Instead of going to Vermont and doing new mileage up there, I decided to clean up some [...]]]> I’ve been out playing in the woods for the last week or so. What’s more “primal play” than this? I did a lot more rock climbing than usual, and I enjoyed every minute of that.

Instead of going to Vermont and doing new mileage up there, I decided to clean up some (comparatively) little gaps in my Appalachian Trail mileage in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I actually had intended to complete New York as well, but I miscalculated a section in Pennsylvania, so I had to spend an extra day there. I’ve now hiked the southern 1,500 miles of the AT, except the 35 in NY I just mentioned. This means i need to hike from Danby, VT to Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

At no point on this trip did I get water anywhere but a spigot, so I was carrying at least one liter more than I usually carry (usually 2l, carried at least 3l this time).

All told, it was 84.6 miles, but the daily amounts were all over the place.

(NOBO is Northbound, SOBO is Southbound)

September 15 (NOBO) – PA 443, Green Point, PA -> Wm. Penn (8.7)
September 16 (NOBO) – Wm. Penn -> Eagle’s Nest (19.6)
September 17 (NOBO) – Eagle’s Nest -> Port Clinton, PA (7)
(drive north)
September 18 (NOBO) – Lehigh Gap, PA -> Wind Gap, PA (20.7)
(drive north)
September 19 (NOBO) – NJ 23 -> NJ 284 (near Unionville, NY) (9.8)
September 20 (SOBO) – Bellvale, NY at 17A -> Waywayanda Shelter (10)
September 21 (SOBO) – Waywayanda Shelter -> County 565 (Glenwood, NJ) (8.8)

Last Wednesday (15th), I started at 3:30 and finished at 6:15. I was expecting there would actually be water at the shelter. Unfortunately, it was totally dry. Shortly after that, while figuring out how far I had to make it the next day, I discovered that it was actually 27 miles to Port Clinton, PA not 17, as I was expecting. It’s a good thing that I had enough food – I had really only been expecting an overnight. After that, I carried a lot more water!

Over all, it was an excellent trip. I got rained on all day on the 16th, but the weather the other days was spectacularly nice.

This is a bit of the view UP the climb out of Lehigh Gap, PA. This particular mountain is a Superfund Site damaged by zinc smelting fallout. The rock climb is about 1000′ of elevation, and then there’s some negotiation of a flatter version of the same kind of thing. I’d heard a lot about how rough it was, but I had a blast climbing it. This whole day, all 20.7 miles of it, was totally awesome. The climb would have been pretty terrifying if it had been wet, however.

This kind of scenery is all over the place on the AT in New Jersey. This farm is sort of near Vernon, NJ. Shortly before I took this photo, there was a herd of cows on the trail that I more or less chased off. They really had no where to go but down the trail, so I felt like a backpacking cowboy or something.

This was in the shelter register at Waywayanda Shelter in NJ.

Bellvale Mountain (the border of NY and NJ is on this stretch of trail) is about four miles of walking on these big humped boulders. The views of Greenwood Lake were fantastic, and since the weather was dry and cool again, it was tons of fun, at least for me. There was even a ladder at one point because you had to drop down six feet, and nobody wants to jump that with a backpack.

I took this towards the end of my hike. This boardwalk continues for at least a mile through Pochuck Marsh. It’s a really amazing piece of trail engineering. The Appalachian Trail is maintained by volunteers. Imagine building this thing for more than a mile through a swamp!

Cumulative Miles this leg:  61.8

I think my right ankle is done for. I twisted it badly in PA and it seems to be getting worse rather than better. It has a golf ball size swelling in front of my ankle bone, and the only [...]]]> 7/19/1999 ~ Apple Valley Inn (2.8 AT miles hiked, 1.1 road walk)

Cumulative Miles this leg:  61.8

I think my right ankle is done for. I twisted it badly in PA and it seems to be getting worse rather than better. It has a golf ball size swelling in front of my ankle bone, and the only way I got up and over Pochuck was by taking lots of Vitamin I and leaning heavily on my poles for assistance.

I will try and enjoy my stay here at this nice place before I tackle the public transit from rural NJ to DC. It’s going to take too long to recover up here, and I’d like to have this looked at by a doctor.

John was nice enough to drive me to Warwick, NY after breakfast today (9:30am). In NY state, Warwick is pronounced war-wick, not war-rick, much like Cairo is pronounced is pronounced Kay-ro (like the syrup) not Kiy-ro in Illinois.  From there, I took a NJ transit bus to Port Authority. For $8.00, it was a bargain. I was really in the sticks (well, what passed for it in the East at least). I then took a cab to Penn Station ($5, and worth every penny) because I couldn’t deal with walking with my pack, poles and boots all on my back. Coming off the bus, I really nailed my ankle again, and it was bad enough to begin with. I got to Penn Station at 12:20, and there was a train to DC at 12:40, so there was no time to get food or anything there.  I got to DC and took the Metro to Vienna. This involved standing on my ankle while. Eight hours, door to door with almost no waiting. I waited longer for the first Metro out of Union Station than for any other piece of this transportation puzzle.

I’ve had my ankle checked out and I’ll be able to hike the first week in August, so I’ll be going back then. I will not be able to make it to Katahdin before October 1, due to my layover. I’m now shooting for Gorham, NH (that’s right at the Maine line).

I’ve added a zipper to my NomadLite tent. It was made with a velcro closure, I suspect to save weight. I’ve been using the thing daily, and I just never got used to it. I used the existing velcro tape like seam tape and attached 77" of two-way zipper. It seems to work fine, and I’m really looking forward to being able to get in and out of my tent quickly.

Visited a good friend in NYC and had a great dinner at an Italian place. I also did my laundry at a place on 9th Avenue.

Tino and I proceeded to The Park Central where I got another good night’s sleep in a comfy bed in a room with a/c. (It’s been very hot [...]]]> 7/17/1999 ~ NYC

Visited a good friend in NYC and had a great dinner at an Italian place. I also did my laundry at a place on 9th Avenue.

Tino and I proceeded to The Park Central where I got another good night’s sleep in a comfy bed in a room with a/c. (It’s been very hot up here the last few days. I thought I was going to fall over on the hike to Hike Point and it was a measly 6 miles. The humidity was unreal and the was no air moving.)  Basically, I took a zero day and did my town chores. It’s just kind of weird (in a good way) doing them here.

Here I am in the woods again after a unique town stop in Manhattan. I really love NYC, and I was kind of sad to leave. I’ll probably go back when I cross the commuter train line in a week or so.  If this heat keeps up, I’m going to be in NJ forever. The hike here was interesting, but it was appallingly hot. The trail went through a quagmire in the Walkill refuge and crossed many many log bridges in a dry swamp.

It rained a tiny bit tonight, but I’m tenting anyway because the bugs are seriously bad. Also, it’s still very hot and the privacy of the tent requires no modesty.

Made it to Lake Marcia where I chilled out with Chile for the afternoon. I’ve really learned how to enjoy doing very little, but relaxing is part of my mission this summer. Later on, Single Malt, H. Brett and Gentleman Jim showed up. Chile went off to the outfitter, [...]]]> 7/16/1999 ~ High Point (5.6 miles hiked)

Made it to Lake Marcia where I chilled out with Chile for the afternoon. I’ve really learned how to enjoy doing very little, but relaxing is part of my mission this summer. Later on, Single Malt, H. Brett and Gentleman Jim showed up. Chile went off to the outfitter, and I went to the High Point Country Inn with those three.

We went to a local bar with the proprietress of the Inn. Very hiker friendly place, and a good time was was had by all. If you’re planning to hike through High Point on the AT, I’d highly recommend the Inn. It’s very nice if a bit expensive, but that’s mitigated a bit by the fact that Carla will drive you anywhere she’s got the time to go.

Tino showed up right after we got back from the Inn and we decided to stay there. It was a very cozy joint, and I got a good night’s sleep in a bed.

OK, I’ve seen enough bear now. Save some for the hikers who haven’t seen any. This morning at breakfast, a female black bear snuck up behind me and attempted to steal my breakfast. Fortunately for me, bears aren’t known for stealth, and she stepped on a stick or something [...]]]> 7/15/1999 ~ Mashipacong Shelter (12.5 miles hiked)

OK, I’ve seen enough bear now. Save some for the hikers who haven’t seen any. This morning at breakfast, a female black bear snuck up behind me and attempted to steal my breakfast. Fortunately for me, bears aren’t known for stealth, and she stepped on a stick or something and alerted me to her presence. Mayhem ensued.  I woke Chile up to help me scare the bear off (it was 9:30 by now). It took 15 minutes of yelling and banging around and during that time, she got one hell of a lot closer than I’d like to be to a critter that size. I also saw a cub (size of a big house cat and very cute) about 25 feet away. I really wonder if we "scared" the bear off at all. I suppose it just figured out that it wasn’t getting any food and it got bored with us.

We hastily packed and left the site. She wandered off towards the privy. I did the first 3 miles on no food and with my pack all packed wrong. We went to the bakery on US206 and chowed down. We met the first southbounder that any of us have seen, Rainbow 6. He had some really interesting opinions about the government, and I found him nice and entertaining. I went on to Gren Anderson and received some trail magic from Desperado in the form of a cold Dr. Pepper.

Chile and I hiked from there to here today. Up to dinner, I ate a donut, a jelly donut (thanks for the recommendation Pat, it was yummy), a bear claw, a quart of OJ and the aforementioned Dr. Pepper. Pure sugar power, but it got me here.  

More nice views today. Jersey is much prettier than PA and rumor has it that the rocks will end at High Point which I will make tomorrow. Can you tell I’m counting on the rocks to be gone? My ankles are feeling rubbery and sore every day.  I also met another nice Ridge Runner. She’s also staying at the shelter. Without her, there’d be no water because the well has gone dry. All my clothes were caked with dust today. it was hot, and it hasn’t rained here in ages.  She asked me about the bear I saw and said that that shelter has been plagued by that bear since it successfully used the same technique to scare someone away from their food bag. That poor bear is headed for doom, it appears. It’s truly a shame that those cubs will also learn this sort of behavior.  The bears are not a real problem right now, but I suspect they will be, possibly as soon as next year, as soon as there is food pressure. With a 1200 (and growing) bear population in the AT corridor in the NJ-NY section, a time will come when the bears will need to be aggressive if they want to eat.

Another problem: Rutherford Shelter has apparently been home to a large group of copperheads. They’ve apparently bitten more than one hiker while they were asleep, so the shelter is now "closed". How do they close a shelter? I would go down there to check it out, but Rutherford isn’t just off the trail, it’s down a few hundred feet.  I’m not curious enough to add that up and down to my day.   I’m sure there are plenty of enterprising snakes living under the shelters up north because I haven’t seen or even heard of a single mouse since I got on the trail. Too bad these are pit vipers instead of the usual black snakes.

I’m currently enjoying the hospitality of some nice folks in Dingman’s Ferry. Good talk, hot shower, soft bed and coffee in the morning. What more could I ask for?

I started my day by crossing the Delaware River. After I went under I-80, I couldn’t find the AT. I [...]]]> 7/13 ~ Dingman’s Ferry PA (10.5 miles hiked)

I’m currently enjoying the hospitality of some nice folks in Dingman’s Ferry. Good talk, hot shower, soft bed and coffee in the morning. What more could I ask for?

I started my day by crossing the Delaware River. After I went under I-80, I couldn’t find the AT. I took a trail up a ridge. Blocking one of the trails was a female blackbear. She was intent on the garbage she’d taken from the can in the parking area, and since I was about 15 feet from her before I realized she was a BEAR, I backed off a few feet and took a few pictures. I backed up some more, and waited for her to go away.  Once she’d gone back into the woods, I tried to find the AT. I went back down the hill I’d just climbed and over to the other picnic/parking area. I saw Courtdog, so I knew I’d found the AT. A man was there with his two dogs, and he told us to look up in the tree. A much larger black bear was about 30 ft up a tree. I snapped a couple of that one too, but I think he’ll look small and in the distance. The bears were very handsome creatures both unagressive and unafraid of humans.

I hiked up to Sunfish Pond. Wow, it was lovely. It’s a glacial pond that sits at 1500 feet. There were also spectacular views of New Jersey from Kittatiny Ridge. No offense to PA, but NJ is a whole lot prettier.

The evil rocks are still with us. I’m told they continue to High Point NJ and then taper off. I’ll be at High Point by Friday night.