| 8/12/99 | It drizzled on and off last night. They really need a good hard rain to save some of these trees. The mountainsides look like they are in fall because of the drought. I finally got out about 8:00. Southern NY was rocky and the humidity was high. I passed the NY and NJ border around noon. Another state down. Actually the trail skirts the border of NY and NJ for awhile, but for all intensive purposes I am in NJ. The terrain lightened up and I was able to get into a hiking zone. At about 12 miles, I stopped at a farmers market that also sold ice-cream. I bought a shake and an old man gave me some trail magic of 3 juicy peaches. With that I cranked out the other 5 miles. It was hot and humid still, but I was in a zone. It was awesome. I did a steep decent to NJ 94. I stepped out from the trail head parking lot and looked down the narrow road toward town. Town was 2.5 miles away. I needed to re-supply and there is a free church hostel in town. I was standing there contemplating on whether I was going to walk down the road or hitch to town when a SUV slowed down and the driver pointed toward town. I nodded my head vigorously, yes, and he stopped. I hastily crossed the road and ran down after the car. He stopped in the middle of the narrow road and opened the back. I threw my pack in the back and we were off. He is a member of the church with the hostel. The church provides a shower, with hot water!, and laundry services. I came in and found a southbounder, Pack-man, whom I had been trailing for some time. I put my clothes in the washer and jumped in the shower. I must have stayed in the shower for a good 20 minutes before I started feeling guilty for using up so much of their water. Pack-man and I went to Burger King where I had the double whopper that I had been craving. We then went to the grocery store for our re-supply. We went in together on the ingredients for rice crispy treats and made 2 batches in the church's kitchen. A member of the church came by and I asked about 3.5" disks and he drove me 10 miles to a store pick some up. The guy is going to come back in the morning to take us to the trail. What an eventful day and hospitality from the church. Today's trail mileage 17.4 Total Trail Mileage 827.3 |
| 8/13/99 | Pack-man and I got up early and cleaned up the church hostel and packed. David, the older man who drove me to the store, offered to drive us to the trail head at 8:00. We then went next door for their breakfast special. Dave was prompt and drove us to the trail. Pack-man and I spent the day hiking together. We planned to only go 14 miles to a place where a past thru-hiker was putting up hikers. The terrain was easy and we made good time and even took a number of breaks. The day was warm and humid, but it was a nice stroll across rolling fields. The guys place is a plot of land close to the trail where he built a small cabin for hikers. He has provided a shower and washer & dryer. Two days in a row, I am getting spoiled. I spent the rest of the day finishing my book. I will have to pick up another one in town. |
| 8/14/99 | We left the small cabin on Goldsmith Rd late in the morning. It was raining this morning and the sound was pleasant to sleep to. It didn't rain all day, but the humidity level was very high. I knew it was going to rain later that night as soon as the air cooled off. The hike took us up past High Point, NJ's highest point. They have a monument there to mark the peak. The number of northbounders we pass has been decreasing. We passed 7 today. When we got to Sunrise Mt we took a break and talked to Aili and Michael at the stone pavilion on top. We talked for a good hour before moving on. Pac-man and I reached the Gren Anderson Shelter about 6:00. The spring was dry. I did some looking around and I found a second spring that was barely seeping out. It tasted a little of sulfur, but it was cold and clear. An older couple came in behind us. They were hiking from VT to GA. We had seen their entries earlier and had no idea who they were since they weren't there before. We talked with them through the night and the storm rolled in and rained. It was a comfortable feeling being in a shelter warm, dry and fed while it was raining. Trail mileage for today 18.9 |
| 8/15/99 | It rained again last night. They really need it here too. I don't mind the rain at night so much. It actually helps to keep the humidity down and is usually cooler after the rain. It's only during the day, when it rains and then the sun dries everything out, that the humidity goes up after the rain. Pack-man and I did 3 miles in the morning to an awesome bakery that had fantastic doughnuts and cinnamon rolls. The bakery has been around since the beg. of the AT. It's almost an AT tradition to hit it. It's definitely a tasty tradition. We covered 21.4 miles today. We are staying at a campground with cabins. Thru-hikers pay $7.50 and stay in a cabin with electricity and running water. I got a hot water shower and plan to get another tomorrow. I am only 10 miles out of Delaware Water Gap, PA. There is a church hostel there that takes in thru-hikers. Another state will fall tomorrow. Total Trail mileage 881.0 |