Miles: 1294.7 | A slow, hot walk into Delaware Water Gap turns into a gentle town day at the Church of the Mountain Hiker Center. Reunions with familiar trail friends, free camping under pines, and an unexpected encounter with a friendly stray cat stir fresh grief for Clyde. The day ends simply—with wings, Gatorade, lingering voices in the gazebo, and a quiet, restless night.
I left Miles there in search of Gatorade and snacks. On my half mile walk to the gas station I came across a little stray cat. He came right up to me, meowing, and let me pet him.
The encounter made me tear up a little. His little purrs were so comforting. I missed Bonnie and Clyde. This cat really made me feel Clyde's death more tangibly. I sat on the sidewalk and patted the cat for a long time. Half an hour maybe. I left him, eventually, and walked the rest of the way to the gas station. On my way I passed the Sycamore Grill. They were running a wings special that night. Just the word 'wings' made me crave them. Hiker hunger was real.
We got up late, around 10am, and left the motel to get back to the trail. We realized we were pretty close to Delaware Water Gap and there was free camping in town at a church so we decided to head there. I got breakfast at McDonald's on my way out of town and chugged a large coffee.
At the trail head we ran into Josh, Tang, Murdock, and TNT! We hadn't seen them in a while! All of us caught up and talked for a while. The sun was hot and we didn't have that far to go, anyway.
When we got to town, we headed over to the free church hostel. Shirtpants greeted us! He said he might have a pretty bad injury and might have to get off trail for real this time. He showed us around the hostel and said we should be able to set up our tents near the gazebo. We went and set up our tents under a big pine tree.
I got two Gatorades and a new bottle of water for myself along with a few snacks and went back to the church. Miles and I agreed to go get wings at the Sycamore. We ate our messy wings, tiredly, and talked to a couple other hikers there.
Back at the church after dinner and tried to go to sleep early. Other hikers at the church sat up in the gazebo near our tents talking for a long time. I couldn't sleep. I laid in bed and read for a while. They went to bed around 11:30 and I finally fell asleep after that.