Walking through the heat dome in Rocksylvania (also known as the doors of hell)

This week has been the most difficult week of paths so far. Not due to extreme climbing and descents, surprisingly it has been very flat. This week was a challenge because a «heat dome» that wrapped a large part of the east coast, giving us high extreme temperatures and high humidity. For three days, the «sensation» temperature reached more than 100 ° F. If you said that I would ever be walking in this climate, by choice, I would have laughed. Isn’t the path supposed to be fun?

And my answer is yes. But! We could have taken the easy way out and take a few days out of the path to sit next to the pool and wait for it. But we go here to challenge ourselves, overcome the limits of what we thought were possible and, in return, we become more resistant and strong. We also think that if we advance these difficult days, any colder day after this (even if they are 89 ° F) it would really feel pleasant!

Then we did it.

I have this theory when snowboarding that I think is very applied to this moment. Every time Snowboard for a double black diamond, the most difficult races of the resorts, I always get nervous before starting, regardless of how many of these races have tried. This is human, I think, because it is the survival part of me evaluating the danger and forcing me to block so that I can keep me safe and not hit any tree. Then, once I return to black diamond races or even blues, everything feels so incredibly easy. The direct comparison between the two makes me feel safer in my skills, since I have added, «I survived that», to my arsenal. Compared to the steep magnates and tight trees, everything else feels like a walk in the park.

Hair ice cream before walking in Double Black Diamond mode

Day 1 of the heat dome – 17.4 miles

High: 98 ° F | It feels like: 106 ° F

12 miles before noon, 5.6 more at sunset

We were at 5 in the morning and somehow motivated enough to move immediately. Even with the hot night, I really slept well. We take a hot breakfast at a picnic table, which in retrospect feels a little masochist taking into account next day.

It was almost instantly hot. The air was thick and humid. Thick almost. The path was flat but stunningly bored: pine needles, Rocksand rolling hills. I drank water as if it were my work, but it never felt enough. We push 12 miles and get to look for the shelter before noon, where we inhale the ice cream, fruit and Krispies sweets. We met the owners we met in the days of trails, crazy that at that time 1300 miles felt incredible. And here we are.

The thermometer in real time in lookout kitchen

EDGE DE CUELO IN PA

They were very friendly to offer us a bed to take a nap through the hottest point of the day. I managed to get a 90 -minute complete sleep cycle in a real bed, something I didn’t expect to happen. At 6 pm, despite the desire to stay, we advance. We planned 13 more miles, but we rescued half when the path became dangerous and rocky in the dark. We stopped at a shelter after climbing the edge of the knife just in time for a beautiful sunset. Later, Ikea and his path of path appeared and it was very nice to see the cat prance around the grass.

It was 10:30 pm and they were still hot. Still sticky. We divide macaroni with cheese and configure our store in the dark. The dream was late after I took a benadryl to drown my eruption of poisonous ivy that took place yesterday. We couldn’t even unpack our sleeping bags. I just placed flat on sleep pads.

Day 2 of the heat dome – 21.3 miles

High: 96 ° F | It feels like: 103 ° F

The longest, most popular and sweaty day so far

I barely slept. My eruption of poisonous ivy was so inflamed that it felt as if they had shot me and it seemed like a stream on my ankle. I could not shake this strange feeling after my dream of Benadryl, where they literally shot me in my ankle. There was no breeze. Without relief. Mosquitoes Everywhere.

Poison ivy is the worst on the way. I keep this

Tell Smokie The Trail Kitty

When we started moving, the morning felt a little fresher, and we took Lehight Gap downhill. We wanted to make the climb early in the day, but when we arrived at the bridge at 10 am, it was suffocating. We went to construction workers and marveled at them doing such work in this type of weather.

Just before Lehight Gap’s infamous climbing, we find an angel of trails that gave us ice cream gatorade and fruit snacks. I could have cried. The climb itself was undoubtedly the most twisted so far. Real fight and directly! I was sweating more than ever in my life. It was almost comical. At this point we were throwing straight salt in our water …

I had never seen my arm sweat

After the climb came six more miles of Ridgeline exposed due to a fire last year. Without shadow and sun. We turned to the umbrella to try, but I could not ignore that my head hit. Finally we arrived at another road after a brutal 6 miles where another angel of trails called Hippie was filling the cache of water with icy drinks. She also taught me how to use banana for my poison ivy, which had exploded like a bomb. Without being too dramatic, I think he may have saved his life.

Banana chewed my poison ivy

We lift another 7 miles to the next road. I was fried. My brain felt like porridge. We camped, we ate macaroni with cheese, and we moved in autopilot to configure our store. Unfortunately, this section practically did not have water, so we can only trust the baby wipes and go to sleep sweaty.

Day 3 of the heat dome – 23.3 my

High: 95 ° F | It feels like: 100 ° F

Rocky, emotional finish, soaked with rain for pa

We sleep facing the air flow alone. Once again, I didn’t touch my sleeping bag all night. But I woke up in a good mood, it turns out that Zohran Mumdani won the New York primaries he had been following. Hope can be a great motivator, since I was in a good mood all day too because the worst of heat felt!

We moved at 7:15 am, grabbing water from a 3 mile shelter. It was our last water during the next 13 miles. The path was relentlessly difficult. Almost breaks the ankle, stirred with the fingers of the feet and is depleted mentally. Even the smallest climb left me soaked in sweat. As I have not been able to rinse, I was beginning to have a heat eruption everywhere.

Is that why they call it Rocksylvania?

Finally I fell into a rock and I couldn’t stop. That moment was a bit scary. But I had no physical damage. I began to realize how mentally exhausted I had been putting on me and we just needed to reach the city.

Then, out of nowhere, heaven opened and threw rain. Warm and heavy rain. He felt incredible. We walked the last section in the Delaware water gap such as young children splashing pudies and turning. Allowing us to soak up while we laugh. He felt as if we had earned this.

A screen capture of a video where I am having the best moment of my life in the rain

We arrived in the soaked city, showering in a free church room and gathered with friends that we have not seen for more than 700 miles! I ate a whole pizza and still was hungry. This is when I made a fateful decision, I connected all my devices to a charger 3 in 1. I had never done this before, but it was too vague to fish my individual loaders …

I crawled on my sleeping pad on this liter that was so hot and smelled like a gymnastics costume and fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Broken phone catastrophe

Well, do not load the three devices (iPhone, Garmin Inreach, portable drums) at the same time because I woke up in the middle of the night and almost burned in my garmin. I realized in the morning that he didn’t even ignite. And my phone stopped loading regardless of whom I used the phone cable. My phone ended up dying and realized that I had just burn my two communication devices. This is very bad.

I never took a picture of the charger, but here it is. Be careful if you use something like this.

After investigating everything I could and spill some stress tears, we decided that my best opportunity would be to take Walmart and see if the «fixing store» in the front of the store could do anything. Marty (owner of the Big Yellow House Hostel in the city) took us a walk. The type of the store confirmed my fears and said I could fix it for $ 130. I said yes before asking what I was going to do.

Then I saw it disassemble my phone by piece and install a new cargo port. This emphasized me, so we walked to get a Jersey Mikes and a wine box. When we returned, my phone was fixed! I felt so relieved that I could cry. We turned and decided to finish a zero in Delaware Water Gap. The most stressful zero I have taken. And worst of all is that it was actually great today.

Difficult waiting in the telephone repair room in Walmart

Whatever! I am very proud of us for walking more than 60 miles in the hottest heat I have felt. I am proud of my legs and especially my mental for having a good time. Each experience hard through hiking adds to the repertoire to refer when things are bad again. And now, when it is a maximum of 89, I think: «Oh, it’s great!»

Out of Pennsylvania!