Date: 2015-06-09
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Camp near Rattlesnake Spring 
Miles today: 13.5

So excited to start off my day entering the beautiful state of New Jersey despite the pouring rain when we stepped on the trail at 7am. The imaginary line in my mind was separating the torturous rocks of Pennsylvania with the soft and gentle trail in New Jersey. I hiked with abandon and full of energy and renewed enthusiasm. After a mile or so we crossed a bridge over a highway that had a sign painted on it marking the passage into a new state. We posed for pictures and were overjoyed that we had made it out of the rocky state without serious injury.My pack was extra heavy today with another resupply and the cake I was carrying, but I thoroughly enjoyed the first 4 easy miles in New Jersey. The forest had a different look to it and the trail was carpeted with soft pine needles for awhile. Perfect! It entered my mind that this is what Bill Bryson was referring to with "A Walk in the Woods" because very little of my hike has been a "walk in the woods" so far. Suddenly we reached Sun Fish Pond which was a beautiful pond that only had pumpkin fish and water frogs living in it if I recall correctly. My first thought was that some of the surplus rocks in the last state had been thrown into New Jersey as a cruel joke. The two mile walk around the pond was all rocks and of course was slippery from the rain. My pace slowed considerably once again. I did stop and take several pictures of a very colorful water frog in the middle of the trail. This is unusual for me as I have a big fear of any kind of frog which dates back to my high school years. I was a swimmer and when I got to the pool deck it was covered with frogs at 5am. The boys thought it was funny to put them inside my swim suit and shoes and back pack. I'm sure they didn't realize at the time that it would bring on a lifetime of frog fear. Snakes and spiders I can handle but not frogs.We only had a couple hours of hiking in heavy rain but it sure made the trail extra slippery. We reached the side trail to the Mohican Center. We had planned to lunch there and get water but we found a nice spring right before it and decided to plop down on the wet ground and eat lunch instead of hiking the extra 6/10 mile. Good choice as my feet are very sore and I have been experiencing numbness in a few of my toes. We met John from the Mohican Center who was out hiking and had a nice conversation with him.We are camping at a spot called Rattlesnake Spring and it has been an exciting evening indeed. Ginger T from England is also camping here. We have been leapfrogging a bit. It is a big camp area and very open. We strung a line from the trees and hung up our food bags to keep us safe from the bears. I decided I would break the rule of not keeping any food in the tent just for tonight. I didn't want the birthday cake I'm carrying for Little Prince to get squashed or messed up so I had it tucked safely at the end of my feet in my tent. Next I found a comfy rock away from everyone facing the trail to have an overdue phone conversation with Ann, one of my oldest and dearest friends. In the middle of our catching up I found myself stating at a very BIG bear on the trail that was standing and staring right back at me. It felt like forever before I could react appropriately and screamed "a bear, a bear". I hung up on Ann and tried to change my phone to camera mode to get my pictures while running towards it. I know this was the wrong thing to do but I couldn't help myself as I have been wanting to see a bear up close for the longest time and I love taking pictures of almost everything I see on the trail. Two other hikers were able to hear my screams and witnessed the bear as well. One of them was very appreciative as he has been hiking since Georgia and was disappointed he had not seen a bear yet. He thought it was extra large as well so it was not just my imagination. The bear finally took off into the woods and did come back out one more time for a brief moment. My pictures did not come out but I will have that bear picture forever etched into my mind. I feel so lucky and happy right now. Someone decided we had to move our bear bag even higher now and to make sure none of us had any food in our tents. Of course I felt guilty so I tied the carrot cake into my pack cover and watched while it was hoisted up and slid sideways for the evening. I had made every effort today to not throw my pack down on the ground any which way like I normally do. Oh well. Not sure how I am going to sleep tonight after all this excitement! What a day and evening!