Date: 2015-06-12
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Nobody else was at the shelter last night. We got to enjoy the sodas and cookies someone left in the bear box. Thank you!My ankle stirrup broke today. The hard plastic cracked, rendering the brace useless as it cannot properly secure my ankle anymore. I have a reinforced ankle sleeve (which advertised itself as being able to limit lateral mouvements) so I am really hoping that the sleeve and boot combo provides enough ankle support. We'll see.The air was hot and stagnant today and our close proximity to swamps meant that mosquitos were rampant. The first few miles included many steep descents towards a dark, covered area where swarms awaited us. We escaped by climbing back up the hill, but the Trail repeated this pattern of up-and-downs many times until we were feeling slightly anemic. My clothes are treated with Permethrin and I apply an insect repellent daily though I can only do so much against a continual onslaught of mosquitos. I fear they will only get worse during the upcoming weeks...Finally, we crossed into New York. I feel that we have just entered New Jersey; these small states definitely highlight one's sense of progress.New York greeted us with some of the hardest terrain we have encountered yet. The elevation profiles show a seemingly flat terrain, very tame. Awol's guide rightfully cautions us to be wary of a 4-ish mile stretch along the exposed ridgeline as it involves brief but dramatic ascents and descents over vertical slabs of rock. We heaved ourselves up the jagged facade to reach Prospect Rock then we snaked through the protruding rocks and carefully slid down the extremely slanted ones. Afraid of hurting my ankle(s) by bearing too much weight on them, I avoid stepping down any step which exceeds a foot or so in height. This constraint forced me to slide down on my butt, or "butt-blaze", numerous times, to the point where the skin on my backside was raw and sore. The greatest difficulty was the heat. The ridgeline was mostly exposed; the rocks became very hot to the touch and the sun beat down on our faces. We had packed extra water in preparation and took many breaks.Notwithstanding this, we made good time. There was a small 2 mile stretch of flat, welcoming terrain then we hit more rocks. The guide indicated an upcoming challenge, the Cat Rocks. We were suprised to arrive early to that particular feature. Had we really been that fast? There was a blue-blazed trail clearly leading hikers around the rock formation but we didn't even consider this option. We followed the white blazes up the house-sized boulder which had the most concave and rounded surface I have ever stepped on. I momentarily regretted my purist ways.I butt-blazed down the rocks and we continued... until we hit another massive rock wall. Ah, THESE were the real Cat Rocks, the previous imposters were only the starter. This time, in lieu of bubbly rocks, we had to deal with sharp, pointed, dagger-like formations. The Trail seemed to follow the profil of a pair of cat's ears (or so it seemed to me). There was no view atop those rocks, which made Shrugs say they were "pointless".We arrived at the shelter exhausted but - suprisingly - not too demotivated.NEW JERSEY SUMMARY:- There were many rocky areas. Objectively, they were in the same density as in PA at times. However, they did not appear as bad for some reason.- With the exception of the boardwalks and few field crossings, there is no more flat terrain; instead, there is a continuous roll of small but very steep uphills and downhills. - When we reached the highest points of said uphills, the terrain was exclusively rocky. Many times we would be inching along an exposed, rocky facade. The vegetation consisted mainly of small flowering shrubs - quite pretty. The area seemed arid, semi-desertic.- On the contrary, once you descended the mountain, you arrived in a dark, densely covered area where quite a few muddy, shallow swamps could be found. Of course, mosquitos lived there.- Boardwalks! I enjoyed walking along the wooden planks in Vernie Swamp and along the Pochuck Boardwalk. Through the Garden StateThrough forests, swamps and boardwalksBuzz buzz say the bugs- Axon  Prospect Rock  A little boost