they give you an orange.  Love Palmerton!

The Jail House hostel in Palmerton, Pa.