Date: 2018-06-02
From: The Secret Shelter

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 30.2
Weather: clear sky

The nights thunderstorms were really nice to listen to. The problem with the shelter was it was so hot! Unbearably enough that I tried my luck at mock cowboy camping on the porch protected by the overhang of the roof. It was awesome at first and so breezy! But, the mosquitoes got the best of me and I moved back inside to soak in my pool of sweat.We woke up at 5 and Two Clicks' phone wasn't turning on. It had been charging all night and we weren't sure if the lightning had affected it. Luckily, it eventually turned on and at that point we were up. We enjoyed the beautiful morning after the storm and were on trail at 5:45 to make it to Unionville, NY for breakfast! 2 miles in we made it to the general store when it opened and got two bacon, egg and cheeses each along with those Starbucks coffee things. It was amazing! A great breakfast does a lot.After breakfast we split up to hike our paces and enjoy the day. During the morning we walked through the Wallkill Nature Reserve where there was a ton of wildlife. I saw deer with a fawn, turtles, bunnies, newts, birds and a bunch more. I also ran into the ATC ridge runner for the mid Atlantic section. We got to talking and she asked if I had any crazy bear encounters recently. I kind of laughed then told her the story and she said "you're the one!? We were told your report and to keep an eye out." I had reported it to the ATC and the National Park Service actually called me to hear about the encounter to pass on to the NJ Fish and Wildlife.The climb up Pochuk mountain was a good climb then we descended to a boardwalk through a bog for a mile. It was a nice, peaceful walk but there were a ton of tourists so it kind of took away from it. NJ has had a lot of lowlands and bogs which has been a big change of scenery to PA.Next, I climbed up the stairway to heaven. It was a popular tourist spot and I had to ask a bunch of big groups to let me pass but they were nice about it. Of course, we climbed the mountain but the view was off trail so I just descended without the luxury of the view. Around 18 miles in I stopped for lunch and ate there as Two Clicks showed up shortly before I took off. It was a nice relaxing lunch and nice to know I only had 12 miles left.The next 12 miles kicked my butt. 4 miles from lunch, I crossed into NY and immediately got hit with rock scrambles. Enough for there to be a ladder built in with rebar. A lot like NH hiking! I got my cuts and scrapes to commemorate the struggle. On the descent to the road where I planned to go to an ice cream spot, a man named Joe gave me a Gatorade and two protein cookies! He's a former chief of police in NJ and we chatted for 30 minutes about police work and his time as an EMT. He was a great guy!At the road I walked 0.3 off trail to a creamery. They make their own ice cream and it was awesome! I got a chocolate sundae with Oreos, m&ms, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry. I also got a root beer. As I hung around with Moldy Beans, a maintainer in the area showed up. He talked with us for a while about his thru hike and gave us each a beer! What a great spot. I layed with my shoes off and my feet airing out, phone charging, and belly full! After an hour I figured I should move on and I pushed 2 miles to the shelter. At the trailhead, though, someone left a 6 pack of Budweiser and I carried out a can to the shelter. It was great to have beer at night too! The 30 miler was a nice thing to check off but not something I plan on doing often. I felt good but the heat and bugs drained me and I'm looking forward to returning to "normal" mileage. Happy I did it though and happy to check off another state!P.S: Hi Mrs Young's! I'm glad you're liking the journal! I was really happy to have Two Clicks with me for the bear too! It's nice to experience something like that with someone else especially when they've had bear encounters before. Also extremely grateful he provided me dinner that night! It was a long day!