Date: 2019-07-04
From: NYC

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 1.7
Weather: clear sky

The plan for today was to take some time cleaning and packing in the morning, leave the apartment around noon, and catch the 1pm train to Port Jervis. After a nightmare about getting to camp too late and not being able to find a place to tent, I woke up VERY eager to get going. Which turned out to be a very good thing because I forgot to get fuel... I already had a planned stop at Walgreens for batteries and lighters, but fuel means I have to go all the way to rei. I did some quick math and figured out that if I get out of bed *right now*, I could *maybe* get everything ready and out the door by 11. That would give me enough time to stop by Walgreens, go to REI, buy fuel, and head to Penn Station before my train. And I actually managed to do it! I walked out the door at 11:05.From there, the trip was relatively uneventful. I watched my once crowded train slowly empty as people got off in more and more rural towns. They ran to embrace family members and loved ones who came to pick them up. They're probably headed toward barbecues and family reunions. It's fun to see the joy on their faces as they hop down the steps and pick out a familiar face in the parking lot. They look all at once excited and content. Just the way I feel.The cab ride gave me a bit of a heart attack. Maybe not because he was driving fast, but because we were going SO SLOW. When he pulled up, nearly 30 minutes after I called for him ("yes no problem. We can take you there. Give him five minutes"), I was so confused. There was a woman in the passenger seat who jumped out of the car to open the trunk for me and another woman with her small child in the back seat. I waited a moment, thinking that the two in the back must have been getting a ride to the train, but they didn't move. 'Huh' I thought, as I climbed into the last available seat 'I don't remember ordering a ride share...' So it was that we first dropped off the very loud (almost certainly drunk) woman who paid no fare at the bar where she maybe works? Not sure on that one. Second, we dropped off the mom and daughter (who did pay a fare) at a playground. Finally (FINALLY) we were headed to the High Point State Park Headquarters where I was supposed to start this section. Unfortunately, that involved driving up a (rather long) hill at which point the driver informed me that his car doesn't like going up (rather long) hills. So we drove. Slowly. Up the rather long hill. As we ambled along, I could feel every inch of muscle in my body tighten up. JUST GET ME IN THE WOODS NOW.The trail is as pretty as I remember from my previous section through New Jersey. I only had a little under two miles to do. Some of it was partially exposed as it skirted nearby the highest point in New Jersey, so I was happy to have waited until after he hottest part of the day to start.In camp, I came across a group of guys who I spent a night with in Virginia. It's been a couple of weeks, and they're still trekking! I'm hoping that maybe this means I'll run into a few other friends as well. It's not supposed to rain tonight, so I've folded the top of my rainfly back so I can lay in bed and watch the stars. Tonight, I sleep with the lightning bugs, to the sound of sleepy birds and distant fireworks. Tomorrow, I walk.