Thursday Pam and I did the longest walk thus far on our walk the D&L adventure—12.9 miles. Yes, that's just shy of a half-marathon. I am by no means fit for a half-marathon.
We took one car. Pam's husband would pick us up when we were done. We drove north above Jim Thorpe, and above the cutest town called Waverly. Then we went even further to the Rockport trailhead. It was buried deep in the forget on a one-lane road. It is the launch point for white-water rafting trips.
The first thing we noticed when we got out of the car was how much cooler it was there.
There is a comfort station here, and there is not another one until you reach Glen Onoko Falls. There is nothing but gorge and river—no house, roads, stores, nothing. About half way in you pick up the railroad. There are mile markers which are very helpful. And the occasional picnic table. This section I think is used heavily by bikers. We saw quite a few. We didn't see many walkers until we were close to Glen Onoko.
The gorge was beautiful. The river and mountains on one side; mountains and rockscapes on the other. It was repetitive but never boring. The path goes like a nose before the path straightens out. There would be no way to go straight. It would probably save, three, four miles if you could. There were ruins, like this tower. But mostly of all bridge structures, we're guessing for the railroad.
Once we reached the the point where we followed the railroad, is was boring. You could no longer see the river, and there was railroad tracks on the other side. Twice we were passed by the scenic railroad train. People waved at us.
We had stopped to eat at the 7-mile mark, and we were 3-4 miles away when I had to use the bathroom. I went about another mile and said, I have to go now. It took another five minutes to find a place. I thought it was clear of poison, but it wasn't. I have some on the back of my left thigh, and maybe my cheek. Thankfully the railroad was elevated at this point and I could lean against the wall. Squatting is not my strong suite.
We made it back to the Glen Onoko trailhead and met up with Pam's husband. We did not go anywhere until we hit the restroom. She told him to park at the entrance to the tunnel. We walk over the bridge and get to the tunnel. Where's the car? In the next lot. It wasn't in that one either. Or the third one. He parked at the second pedestrian bridge. Just what we wanted to do was to walk another mile. Ultimately we sent him for the car.
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