Date: 2018-05-29
From: Unionville, New York

To: Appalachian Motel - NJ 94
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: light rain

The wings at Wit¢s End Tavern were as good as Butch, the General store manager, said. Wit¢s End is very much a community bar and social center, but hikers are greeted warmly. I had the naked wings with the original sauce (like Anchor Bar in Buffalo) and blue cheese dressing with my carrot and celery sticks, along with a pleasant draft of a German style beer that started with a W.More hikers came into Unionville before sunset, including Jelly who I had assumed was far ahead and also Tyler, christened Red Rocket by Jelly for his red hair and hiking speed, and Red¢s cousin Bodie, hiking a few days with him. Red Rocket started in Port Clinton on the worst rocks of Pennsylvania, averaging 17-18 miles a day. Needless to say, his feet are swollen and resemble raw hamburger. Putting Red Rocket¢s feet far from my mind, I enjoyed a salad and personal pizza at Annabel¢s right across the street from the town park where I was tented. The personal pizza with sausage, mushrooms, onions and black olives was 12¢ in diameter, more than I could eat. Jelly came along at an opportune time to scarf down the two remaining slices. I had an iced tea with it and paid the consequences of having a hard time falling asleep. Butch showed up and told me more of the town¢s history and walked me around the park, pausing to tell me the story of each person commemorated with a brass marker. Families often donate trees to the park to honor loved ones. One lady lived to 104, but several died tragically before age 30, including one killed in the Virginia Tech Massacre. I nearly cried at some of the stories. Being out on the trail does that to me. I finally couldn¢t take it anymore and escaped to my tent. My emotions are usually well controlled and measured in regular life, but on the trail, my emotions are instantly accessible. Tears, and joy, come quickly and unexpectedly. It¢s like out here my illusion of being in control is stripped away. It was warm in my tent and I tossed and turned lying on my sleeping bag. Eventually it cooled and I dropped into sleep. City birds must awaken before rural birds, because the birds of Unionville were at full volume by 4:30. I packed up and walked over to the General Store to sit on their porch, charge my phone, and wait for them to open at six. When I went to charge my Anker 10,000 mAh external battery yesterday, I couldn¢t find it¢s charging cable. I must have left it in Delaware Water Gap. It was about 50% charged, good to charge my iPhone about twice. I thought I would have to post only very short entries until I visited home and replaced it. I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese and Taylor ham. People in these parts speak of Taylor ham with great fondness. From what I can determine it is a processed pork roll with various flavorings, not unlike Spam. Butch saw to it that my sandwich had about 1/2¢ of the fatty stuff. It was definitely filling and I didn¢t crave a snack until after 9. With Butch¢s cautions and his promise to check on Baby Bird, I was on my way about 6:30. It felt hot and muggy from the start and only became more so. After following a creek on near level trail, the trail climbed a little only to descend through pastures to Oil City Road. After crossing the Wallkill River, the trail turned onto a dike surrounding the Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge, following it about 2/3 of the way around. It is a beautiful wetlands, alive with the timpani of frogs, the constant hiss of insects, the chack and chirr of red-winged blackbirds, honking of snow geese, the mighty gronk of a great blue heron, the majestic silence of a pair of trumpeter swans, and many birds I neither recognized by sound not sight. On the dike, bunny rabbits peacefully grazed on the tender grass, not fleeing at my approach but keeping a wary eye on me and twitching in preparation for flight. A painted turtle convinced that the water on other side of the dike was preferable pulled in both feet and head, knowing that its patience would prevail. I took a photo of its shell.After a long walk through a swamp on well-maintained puncheons, the trail ascended Pochuck Mountain and seemed like the Appalachian Trail again. I went into Pochuck Shelter for my morning snack and found Turtle seated at the picnic table, reading a James Patterson novel he had found there. His neck is hurting so he has decided on an in-the-woods zero day. I showed him a few stretches and offered him a few Aleve. Seeing Turtle reminded me that I didn¢t want my hike to turn into a death march to meet an arbitrary schedule. On the spot, I decided that instead of hiking 17 miles through today¢s heat and, if I stayed on my revised schedule to forego shower and laundry for a total of 10 days, I would only hike to NJ 94 and spend the night in either a B&B in nearby Warwick or the Appalachian Motel. The B&B was fully booked, but the motel had space and sounded very friendly.  Returning to the trail, I met Hoot, who started in Georgia. He retired as an Air Force Colonel, the head of the Computer Science and Cyber Warfare Department at the Air Force Academy. He is determined to average 18 miles per day for the rest of his hike, certainly an ambitious goal for anyone in their 60¢s. Our hiking speeds and styles were compatible and the conversation made the rest of the climb up Pochuck Mountain and down to the boardwalk over they marshlands of the Pochuck River most pleasant. The boardwalk itself is over a mile long and fully ADA compliant, a crowning tribute to Karen Lutz who is retiring as the Mid-Atlantic director for ATC. The community of Vernon first opposed the project convinced that it would bring hippies, rapists and generally disreputable hikers into their backyards. Today the town treats the boardwalk as a tourist attraction, especially for birders, and takes great pride in it. The local school is fully engaged in the Trail to Every Classroom program offered by ATC and the National Park Service. A kiosk by the parking area showcases student environmental art. On a day like this, sunscreen was definitely in order. By the first bridge, Hoot and I spent some time watching a large 24¢ alligator snapping turtle feed on aquatic vegetation. Birds and insects were everywhere. There¢s also a really cool wooden suspension bridge that floats in the marsh and won a national design award. We soon arrived at NJ 94 and the nearby Heaven Hill Farm Store. I chugged down a mango lemonade and walked across the street to a Sabrett Hotdog food truck. The owner served up philosophy along with his hotdogs. We hit it off, earning me a free bag of potato chips and a discount on a birch beer. I returned to Heaven Hill and gobbled it down with a speed worthy of champion Joey Chestnut. Hoot and I said goodbye and he continued his hike up Wawayanda Mountain, a 700¢ climb I wouldn¢t want to do in this heat. I phoned the Appalachian Motel and was soon cozy in an extraordinary just-remodeled room that is near perfection, including a dark travertine walk-in shower with glass accent tiles, earning it a solid 8 on my 1 to 10 scale. Only the location, remote from anyplace, is a drawback. I mentioned my missing charging cable to the owner and as I had hoped, they had a box of cables left by previous guests. Problem solved, so I will continue to bore you with long entries. Red Rocket and Bodie are here as well. They plan to go only 5 miles tomorrow to encourage foot healing. The spacing of the shelters means either 5 miles or 18 tomorrow. The weather should be cooler tomorrow so I¢ll aim for the 18. Several restaurants deliver to the motel, including a Chinese one that I hope is open. It would cap off a truly wonderful day!