Date: 2014-06-25
From: Rutherford Shelter

To: Pochuck Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: light rain

Day 42: We awoke to overcast skies, 70 degrees and high humidity. The forecast was for thundershowers in the afternoon, so we wanted to get an early start. We packed up and hit the trail at 6:05am.We had about a 0.5 mile hike back to the trail, then we started to climb. Ironically, for about 4 miles, we had some of the toughest ups and down on a rocky trail that we had hiked in some time. It seemed like the mountain didn't want to let go of us!At the end of the 4 miles we arrived at the High Point monument shown in the attached photo. This monument is dedicated to the high point in New Jersey...all of 1803 feet. It happens to be in the northeast corner of the state.After High Point, we finally dropped off the ridge and entered the valley we had been looking at, for the last several days. Fortunately, the trail got a lot better and we were able to make some decent mileage. In the valley, the trail serpentined its way through wooded areas, through farmer's fields, and over creeks and roads.At 1pm we reached Lott Road. The town of Unionville, New York was just 0.4 miles down the road and, according to Spider's research, the Wit's End Tavern in Unionville served a great burger, so off we went!!Wait...New York? We thought we were in New Jersey. When the trail made its turn at High Point, it started paralleling the New York/New Jersey state line. We were hiking so close to that state line, that going 0.4 miles down a road took us from New Jersey to New York.It was 90 degrees and about 90% humidity outside, so when we got to the air conditioned tavern it felt great. So did the glass of ice water the waitress/owner presented us with. We ordered our burgers then took care of some needed business; ET called her Mom and wished her happy 85th birthday (Happy Birthday, Bobbie) and Spider made a reservation at the motel in Greenwood Lake for Friday. We also hit the bathroom and washed up. It's amazing how good some cold water on the head and face can feel.The burgers were great and we left the cool environs reluctantly. We had originally planned to camp in Unionville's community park (something they offer to hikers) but with the early hour and the threat of thundershowers, we decided to hike 5+ miles more to a shelter. The issue with this particular shelter is that.there is no nearby water, so Spider carried an extra half gallon of water.We also had planned to pick up some food to round out our remaining meals. So we stopped at the town's General Store and picked up a few things. We finally were back on the trail at 2:30pm.We climbed gently for a while, then descended to the valley floor for several miles of flat walking. We kept our eyes on the cloud build-up and wondered when it was going to start raining. As we started the 500-foot climb to our destination shelter it began to rain. Fortunately, the tree canopy caught most of it. We arrived at the shelter at 5pm more wet from sweat than rain. As quickly as it had started, the rain stopped.There are 9 other people at the shelter, but only 2 are thru-hikers. Some are in the shelter with us and others are tenting. With the rain holding off, we all sat around the picnic table and compared notes on the trail, as we ate dinner.Only 2 more days to go!!