Day 67, 6/10: M-1261, Camp by Radio Tower near Palmerton, PA (23mi)

This is a pic I meant to post yesterday. It’s the Eckville shelter (cabin in back right). It’s a 100yds down the way at a road crossing. The main house is an AT caretaker’s residence. This was quite the little lunch oasis. Someone had left homemade brownies plus I got to dry my tent in the sun and charge my batteries.

This mornings hiking started off great. Perfect temps at 6am and impeccable trail conditions.

Those trail conditions deteriorated quickly…as the rock dancing began. The best comparison is that it’s a lot like skiing the bumps. You need to keep searching for a good line and bad things can happen when you lose your forward momentum. You’d be surprised at the size of boulder one can make teeter while walking across it.

At least we were rewarded with some great views.

This was a brutal climb of vertical rock scrambling in the blistering sun late this afternoon (86 today).

Wish I had gotten a person in this pic to give these boulders some perspective… they are huge.  
We did get a view of Lehigh Gap and the Lehigh River.  
This post apocalyptic scene is enhanced by the lack of all vegetation that was the result of toxins from a zinc plant that closed down 30+ years ago.

My cozy campsite on a bed of pine needles.