Port Clinton to Delaware Water Gap

This 78 mile section of the Appalachian Trail is the rockiest section of the entire trail. Much of it can be a monotints forest walk and due to the lower elevation, can also be hot in summer. Unfortunately, I hit this section during a heat bubble with nearly 100 degree temperatures. Luckily for me, my brother joined me on this section. The timing was not so lucky for him but having a companion was such a change of pace for me, I really enjoyed the section, except the rocks, they just suck. I did have new boots so that was a big help. We were able to slack pack one hot day as getting an Uber out of Windy Gap and Delaware Water Gap was easy, sleeping in a hotel two nights in Stroudsburg. We also stayed at The Lookout hostel, my first on the trail so we could get out of the heat and have at least one hostel experience. Finally, we did camp the first night, so only one night of the 4 my brother joined me was outside in the hot muggy temperatures. This was the most amenities I did along the trail in a single week.

This stretch is mostly just traveling long, long ridges with little elevation gains. Along the way, every 5 miles or so are all kinds of rocky viewpoints, ledges, scrambles. Some of the names are Pulpit Rock, The Pinnacle, Dans Pulpit, Balance Rocks, Knifes Edge, Bear Rocks, Bake Oven Knob, Hahns Lookout, Wolf Rock, etc. Once you hit Delaware Water Gap and the state line with New Jersey over the Delaware River, the mountain terrain changes and the bad rocks go away. New Jersey is just completely different then Pennsylvania.