I had a toss and turn kind of night. Not sure why? I was clean and smelling pretty. But sometimes after sleeping outside, when you are confined indoors in a bunkhouse, quality sleep is hard to fine. But it was much better than sleeping in my tent outside, next to the Highway.

Up and out by 6:30am and back on the trail before 7am. I had a few bonus miles today, including the road walk back to the AT. Once I arrived, it was “game on.” Today was Knifes Edge. I’m glad I didn’t know about it till last night because I would’ve been fretting for the past few days. Maybe that’s why I didn’t sleep so good.

There were a couple of warm-up Boulder fields. If I was planning to slackpack, this would’ve been the day to do it. I started with a couple of low end climbs. Look at me talking like I’m some expert climber. Far from it. But I was getting across the rocks pretty well. The kid that was at the Hostel with me, Morning Glory caught up. We talked for a minute and then he took off. I’ll probably never see him again!

Then I saw her, Knife’s Edge. She is an enormous Boulder Field that look glaciated. The Appalachian Mountains, back in the day, were thought to be taller than Mt. Everest. Think about the Khumba Icefalls but instead of ice, it’s boulders as far as the eye can see. Yep, that’s what I had the pleasure to tackle today.

I decided it was best to take it in sections. With or without poles was my dilemma?! There are places that I needed to pull myself up and then there were times where I needed to balance on these slices of jagged rocks. All I could think of was I needed some holy intervention as this is not my expertise. And this darn backpack of mine was so cumbersome. Slackpacking is the only way to conquer this problem. Too late for that, so I just took a few scenic breaks and carried on.

Finally I made it through the maze of boulders and white blazes. Once back on solid ground, I kissed the first patch of dirt I found, and thanked the Lord for escorting me through. Honestly, my friends who know me should be scratching their head, and saying who are you? This is something more than this girl can do! Only with the Director of Heavens & Earth did this girl from NorCal do the impossible today!

There were other Boulder fields to conquer, other rocks to manage but there was nothing that was going to stop me from getting to Maine. I found a fairly level little trail to walk on and thought, I made the wrong turn. But sure enough the white blaze appeared. There are many times where I’m looking around for that stripe of white paint to make sure I’m still where I need to be. Sometimes all I have to do is turn around, and I’ll see a blaze painted on a tree for the Sobo’s (South-Bounders). That’s always reassuring.

I made it to Oven-Baked Shelter. It’s a proper name because it faces the sun and if you dare sit in it, you bake! I stopped for lunch and Recon showed up. He’s a Flip-Flopper I met back at Boiling Springs. He has a friend that he is waiting for, Popeye. We talk for a second and Popeye shows up. I recognize her right away, from last year when I hiked the AT with Sid. She doesn’t remember me until I recite the evening we spent together at a Shelter before Audie Murphy’s Memorial. I remind her that she was hiking with two other guys. Yep, Recon who is sitting next to her and Paper Clip. What a crazy small world we are on the AT.

They stay for lunch and make plans to hook up in town at Palmerton. I still have another eight miles and I have no idea how many boulders and rocks to deal with. When I check my FarOut App, it shows the terrain as a ridge walk but it doesn’t include the countless rocks and obstacles you need to clear to get down the trail. Maybe that’s on purpose as if it told me all that I was going to deal with from one mile to the next, I might reconsider this journey. Well, probably not, but it would make me rethink my strategy. This way I can go into it Willy Nilly and be surprised every single day!

The terrain at the end of the day was so much different than anything I’ve seen in the past couple of weeks. I came out atop the Ridgeline and there were no trees to speak of. The weather is getting really hot. It’s suppose to be in the 90’s this weekend and it definitely felt like it this afternoon. Finally, I started heading down back into the trees, and Recon and Popeye caught up. We all headed to the one and only water source for the next 20 miles. Oh boy, this is gonna be a thing as I head north.

We all cameled up, a term used to store water in your belly. Drink now and save for later. I drank a liter and brought a liter for later. Being we are headed into town, we will load up with water at the Hostel and plan our attack for tomorrow. I will have to look at the lackluster app and make a decision. But for now, I’m looking for Antipasto, Soup and Garlic Bread. It’s funny the foods you crave while you’re out here.