Pennsylvania here I come.

[Father Dragon]

Late next week I will be heading to Delaware Water Gap to start my section south to Harpers Ferry.
I have gotten a ton of useful information from other threads but I have a few questions still.


1) Is the winter trail the best way to get to a town at Lehigh Gap? What are the best resupply options here?
2) I know the outfitter in Port Clinton is closed but can you still stay at the Pavilion? Is a mail drop the best way to go here for resupply?
3) I’m thinking of doing the Cumberland Valley as a night hike. Is this a good idea?
4) Does Whisky Springs have any whisky in it?:D
5) I’m taking Am Track back home from Harpers Ferry. My pack without any food in it is small, has anyone ever just carried theirs on board?
If anyone has any other general advice about this section feel free to share too.

[ki0eh]

You can get to Palmerton on the Winter Trail SOBO but you'd have to go back up the mountain that way since the old RR bed on the east side of the lower part of the Gap itself has been taken up by a stimulus project to stabilize the slope above the road. If you just hitch around of course you'd miss descending the infamous rocks on the white blaze north end moonscape of Lehigh Gap which is an interesting experience and not one for those with bad knees. Any more the "moonscape" has prairie grass on it so it's like a bit of the West transplanted to eastern PA.

Cumberland Valley as a night hike is actually a pretty good idea, especially in full moon - I've done it a couple of times that way. Helps you see the traffic coming at the road crossings - PA 944 was the worst but now a $1.5 million underpass avoids that one.

Whiskey Spring barely even has reachable water in it now, when I was last there in January it seems someone had knocked back the rock ledge that perched the water into the roadside ditch below so it's pretty tough now to extract water as you need now to reach back pretty far. When a feature is right next to the road it's hard to protect from jerks. As an alternative you can follow your nose back from the road within about 50 yards on both sides to find hopefully un-sabotaged side springs.

[JP]

When you pass water stop and drink all you can and refill. The springs ahead of you might be dry. Check the registers for water info.

Plan to take it slow through Wolf Rocks.

[emerald]

2) I know the outfitter at Port Clinton is closed, but can you still stay at the pavillion? Is a mail drop the best way to resupply?

St. John's Church pavillion continues to be available to A.T. hikers. I have heard nothing to indicate we should expect otherwise anytime soon. It's now being looked after by St. John's troop and pack. Please respect their posted rules and pick up after yourself.

Resupply by mail drop or at either of two supermarkets in Hamburg. I suggest walking there on Schuylkill River Trail (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=42966), John B. Bartram Section, A.T. south of Port Clinton, to State Street trailhead. Weis Markets is straight ahead on the right beyond the center of town.

More information on Hamburg services is available at the link below by clicking on the white blazes or just ask when you get there.

[Father Dragon]

Thanks all, for the very useful info.

[sly dog]

Mabye see ya out there. Headin out thursday from Lehigh to DWG by the weekend.

[Cookerhiker]

.....5)I’m taking Am Track back home from Harpers Ferry. My pack without any food in it is small, has anyone ever just carried theirs on board? ....

I toted my heavy 5-days-worth-of-food backpack on 2 AMTRAK trains for my ill-fated Allegheny Trail hike one of which was the same train that stops at HF. No problems but if the train is full and you can't place the pack on the seat next to you, there are storeage areas for it.

Not sure about the MARC trains from HF which leave early in the morning. They're commuter trains and will likely be packed with people - not from HF but from pickup points along the way.

Something I discovered when booking my AMTRAK trains. If you book a single "multi-city" ticket instead of separate HF-to-DC, DC-to-Boston tickets, you'll save a lot of $$$ - nearly 50%. You don't know the exact day you're leaving HF but as you get closer e.g. Waynesboro, try to get to a computer and make your booking.