Greyhound Bus: Delaware Water Gap PA

For our 2011 section hike of the Appalachian Trail, we once again rode the Greyhound bus east to New York City. Greyhound buses arrive on the bottom level of the Port Authority building on 45th Street in Manhattan. After getting off the bus and claiming your backpack you'll enter into a dimly lit square waiting area with a food service and escalators in the middle. Skip the food service, as there's better and less expensive food upstairs, and head for the up escalator or stairs.

Coming up a level you should find the Greyhound ticket counter towards your left and just beyond and next door Martz Trailways. Delaware Water Gap, PA is served by Martz Trailways and a one-way ticket is about $35.00. (Recommend you have correct change as one of the male clerks of Indo-Asian ancestry seems something of a "change artist" and returns one dollar bills instead of five dollar bills.)

Martz Trailways also arrives and departs from the "basement", but from the "other building". If time permits, you might grab a bite from the bread shop under the main escalators in the center of the Port Authority. You can also find cheap snacks at the pharmacy which is also below the escalators. Veterans will find a USO two floors above the Trailways ticket counter, just take the escalators up to the 3rd floor. (Note: the USO does not offer the usual baggage closet due to post-9/11 security paranoia. Your backpack must remain with you at all times.)

The trip from New York City to Delaware Water Gap is about 3 hours or less, depending on traffic going through the tunnel under the Hudson River. The ride is fairly boring once outside of the urban area. Once the Delaware River comes into view, you might pay attention to the area before the bridge and the town of Delaware Water Gap to your left.

Martz Trailways maintains a bus station on the west backside of town. Once at the bus station you'll need to claim your backpack. As we use our food bag as a carry-on bag, we went inside the station to repack our backpack for the short walk to the Appalachian Trail. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and there was plenty of seating on which to rest our pack. There are public restrooms with adjacent water fountain just past the ticket counter. On the opposite wall are some vending machines.

Departing the bus station, make a right turn at the highway that runs past the bus station. Take the first right and follow the road through town to go directly to the Appalachian Trail or to the hostel. If you need alcohol fuel or some grocery items, follow the highway back towards the bridge and take the first exit ramp down to the two gas stations and convenience stores. Once done shopping follow the road back into town and take a left at the intersection to get to the trail or the hostel.

Foldable Spork: Primus Folding Spoon Fork

After downsizing our trail kitchen to the new Esbit cup, we need a smaller spork that would fit inside the 3.5 inch space. We found a nice titanium folding spork at REI at a reasonable price, but our daughter wasn't able to pick up and deliver one of the prized sporks before our 2011 section hike. Being days from departure we sought out a substitute folding spork and discovered the Primus folding spoon and fork at a local Academy Sports for just a few dollars.

The folded Primus spoon / fork fit easily inside our Esbit cup along with the stove, lighter, and other pieces. The little plastic latch in the hinge didn't seem robust and we had read some negative reviews of folding sporks and spoons regarding folding mid-meal. We took ours to work and tried it out in a bag of instant mashed potatoes. Sure enough, while moving the folding spoon back and forth during mixing, the folding spoon unlatched on us. Serious flaw? Not at all. We merely learned to adjust our cooking behavior to the folding spoon. Only stir in one direction - forward only. Confident, we cleaned and packed our new red Primus folding spoon and fork into our Esbit cup.

Our experiences during our 2011 section hike were positive. Yes, the spoon folded once or twice while stirring due to "operator error". The spoon did fold while we were spreading bean dip on a tortilla. Again, once we held the lower spoon section firmly, we were able to spread at will. We really appreciated the fork part of the Primus folding spoon when eating our nightly Ramen soup. The fork enable us to gather a decent bite of noodles from our soup.

We recommend the Primus folding spoon and fork to other hikers wanting a small, lightweight folding spork or spoon, provided you are open-minded enough to modify your behavior. As these little guys are relatively inexpensive, we'll likely buy a few more for the family.

Ultralight Beer Can Stove Kit

Working Saturday at a Rural Tourism Marketing workshop and we just discovered a unique ultralight beer can stove kit. Turns out our speakers manufacture and sell a line of ultralight backpacking gear at UltralightOutfitters.com.

The ultralight beer can stove kit is designed for use with a 1 liter Foster's beer can. You supply the can. Instructions for making a Foster's beer can pot are on the website.

The ultralight beer can stove kit consists of a wire pot stand, a solid fuel stove, a windscreen, a lip guard, and a lexan spoon.

The stand does NOT fit a Heiniken beer can pot.

You can order the kit for $15.95 from Ultralight Outfitters.

NH Appalachian Trail Store: Notch Express

During a recent business trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, we got off the I-93 at Exit 33, just a mile or so south of where the Appalachian Trail crosses through Franconia Notch. We discovered Notch Express.

Notch Express of Lincoln, NH is a a typical rural convenience store. While hikers are seldom seeking gas, they are seeking a ready supply of food, drink and stove fuel. Entering the front door of Notch Express one finds a mini-store stretching to the right. While we didn't see any stove fuels displayed, we did find canned and packet tuna, two-packs of Pop-Tarts, beef and chicken flavored ramen noodles ($.40), and small jars of peanut butter. We also noted that along with Snapple teas, milk, and major soft drinks, that beer was available in single serving bottles. A quick question confirmed that, yes, Notch Express does stock up for the summer hiking season, so expect larger inventories than one can of tuna to be awaiting.

Immediately in line with the front door is the entrance to the restrooms marked "For customers only." The two rooms are unisex, so lock the door behind you. Even if you don't need to use the facilities, they're worth a peek. The proprietress has decorated each with articles and photos of UFO sightings.

To the left rear of the store, one will find a deli serving freshly made sandwiches. The menu reads much like a well known national chain.

While there are motels adjacent and across the street, many hikers opt for hiking yet another mile south to Chet's hostel. We opted out of driving by due to increasing snow and the late hour. Why tempt fate?

Do take note that the Notch Express is a favorite of the local constabulary.

Express Notch in Licoln, NH is about a four day hike from Gorham, NH for southbound (SOBO) Appalachian Trail hikers. BTW, exit 32 about five miles south of the AT has a McDonalds (sweet tea available) and a grocery.

Yelp reviews for Notch Express

Obama Adds 60 Miles to Appalachian Trail

Washington DC (April 1, 2011) - President Obama announced today that he is adding 60 miles to the Appalachian Trail. Executive Order 23495 directs the National Park Service to add the 60 miles of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal between Harpers Ferry and Washington DC to the 2,178 mile Appalachian Trail. The new addition follows the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to the Arlington Memorial Bridge. The Appalachian Trail will then wind through the National Mall to Union Station providing hikers the opportunity to view America's great monuments. Side trails, known as "blue blazes", to the White House, the Capitol, and the Smithsonian museums are planned. Hikers will return to Harpers Ferry using a high speed rail voucher.

"As you know, Michelle and I enjoy hiking in the woods of Camp David and America's national parks. The sight of America's youth passing through Washington DC each Spring will be a powerful witness to inner city youth to explore America's wilderness." Said Obama. "Let me make this perfectly clear. While there will be no boots on the ground in Libya, America needs more boots on the ground from its cities."

The First Lady's office also announced the National Park Service will be removing soft drink machines and fast food concessions from both Shenandoah and Great Smokies National Parks. "Too many hikers are consuming empty calories and arriving in Maine malnourished, having lost unhealthy amounts of body fat;" said Michele Obama. "We need to provide America's hikers with nourishing fruits and vegetables instead of sugary drinks and high fat junk food." White House insiders speculate the First Couple may provide trail magic using the White House garden.

The addition of 60 miles to the Appalachian Trail brings the total mileage of the famous trail to 2,238 miles and adds an additional five days to a typical five to six month through hike. Free high speed rail vouchers will be available for the 2012 hiking season from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Happy April Fools Day 2011.