Category: 2018 Appalachian Trail

Bunny tried to overdose me last night. She couldn’t sleep so she made me take two Benadryl. I’ve been in a drug haze all day. I just wanted to lay down in the trail and take al nap.  If Bunny would have had a whip, I have no doubt she would have used it on me to get me going.

She started out with an alarm at 6:40. Of course, we snoozed a couple of times and got going by 8:30. The trail was rather pleasant for the first four miles which was actually the last 4 miles of New Jersey. Jersey ended on a high note for us with pleasant weather and decent terrain. 

We ran into Bee Keeper as soon as we got to the first road crossing. He had turned around and came back to get sprayed down because of all the up mosquitoes. That has been the only complaint about yesterday and today, and it has been a daily complaint for NJ.  It’s ironic that NJ is so swampy yet water is almost impossible to find along the trail.

It was only 4 miles to the New York State line crossing..  We were still walking with Bee Keeper when we crossed into New York.  We are now done with 8 states and the next 3 states are all under a hundred miles each.  We should make it to Vermont by early August. 

We had been warned that NY was rugged.  It was a lot of rock scrambles which would have been fun if it wasn’t so hot and impossible to cross in the rain.  We could see the New York City skyline through a gap in the next ridge. 

Bunny’s original motivation was a hot dog and a creamery at the first road crossing in NY.  Once again, we were food motivated. Hot dogs and ice cream for lunch two days in a row. We had an additional incentive when we both ran out of water with 2 miles to go. 

We got bad news at road—the hot dog stand is closed on Mondays.  This blow was eased by the trail magic which included a new pair of Darn Tuff socks. Tentman gets a case from them every year to hand out to hikers.  The sodas and water were very welcome after being without water the last couple of miles. 

We still made the side trip to the creamery. Bunny had her heart set on ice cream and who am I to say no.  Just as we got within sight of the place, a bus full of Jehovah Witnesses pulls in. My heart sunk but when two smelly hikers walked into the shop, the sea of witnesses parted for us.  We were able to get our banana splits and a table and were never crowded by the people. Bee Keeper and Hummingbird joined us after the rush. 

We grabbed about 5 liters of water before committing to another 2.5 miles to the first shelter in the state.  Tentman had warned us we had two more rock piles to cross before the shelter. Since it was after 5, things were cooling off a bit and we felt better walking. 

We were the first to arrive at the shelter so we allowed our packs to explode. Before we could clean up the explosion, 3 more section hikers from Ohio showed up. Lee, his son Zeric, and his friend, Mike.  Lee is a retired school teacher who has travelled extensively. When we told him of our travels of the last couple of years, this led to a political conversation and our hopes for the future of our country. We were both pretty depressed with the current status. 

I had already scouted the area around the shelter and found the water source—a near stagnant pool with mosquitoes swarming around it with a frog sitting in the middle that stirred up crap from the bottom if you dipped too close to him/her (once again, I respected its privacy and didn’t check for its sexuality).  We all started referring to the water we filtered as “frog water.”  It tasted pretty good considering, but if Miss Piggy doesn’t mind a little frog jizz, we should be able to handle a bit as well.

We were hoping for another cool night to knock down the mosquito population a bit. It just never cooled off. Bunny and I considered setting up our tent, but she had already drugged me with Benadryl and I just didn’t have the energy. Even with my ear plugs in and covered up with my down quilt, the little bitches were buzzing my head. My only choices were sweat to death and be annoyed by buzzing, or cool off to just uncomfortably warm and get eaten alive. Throw in two Ohioans who snored and this strengthened my resolve to set up the tent from here on out. 

EFG 

I just can’t seem to get enough sleep at night. Maybe it’s because Bunny makes  me drink a liter of water before bed so she can claim to have a superior bladder.  Or maybe it’s because Bunny keeps pushing me off of MY sleeping pad so she can have more room. Or maybe it’s because Bunny flips her hair in my face every time she turns over. Any way you look at it, it appears that it’s because of Bunny. Of course I’ll catch hell for saying that, so it’s George’s fault. I can sleep better now that the mystery has been solved. 

Today was also a pleasant day of walking.  Just a little warmer than we would have liked. We overslept a bit (not Bunny’s fault). She made me get up at 8 which means we were on the trail by…9:30. It’s an hour and a half no matter what the conditions are (unless we are sleeping somewhere that is against the law). Good things started happening right away. 

The first good thing to happen was that I got Bunny to agree the we were not going to do a 20 mile day like she wanted to. No seriously, she wanted to get up early and hike all the way to Warwick, NY. She’s got it in her head that we have to be in Fort Montgomery by Wednesday.  We aren’t meeting anyone that I’m aware of. 

The second good thing was that we started going over boardwalks and met Woodstock. He’s in charge of trail maintenance on the section we were hiking on.  He was weed whacking when we crossed his section of boardwalk. He stopped and talked to us a bit and offered us some Gatorade (which we gladly accepted—thru-hikers never turn down food or drink).  Woodstock section hiked the AT over a 12 year period and finished 10 years ago. 

The third good thing happened as we approached the Pochuck Boardwalk. This is where we met Andy and Angie who are slackpacking Huck who we just met yesterday at Hummingbird’s magic. They were so generous and friendly. They had just finished walking the boardwalk and warned us it was full sun. I was still a little thirsty (I don’t think we drank enough yesterday) so when they offered us a cold bottle of water, I accepted. (See previous paragraph—thru-hikers never turn down food or drink). They were supposed to mail Huck a supply box but decided to bring it to him as a surprise. The bigger surprise will be that they are giving away all of his food. They gave us a bag of protein bars, beef and cheese sticks, applesauce, and other assorted goodies. They said they will make it up to him. After all, he is getting a few unexpected nights in AC on a bed. 

The fourth good thing was the boardwalk itself.  There is over a mile of boardwalk through a bog and swampy area and is what New Jersey is most famous for on the AT. We saw a pond full of turtles sunning themselves and a snake swimming through them. Because of all the duckweed, we couldn’t tell what kind of snake it was and Bunny didn’t want to investigate. We also ran into Hummingbird walking towards us to meet Bee Keeper for lunch. 

The fifth good thing was exiting the boardwalk to a highway with a hot dog stand just across the road from a country store selling homemade ice cream.  Our lunch of tuna wraps will have to wait one more day (an even bigger good thing). We each had 2 hot dogs, a bag of chips, and a soda before heading to get some ice cream. A large cone was $4.50 but a pint was only $6 so I suggested we get a pint. My darling wife thought I meant to share the pint with her. Oh, hell no.  We can each get our own pint, after all we both completed the half gallon challenge so this is nothing. As a side note, there was just one correct combination of ice cream for the pint—Bunny did not get it right with chocolate peanut butter and blueberries and cream. I did nail it with chocolate and raspberry chocolate chunk.  Don’t take my word, ask the server. 

The sixth good thing was meeting Zaire and Samyuktha while we were climbing the “stairway to heaven” with stomachs full of ice cream and hot dogs. They are both graduate students at Rutgers. Zaire is studying psychology and is about to go to South Africa for a few weeks to work in some NGOs.  Samyuktha is working a masters in Electrical Engineering. She was a little behind Zaire so we were talking to him while she caught up. When Zaire told her we were hiking the AT, she couldn’t get it.  She kept asking us where our car was. “The whole trail? From Georgia to Maine? Do people actually do that? I don’t even like to walk from my car to the store.”  She thinks we’re a little off. We walked most of the way up with them but eventually fell behind. 

The seventh good thing was getting the shot Bunny has been wanting all of New Jersey. She was complaining that NJ is supposed to have the highest concentration of bears on the AT but we keep missing them. The other day at the Mohican Outdoor Center, everyone saw bears and we had to settle for a lousy rattlesnake. Today, we got our bear. After leaving the crowds at the Pinwheels Vista on Wawayanda Mountain, we had trail to ourselves and less than 10 miles of Jersey to go.  Bunny said “I want a bear or I’m going to be pissed.”  Nobody wants a pissed off Bunny.  He appeared right in front of me. Bunny also took an amazing video and talked all about the bear for a couple of minutes—too bad she didn’t hit the record button on her camera. 

The eighth good thing was making it to Wawayanda Shelter and finding a great tent site with plenty of time to run down to the park headquarters to use the porcelain, take a sponge bath in the sink, and getting water for tonight and tomorrow that we don’t have to filter. Along the way, we ran into Bee Keeper and told him about the bear. All this with plenty of light for us to set up camp and do our chores. 

Since we had so many good things happen today, we had one minor hiccup. We were still pretty full from the hotdogs and ice cream so Bunny said “let’s just eat a cold supper.”  We finally ate the tuna wraps I’ve been avoiding for the last few days. The scary thing is that I’m afraid I’m starting to like tuna. Tuna, like all fish and seafood, live in their own poop. I don’t like mushrooms because they grow in poop. Someone once told me I shouldn’t like pork because pigs wallow in poop and eat it. Get serious—have they never tasted bacon?

EFG 

It was a cool morning and I didn’t want to get up. Whenever I’m comfortable and relaxed, Bunny becomes militant about hiking.  She becomes the energizer bunny, but she only used neverready batteries which don’t even last past noon before she’s faltering.  She kicked me out of the shelter to get the bear bag and make breakfast so she could tidy up the pad a bit. 

We caught up with Maple Leaf and Yankee on the trail. We hadn’t seen them since Rock ‘n Soul Hostel. We enquirer about Yankees near encounter with the rattlesnake that took Slip ‘n Slide off the trail. We were shocked with her response—it was all a hoax. Slip ‘n Slide never got bit. She’s just a big baby and got a bad case of poison ivy (like Nightengale had told us).  We had fallen for Slip ‘n Slide’s souped up story of bravery, hook, line, and sinker. There’s a special place for her right next to Noah. 

Ear worm dilemma continues—“Grandma got ran over by a reindeer. Walking home from our house, Christmas Eve. You could say there’s no such thing as Santa, but as for me and Grandpa we believe.”  Sometimes the cure is worse than the original ailment. “I’m proud to be a coal miner’s daughter.”  There were so many chipmunks running around today that I tried to dislodge “Grandma got ran over…” by thinking of the chipmunks, but even in my mind when I have control of the lyrics, I can’t understand a single word the mini Mormon tabernacle singers were saying. My only choice was to use the nuclear option which I know I’ll regret…”It’s a small world after all…”. 

We have been hearing of a pizza place in Unionville, NY less than a half mile off of the trail. We decided town food would be better than tuna or peanut butter so into our 9th state for lunch. Maple Leaf and Yankee caught up with us at the restaurant where we all sat on a nice big breezy porch eating our food. Bunny got a gyro (from an Italian restaurant). When I went to pay, I pronounced it properly…yee-row. They had no idea what I was trying to pay for. A hero sandwich?  The mean woman from the kitchen came out, yelled at me, and told me I was pronouncing it wrong.  It’s a jie-row. The little Spanish lady working in the Italian restaurant knows Greek much better than I do. My bad. In spite of the scary little cook, we had a hard time leaving. 

It’s never a good idea to overeat at lunch and then pretend you’re going to get in big miles in the afternoon. We both needed naps. It took us over 2 hours to go 2.5 miles. We saw some people sitting in a shady parking lot off of the trail.  They waved and said come have a cold drink. We could continue walking in the hot sun or sit in the shade drinking the sweetest drink known to hikers—a free one. Of course, the Coke and Gatorade and Snickers drew us in like moths to a flame. This is how we met Hummingbird who was slack-packing her husband, Bee Keeper. They are a nice couple in their upper 60s from around Utica, NY. He has over 400 bee hives that he maintains. They have a period of time in summer, after the hives have been set out and before they have to add boxes, that Bee Keeper can go hiking. This is his second or third year piecing together the trail. He is known as a LASHer (Long Ass Section Hiker). 

Maverick was the first to leave the shade. When Huck showed up, we decided to free up some chairs for more people to sit. Once again, we were back in the full sun walking through a Fish and Wildlife Area.  We ended up walking 3/4 of the way around the wetlands when we could have walked a much shorter distance in the opposite direction to get to the same place. At least it was level walking. Once around the wetlands, we got to experience our first major section of New Jersey boardwalk. It’s ironic that New Jersey is so much swamp, bog, and wetlands but water is nearly impossible to find. 

The ATC owns an abandoned house just off of the trail. It may be a dump, but it was still nicer than the last hotel we stayed in. They keep it for one reason only—on the backside of the house, there is a spigot where hikers can get water. Bunny and I took the incorrect, long way to the house (with the directions provided by Maverick). We camelled up, but decided to NOT carry an extra 5 liters of water we would need if we planned on staying at the dry Pochuck Shelter. In other words, Bunny made the decision that we were definitely hiking another 2 miles today to get us next to a reliable water source. 

We keep hearing conflicting information: you HAVE to camp at shelters in NJ and NY, and thru-hikers can camp anywhere in established sites along the trail. We found an existing site that had obviously been used for camping.  There were downed trees around which we could sit on, reliable water, and not that many buzzing insects. We ate our non-cooked lunch for supper after we set up camp. We were in bed fast asleep before the sun even thought about setting. 

EFG

It would have been a great move to get up at 4:30 and hit the trail. Great moves are not in our repertoire.  Bunny made me get up at 6:30 so we could go across the street to the Yellow Cottage Deli at 7 when they opened. The reviews said they had great breakfast sandwiches.  After eating, we returned to the “hotel” (aka dump) to finish packing up.  The owner told us to not leave the key in the door in case we left a tip.  He then added no one had ever left a tip yet. No surprise there. 

The day of sleep is just what we needed. It made all the difference, or maybe it was the 30 degree cooler temperatures. I had made the comment the other day that I could deal with it if it was cooler or no bugs. What I meant was cooler AND no bugs, but I’d already made the deal. We stopped at the trailhead to pick up our mosquito and gnat escort. They were horrendous.  I was praying for rain. 

 

We had started hiking at 8:30 and had over 5 miles in before our normal start time of 11. The rain started about 9, but it was only hard enough for us to break out the umbrellas for about a half hour. For some reason, I had an ear worm of “Coal miner’s daughter” and the only way I could dislodge it was by “Grandma got ran over by a reindeer.”

We made it to Mashipacong Shelter for lunch (9 miles in). There were two groups of section hikers already there eating when we arrived. Two Massholes had decided to cut their trip a day short because of the heat, so they offered Bunny and me an extra day’s worth of food. Of course we accepted. When we had left Raj’s house, we had enough food to last for 3 days. We have not bought any more food since leaving Delaware Water Gap 4 days ago and now I am carrying 4 days worth of food. People in Jersey are generous!

At Mashipacong Shelter, there was a sign saying that thru-hikers can get a free soda at the High Point Park Office daily from 9-4. We didn’t think we could make it in time, but it was worth a try. We got there just before 5 but were very pleased to see that Friday hours were until 8…free Pepsi’s for us.

All we have to do is sign in to get our free drinks.  I checked who all has been through here.  Nightengale signed in just today so we might catch up with her yet.  Slip ‘n Slide is off the trail because she got bit by a rattlesnake last week while trying to prevent Maple Leaf’s dog, Yankee, from getting bit.  She is now recuperating at a beach sipping drinks with umbrellas and staying off her leg. 

High Point State Park gets its name because the highest point in the state is here.  It’s only about 1800’ above sea level.  We aren’t in the a Himalayas, but, being from Illinois, we are still dwarfed at 600’. NJ built an observation tower at the high point that is very impressive. I’m not sure if this is currently used as a fire observation tower or is even open to climb.

The weather person promised us 60 degrees over night, tonight.  We wanted to try to get a spot in High Point Shelter which is less than a mile from the obelisk. When we turned on the shelter trail, we were met with the noise of dozens of little kids out camping. We had forgotten this is a weekend. We were pleased to see that they were all camping under tarps and that the shelter is completely empty. We snagged our spots on one end of the shelter and get busy getting food.  7 more thru-hikers showed up, but only two joined us in the shelter. 

EFG

Check out time is 11. We woke up at 10:30 (18 hours after falling asleep). We had told the owner we might sleep today. We have been planning to sleep for a day on one of our zeros.  Today is the day. 

The place (Cobmin Ridge Motel) is kind of a dump. Bunny would drop the “kind of” in her description. Being a male, I’ve stayed in worse. There’s no seal around the door, the bathroom is stained from years (decades; centuries?) of abuse, and I don’t think the carpet has ever been introduced to a vacuum cleaner but there’s one thing the place doesn’t have and two it does. There are no bed bugs and it does have a TV and a very powerful AC. I’m happy.  Bunny didn’t start complaining until this afternoon, so she’s getting plenty of rest and becoming her old self again. 

After we woke up, we decided to shower. It’s usually best to not shower before you wake up. We went across the street for something to eat at the “Yellow Cottage Deli” not to be confused with the “Yellow Deli” of the Twelve Tribes. We aren’t joining yet, but we may move into the cottage. 

After the long journey across the street and back, we came back for another nap. We watched a little news and the weather person is promising rain and storms for tomorrow which will usher in a new era of moderate temps for the next week.  We haven’t decided what time we will get up, but we are planning on taking advantage of the rain to get moving again.

EFG

This will go down as one of the worst night’s of non-sleep I’ve ever had. I had the constant high pitched whir of mosquitoes in my ears all night long.  They weren’t in the tent, they were trying to lift the tent off of the ground. I did have the misfortune to have to get up to pee in the middle of the night. As soon as I stuck my head out of the tent, I was lifted off of the ground. This was really a time saver as I started peeing as soon as my feet left the ground. I swatted my neck, killing 40 of the little beatches (everyone knows it’s the women who are blood suckers). They dropped me and I was able to crawl back in the tent. My compassionate wife rolled over and told me to quit moving around so much.

We heard a few hikers swearing and swatting as they ran by our campsite. When Bunny insisted we get going, she tried to convince me to go out and get the bear bag.  I refused. She bitch-slapped me and told me to “man-up.”  She went out to take care of her morning water run.  When she got back in the tent, she made the declaration we were not eating breakfast here. We packed up as fast as we could considering we each only had one free hand because the other was always slapping and killing mosquitoes. We had a death toll that would rival any of the daily kill totals from the Vietnam War. 

There was thunder in the distance but we didn’t hold out hope for relief from any rain. It had been thundering all last evening night and only produced just enough moisture to allow another hatch of the number 1 enemy of man (mosquitoes are responsible for the more loss of human life than all wars combined) and to raise the humidity level another 10%. Thanks Obama. 

We got to the top of Rattlesnake Mountain (seriously, NJ is pure trail hell) and could see a storm below us to the west. I felt hope, Bunny felt uncontrollable fear because there was lightening in the sky. On the bright side, we did make much better time coming down the mountain—much closer to running rates than our pitiful 1 mph rate of the last 2 1/2 days. 

We stopped at Brink Road Shelter to get some water. This is the shelter that people had told us was the worst location for mosquitoes in the world.  If I had possessed a military radio frequency to call in air strikes, I would have called for a napalm drop on my signal. The fire storm would have provided relief. Flip Flop and Caveman were holed up in the shelter with their citronella fans. Murphy came in behind us. It was exactly like the scene where Willem Defoe gets shot down in “Platoon”. We already thought he was dead, but he made it up from the water source to be eaten alive before our eyes.

Flip Flop and Caveman decided they could make it the 6 miles to the next shelter with the thimble full of water they had between them. Bunny and I were desperate for water. We drew straws.  I won.  Bunny said she wasn’t going, I had to go or we don’t get any water. This is marriage at its darkest hour. Of course, my life doesn’t matter. I poured deet over my head like the monks did gasoline in Vietnam. I tried to set myself on fire to keep the mosquitoes away, but deet doesn’t burn.  I ran to the spring but I don’t think my feet ever touched the ground. Everyone in the shelter could hear my screams, but NO ONE came to help. 

I lost 2# of blood in this run. The 1.5 liter of water I recovered was not worth it.  As soon as I got back to the shelter, Bunny loaded up and ran off down the trail.  I had to repack before I could leave. It took me 15 minutes to catch up with her once I got going.  

We practically ran the two miles to the highway. We wanted out. We got to the road and immediately threw up our thumbs. We didn’t even know which way it was to the nearest town or what it’s name was. Before I could get our “please help” sign out of Bunny’s pack, a kind soul stopped and offered us rides. We are definitely not in PA anymore. 

Art is a hiker himself. He said he would have picked us up sooner, but he saw a trooper pass us. Hitchhiking is illegal in NJ and NY. How he could have picked us up any sooner, I have no idea. We threw our packs in the back and climbed in front. He gave us each a bottle of water. Art told us he was going to go hiking today but decided against it because it was so hot. Art drove us to the closest hotel and waited until we got in a room. He then drove us down to the pizza joint and grocery store. He even gave us some natural insect repellent that he had when he saw all the welts all over us. Some day, he wants to hike the AT. He has already built up a huge karma bank for when he hits the trail.

After we ate, we went to the grocery store. People inside recognized us as thru-hikers and offered us rides wherever we needed.  We thanked them, but declined. There was a Dairy Queen across the street and we weren’t done eating yet.  Coming out of the store, we ran into Maverick and his girlfriend. They offered us a ride as well. We were ride rich. My opinion of NJ has definitely improved off of the trail. 

We went to DQ and got our ice cream. We started walking the mile back to our hotel when another driver pulled over and told us to get in. We weren’t even hitching. He took us right to our door. He said “we know how to take care of hikers in New Jersey.”  We hadn’t even tried to hitch back. 

It was only 3, but as soon as we got inside we fell on the bed. Actually, I checked for bedbugs first then got on.  The place is a dump and we had been warned to check first. It may be a dump, but it has working AC and a bedbug free bed. We were out for the night. We didn’t even shower. 

EFG

I woke up at 6 for some unknown reason, so I peed.  Bunny woke up at 7:30 raring to go (pretty annoyingly so) and insisted we go have breakfast in the common room. To my great relief, they were out of pancake mix. I insisted on pancakes, so we would just have to wait while a new batch was mixed up. It was 9:30 before we were done eating. Already the heat was unbearable.  Timex decided he was taking his second zero of the trip and called for a shuttle to take him to an air conditioned hotel. We were having difficulty getting motivated because of the heat. 

We hemmed and hawed about what to do. My vote was to chill until it cooled some time in September but Bunny voted to get going. We took off at 11.  As soon as we stepped on the road, I heard an unusual sound—cicadas in the woods ahead. Bunny freaked and told me to move to my right. The “cicadas” was really just a rattlesnake trying to make me aware of his (or her—I chose to respect its privacy) presence. It’s going to be a great day. 

Stamina was not a term that applied to us today. We had to stop every mile because of the heat. We had frozen our bladders of water (the kind you drink out of, not the organ where you accumulate waste, although, that might have been very cooling). Timex had told us that there was a heat index 115 predicted for today which was why he was going to zero.  

There’s a fire tower right on the trail.  I followed Flip Flop and Caveman up to the top. Bunny chose to sit in the shade and sweat. Inside the tower, a fire watchman, Bob, greeted us and told us a bit about his job.  He said there are over 2000 fires per year in NJ, alone. The state maintains 21 active towers at a lower cost than having a plane fly over like Illinois does. When I was coming down, I could hear Bunny talking to someone. I thought she was on the phone, but when I got down, I could see Murphy sitting in the shade. We hadn’t seen him since Waynesboro before entering Shenandoah. 

We started walking together planning to search out a water source at the next road crossing. What we found was much better than a spring.  A local trail club was putting on trail magic. We had been walking for 3 1/2 hours and had just made 3 miles. We sat and enjoyed the hospitality for over an hour, not to mention the hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, fruit, sodas, beer, and water. This was beyond welcome today. 

We still had 8 miles to go and if we didn’t pick up our rate, we were going to not get to our camping spot before 9. Water sources are going to be a problem in NJ. We chose to stop before the shelter because all the comments say the mosquitoes are unbearable there. Since the bugs have been terrible ever since we crossed the Delaware River, we had no desire to stay where everyone was saying they were the worst. There was supposed to be nice camping spots close to a stream just before the shelter, so that was our goal. 

We’ve only been in NJ for two days, but I’ve got to say, NJ sucks.  We’ve had 15 miles of rock worse than any 15 mile stretch in PA.  The heat has been beyond terrible—even Satan is avoiding the area. The bugs have been the worst I’ve ever encountered any where. There is a constant high patched whir of mosquitoes in my ear. I have to walk with by buff over my ears to keep them from flying in. And the water…there isn’t any. NJ makes PA look like an oasis. 

Murphy, Dave and us walked together for a few miles. This is only Dave’s second day on the trail. Murphy eventually dropped back to hike with Flip Flop and Caveman. Dave took off ahead when we stopped for a break. A little later, Dave was hiking towards us. He had left his hammock straps where he camped last night. He had to retrace the 8 miles he had walked today before he could stop. I hope he likes this section of trail since he’s going to be hiking it 3 times. 

I was expecting nothing but a cesspool for breading mosquitoes and gnats when I entered NJ. I really thought that was just going to be Newark and not the whole state. I know I shouldn’t blame the state for the weather, but I do. The trail has become a mental challenge that is driving me crazy. We’ve treated our clothes with permethrin and I’m dousing myself with 100% deet but these NJ bugs are too stupid to know they are supposed to be repelled by all this.  Flip Flop and Caveman are carrying citronella fans and they claim it helps. 

We got to our camping spot around 8:30 only to find our worst campsite ever.  Mosquitos are everywhere, there are no trees suitable for hanging bear bags, no level spots big enough for a tent, and the supposed stream is just a stagnant pool.  As bad as it is, I still haven’t set up my tent in the trail (Daniel!).  Since we had magic earlier, we just ate protein bars and nuts for supper. We couldn’t even turn on our red lights on our headlamps because the mosquitoes would swarm. There was absolutely no breeze and it was still 90 out after dark. I’d still rather deal with this than work in a tire plant. 

EFG

We were caught in a dilemma: it was going to be a scorcher today so we should get going before it gets hot; we paid $90 for a room with ac and checkout wasn’t until 11. It wasn’t really a dilemma at all, we used every minute of the ac that we could.  We did leave the room around 9 to get some breakfast then we came back to shower and pack. 

By the time we entered our 8th state, 0.2 miles down the trail and 10 minutes after we left the hotel, you would be hard pressed to believe we had even showered in the last week. It was well over 90F and we were slick from sweat. Add in a few nerves from walking across the Delaware River on I-80 with semis less than 2’ away and we were a smelly pair of thru-hikers once again.  As a side observation, I was amazed at how much the interstate bridge swayed from the traffic. At times, it was bouncing so much that I almost fell. I hope this is normal for the bridge. 

The first couple of miles was a road walk along the outer access road until we could cross under the interstate and enter Dunnfield Creek.  We had barely gone two miles before I called for a water stop to camel up.  This was where we met Colby, Chloe, Ben, and Jordan.  I would guess the kids were all in the 10-12 range so that means they are probably all in college. We talked with them for a while and answered some questions for them. Colby started the conversation when he saw me filtering water. I would put money on the chance that Chloe will one day hike the AT. 

As they left us, a recent retiree and first day hiker joined us on the rocks where we were sitting. He asked us when it got easy, I don’t think he liked my answer. I told him for people our age, don’t count on getting decent cardio for at least 6 weeks. He picked the worst time to start being the middle of a heat wave. I also said to not quit on a bad day and that the next two months were going to be bad for him so we expect to see him in Vermont before he can even consider stopping by which time he will have too much energy invested. He was quite red and sweaty from the heat when we left him. He had only climbed about 100’ so far with another 1200’ to go. 

At the top of our morning climb (which turned out to be an early afternoon climb), we passed the 1300 mile mark of the trail. The only marking we found was a scribble in the dirt which I thought was completely underwhelming so I set up a rock marker. For those following, you’re welcome. 

Sunfish Pond was just 0.2 miles ahead and is considered one of the 7 natural wonders…of NJ.  It is a glacial lake on top of the ridge. The signs indicated that because of its acidity, there was limited aquatic life. However, there was an exceeding amount of amphibian and reptilian life.  Bunny froze as we approached the water when a snake swam by.  We saw snakes, frogs, and dragonflies while we ate our lunch pond side. 

Today was the day that we finally got PA rocks we have been promised.  Too bad we are in New Jersey. If the rocks had been further apart or closer together, they would have been tolerable. Instead, they were at the perfect ankle breaking separation. We were dragging from the heat coupled with the fact that we are just returning from a 3 day break where we were out of the high temperatures. Add in the fact that this is Bunny’s first day in new boots and we had a perfect storm of misery. The swarming gnats were an unnecessary bonus to our day. 

The original plan had been to knock out the 10 miles to the Mohican Outdoor Center then chill until the heat let up. We wanted to be there by 3. We didn’t turn into the center until a little after 6:30. We met Pilgrim coming out as we were finally head in. They are still going to push on another 5 miles this evening.  We decided to get ice cream and cold drinks in us to lower our core temps and not move until tomorrow when they kick us out. Our 15-18 mile plans have been cut back to 10-12 mile days as long as the temperatures are over 90.  I don’t want to push my older wife too hard (thoughtful husband, but will I get thanksgiving?). 

The Ice cream and cold drinks worked. That was just the ticket to turn my wife from bright red to Caucasian once again. It was hot inside, but at least we were away from the gnats and mosquitoes that Noah had saved. We had just made it before the place closed at 7 so we got spots in the Bunkhouse. 

After showers, I created a gourmet dining experience for my lovely bride. We actually have a full kitchen at our disposal. I make spiral noodles in pesto sauce with lemon pepper chicken followed by Oreos (double stuffed, no less) for dessert. I even popped popcorn for an after dinner treat. Bunny claims all I do is boil water—I also open packages and operate microwaves (when available).  I almost forgot the hand squeezed peach/mango drink I made for us. See if she can squeeze a MIO as well as I do.

EFG

Once we got to Raj and Neena’s House, we checked the weather and saw we were in for 3 days of high heat instead of 2. We decided to extend our rest and visit with old friends by another day. Nisha was home from college for the summer so we would get to spend some time with her as well. 

Top on Bunny’s list was to defunk our gear to the point that no one will believe we are thru-hiking. She bought a small bottle of Fabreeze to spray our packs and boots with. She plans to carry it with us. Once again, she complains about wanting to shed weight and ends of carrying more necessities. 

Since Raj has to work on Friday, we got to spend more time with Neena at the mall while we replaced the battery in Bunny’s phone (thank you Apple for admitting you are screwing with battery life of iPhones). When Nisha got off work in the afternoon, she picked us up and took us shopping. 

Saturday, Raj and Neena had a party to go to for a close friend’s birthday.  This gave us the opportunity to go to a movie with Neel (who is working in Manhattan) and Nisha. These are a pair of amazing young adults. Both very smart and fun to be around. Nisha is one of the most positive, upbeat young woman I have ever met. I love how she gets on Raj to be more positive and less judgmental. Neel is an ambitious young man with an entrepreneurial spirit. He will do well in life. 

On Sunday afternoon, Raj and Nisha took us back to Delaware Water Gap.  We all walked around town for a bit before we went to the Deer Head Inn (the oldest Jazz club in the USA). We had dropped our gear at the hostel next door, but after spending 3 nights in a clean smelling home, we couldn’t stand the smell of the other hikers. Add in the 97 degree temperature, we decided to splurge for an air conditioned room for our last night in civilization. 

After Raj and Nisha left, we went out for supper before turning in for the night. We even showered for the second time in the same day, just because we could.  AC, showers, and restaurants—is there a single American out there that appreciates these luxuries more than Bunny and I do?

EFG

Everyone was in a hurry to get on the trail and get into town. We decided that we delayed yesterday and it started to rain. What if we delayed today again, would it stop raining?  The answer was yes.  We’ve got this weather thing under control. 

While we were waiting for the rain to stop, I borrowed Bunny’s TP so I could go have a moment of silence. When I got her TP out, I saw she had a tube of toothpaste in with the paper. Looking closer, I saw it was Preparation H,but then I wondered why she was brushing her teeth with Preparation H. Does it help with bad halitosis?  I’ve always been known as the one with “shit for brains.”  I have almost brushed my teeth with Vagisil, maybe I need to try Prepation H. 

We finish out Rocksylvania with a fairly level walk with a downhill drop into Delaware Water Gap. Once again, it wasn’t any worse than any other state we have come through so far.  What I have noticed about PA that bothered me much more than the Rocks was that you always hear PA.  We are walking on a ridge that has developed valleys on either or both sides along the way.  When you aren’t listening to small arms fire, you hear traffic or other sounds of civilization. 

All I know is that I’m looking forward to a few days off to get out of the predicted heat wave headed in for the next few days. I have said all along that there will come a time on this hike when we would look back on our days of hiking in the freezing snow and wish that we were back in those days. For me, it already happened when we were near Glasgow, VA and it looks like we’re walking into another heatwave even worse. 

We arrived at Delaware Water Gap, dropped packs at the hostel, and went to eat.  Raj isn’t supposed to be here until 3 and it’s only 12:30. We should have time to eat, visit the outfitter, and still have time to shower before we get in a small enclosed space with a person who isn’t used to the stench of thru-hikers. 

After eating and visiting the outfitter, Bunny decided to reach for the stars and go for ice cream before heading back to shower. While we were standing in line about to order, Raj called. He was an hour and a half early.  Raj, like me, thinks if you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late…but an hour and a half! He’ll just have to deal with smell.  NJ here we are. 

EFG