Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery Page B
Authors: Ben Montgomery
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Emma to stay at his house, so she fetched her bag from the hotel and showed up on his front porch. The two talked into the night, forming a bond that would last for years. Leh called up the newspaper in Allentown and two journalists came for yet another interview. The reporter asked her what surprised her most about the hike.
“All the publicity the newspapers give me,”
she said.
The next morning, Leh drove her across town to a store called Grant’s, which wasn’t yet open for the day. Once Leh explained who his company was, the clerk obliged and invited them in, pleased to accommodate. Emma scanned the aisle for a pair of women’s shoes that would fit, but the largest size was much too small. Her feet had swollen out of women’s shoes. She slipped into a comfortable pair of men’s shoes, size 8½, which gave her a little room should her feet continue to expand. She bought the shoes, two pairs of wool and nylon socks, and some wire hairpins. Theclerk, out of kindness, gave her three five-cent packages of Life Savers and wished her lots of luck.
Leh drove Emma back to Lehigh Gap, where she had left the trail, and the two climbed the cliff to the top. Leh thought Emma might need help getting up the steep embankment, but he was surprised to see her scale the wall, lugging her bag and maple walking stick, without help.
He bid her good-bye from below and, again, she was alone.
Emma wrote to her daughters again on February 20, 1938, from her sister Lucy’s house in Santa Ana, California, where she had found a job working as a practical nurse. She was burdened deeply by her decision to leave her family and peeved by the repeated attempts from her husband to lure her home. Nevertheless, she was considering returning, even then.
Dear Louise and Lucy:
It is dear of you to write to me and send the nice candy and valentines. I like the pictures you draw and am so glad you are getting along so nicely in school. I hope I can be with you sometime and do all the nice little things I would love to do…. I have a lovely place to stay and there is loads of lovely flowers of all kinds. I would tell you more only your dad would write to the man in the mountains with lots of flowers and such and such a house etc. etc. like he did when I was at Orange. I have Sunday off and spend it here with Mother. It is quite a little drive but it is nice to be with Mother. Don’t you think it would be nice to be with your mother? I picked some oranges and made some fruit salad for dinner or lunch asthe city folks say…. My side hurts pretty badly sometimes. Some nights I can hardly get to sleep for the pain. I want to have it seen to as soon as I can. It should make your Dad feel good to know he did it, throwing me down in the floor. My breast is still blue where he jumped on me, but the lump is gone. I go to bed now and everything is just as peaceful and quiet as can be. Hoping you are fine and be nice girls so I can be proud of you.
With loads of love,
Mama
The pain in her side was getting worse, and though she was working six days a week, she couldn’t easily afford to see a doctor. In the days after she mailed the letter, she devised a plan. She’d return home to be with her daughters and P.C. would have to pay for her medical care, whatever that might entail.
The decision would almost kill her.
The Delaware Water Gap, with its scenic overlooks and rhododendron tunnels and magnificent waterfalls, was just ahead, and she was walking hard to get there before dark. She was coming down out of an upthrust of rocks on Kittatinny Mountain, in a hurry to find a place to stay before night set in, when she slipped.
The fall wasn’t bad, but she felt a short, sharp pain in her knee. She examined the injury and tested the knee under her full weight. To her relief, the sprain wasn’t severe, but even a minor injury on the trail can be devastating, especially when it’s exacerbated by continuous pounding. Ahead were the toughest, tallest
“All the publicity the newspapers give me,”
she said.
The next morning, Leh drove her across town to a store called Grant’s, which wasn’t yet open for the day. Once Leh explained who his company was, the clerk obliged and invited them in, pleased to accommodate. Emma scanned the aisle for a pair of women’s shoes that would fit, but the largest size was much too small. Her feet had swollen out of women’s shoes. She slipped into a comfortable pair of men’s shoes, size 8½, which gave her a little room should her feet continue to expand. She bought the shoes, two pairs of wool and nylon socks, and some wire hairpins. Theclerk, out of kindness, gave her three five-cent packages of Life Savers and wished her lots of luck.
Leh drove Emma back to Lehigh Gap, where she had left the trail, and the two climbed the cliff to the top. Leh thought Emma might need help getting up the steep embankment, but he was surprised to see her scale the wall, lugging her bag and maple walking stick, without help.
He bid her good-bye from below and, again, she was alone.
Emma wrote to her daughters again on February 20, 1938, from her sister Lucy’s house in Santa Ana, California, where she had found a job working as a practical nurse. She was burdened deeply by her decision to leave her family and peeved by the repeated attempts from her husband to lure her home. Nevertheless, she was considering returning, even then.
Dear Louise and Lucy:
It is dear of you to write to me and send the nice candy and valentines. I like the pictures you draw and am so glad you are getting along so nicely in school. I hope I can be with you sometime and do all the nice little things I would love to do…. I have a lovely place to stay and there is loads of lovely flowers of all kinds. I would tell you more only your dad would write to the man in the mountains with lots of flowers and such and such a house etc. etc. like he did when I was at Orange. I have Sunday off and spend it here with Mother. It is quite a little drive but it is nice to be with Mother. Don’t you think it would be nice to be with your mother? I picked some oranges and made some fruit salad for dinner or lunch asthe city folks say…. My side hurts pretty badly sometimes. Some nights I can hardly get to sleep for the pain. I want to have it seen to as soon as I can. It should make your Dad feel good to know he did it, throwing me down in the floor. My breast is still blue where he jumped on me, but the lump is gone. I go to bed now and everything is just as peaceful and quiet as can be. Hoping you are fine and be nice girls so I can be proud of you.
With loads of love,
Mama
The pain in her side was getting worse, and though she was working six days a week, she couldn’t easily afford to see a doctor. In the days after she mailed the letter, she devised a plan. She’d return home to be with her daughters and P.C. would have to pay for her medical care, whatever that might entail.
The decision would almost kill her.
The Delaware Water Gap, with its scenic overlooks and rhododendron tunnels and magnificent waterfalls, was just ahead, and she was walking hard to get there before dark. She was coming down out of an upthrust of rocks on Kittatinny Mountain, in a hurry to find a place to stay before night set in, when she slipped.
The fall wasn’t bad, but she felt a short, sharp pain in her knee. She examined the injury and tested the knee under her full weight. To her relief, the sprain wasn’t severe, but even a minor injury on the trail can be devastating, especially when it’s exacerbated by continuous pounding. Ahead were the toughest, tallest
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