Date: 2014-06-04
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Man I love a good shower. I'm referring to the one out of a faucet though. So clean. Time to get dirty again. Checkout isn't until noon so no sense getting up early. Very excited that my next break is New York. My friend Richard has graciously offered up his couch which I'm thrilled to accept. The only catch is the train only runs on weekends and I'm too far away to make this weekends and too close for next so it looks like I'll be putting in some short days and maybe even zeroing to time it right. Before I get ahead of myself though - there's a whole state between me and New York. That being New Jersey. This is one I've only driven through once years ago. Excited to see it at a more intimate level. Flipped on the television to check the weather while I pack and oh great. Tonite is an 80% chance of heavy rain. Up to an inch. Crap crap crap. I'm not opposed to camping in the rain but the worry of getting your just dried stuff wet and possibly having to decamp in the rain is annoying. A wet tent is a heavy tent. So I check AWOL and the next shelter is - double CRAP - almost 25 miles away. So now if I want to avoid the rain I have to start hustling and put in an extra long day after a long day and totally unexpected. I seem to walk between 18 and 22 miles a day just fine. 25 is not ideal and definitely tiring, and if bad terrain, exhausting; but the alternative is really annoying so I decide to do it. Now I'll be even further ahead when I don't want to be. By almost a day! But oh well. What can you do but march yourself down to the diner and have a big breakfast. Energy for the road. Gotta say I am loving every part of being in the north. I latch onto it as if it's my heritage (which it sort of is) but the reality is I only know it from a few summer vacations. Still I'm enamored by the change in demeanor of people (contrary to stereotype they are not rude) the items on the menu and the general character of the place. I had three pancakes, two over easy eggs, two sausages, toast, orange juice, coffee and lots of counter chatter. Everyone is delightful. But time to go if I'm to make this shelter. The town sits on the border so after crossing the bridge (hate highway bridges) I'm already in New Jersey! Just beyond the visitors center is a parking lot where the trail starts. I head across and not ten steps in, not one but TWO bears are waiting at the water to greet me. This brings my total to seven! I had heard New Jersey is often where you'll see them so ... Welcome! Had to wait about five minutes for them to move on then up the trail. Back up to the ridge it goes right up to a large pond that was created by glaciers. Beautiful place but the blazes are really lacking and I got off trail into what I'm sure is tick heaven. It's always the day you have a deadline. Probably lost a half hour and added a mile just meandering through the blueberries. New Jersey is surprisingly hilly. High ridges with rocky tops and narrow swampy valleys. Also passed a lake made by beavers! First time I've seen that. There were the typical gnawed trees everywhere along the edge. I pretty much just put music on and tried to hustle. Twenty five is completely doable and I knew I'd get in well before dark but I hate hiking long and hard and not having much time to relax or socialize. Ended the last few hours with three small mountains - each with bouldery tops. One was called Rattlesnake Mountain and while I didn't see a rattlesnake I did see a copperhead! First of those too. Almost stepped on it. The shelter was not much beyond it. Got there around seven and met four other hikers. Pyro and Anasazi who are sectioning and Big and Little Fox who are just starting a flip thru hike. All nice, great people. Live n Learn showed up in about half an hour and we slept sound in a shelter that was just built last year. So no mice! Just the pitter pat of the expected rain all night.