Date: 2011-06-28
From: Vernon Hostel 

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: light rain

I got up early and crept around the hostel so as not to arouse my fellow hikers. I made a hot breakfast of porage and coffee in the kitchen provided by the hostel. I was leaving the church at 6:30. As I climbed the steps out of the church I saw 5 turkeys on the lawn at the back of the church. Is this a good omen? After all, Ben Franklin suggested the turkey as our national bird. It was a cool, sunny morning and I had a belly full of breakfast so bring it on.I did not want to walk on the busy highway back to the trailhead. So I took my chances hitching a ride (even though it is illegal to do so in New Jersey). The third car that passed me stopped and gave me a lift. The guy was on his way to work. He said he stops every morning when he sees a hitcher because he appreciates thru hikers dedication and the money they spend in his home town. Hey, what ever buddy, I just appreciate the ride out of town.The trail climbed about 1,000 feet in the first couple miles. I know it sounds like everytime I start a day out by climbing. There is a reason for this. Roads tend to run through valleys, not along mountain sides. The price paid for an evening in a trail town is the hike out of the valley the next morning. Of course I was weighed down with water and food so my pack weighed about 32 pounds. I worked up a lather quickly. Speaking of water. New Jersey and New York are known as states with limited water sites for hikers. This is due to the lack of fresh water springs. The NJ swamp water, (or wetlands as they like to say), is very acidic due to the trees and other vegetation living in the lowlands. Most agree it is smart to obtain water from parks or other public sources rather than filter water from the streams or springs as we did in Maryland and PA. The downside is that I must now carry 3 to 4 liters of water (at 2.2 pounds per liter). NO WHINING!The hike continued to be a roller coaster with rocky out croppings on top and muddy hiking in the valleys. Crossed into New York on a beautiful rock ridge with views into the Hudson Valley. As soon as we hit New York we seemed to stay higher in the hills and the muddy wetlands were left in New Jersey. The rocky ridges demanded some fairly technical climbing similar to the Lehigh Valley in PA. It was really a fun day of climbing and there were plenty of views to keep me entertained. At New York 17A the thru hiker companion book identified a creamery with homemade icecream just .2 miles east of the intersection. So off I went in search of a dairy delight. "I'll take a double scoop of the daily special please." I can't tell you how good that little treat tasted. As I arrived there were two hikers already enjoying the sugar buzz and three others arrived as I was there. I filled the water bottles (don't miss any opportunity to get water) and headed back to the trail with Vegan. Vegan is a 32 year old, recently divorced, sole-searching guy from upper New York. He had spent the last couple of years teaching English in Germany. Made enough money to fly home and hike the trail he said. He is thinking seriously of putting his Computer Science degree to work this winter as a snowboard instructor in Colorado. Sounds good to me Vegan. Good luck.Got to the shelter about 4:00 and it was full of happy campers. Pitched the tent and went about making dinner. New York and New Jersey have much in common. One common attribute is mosquitos. I was in the tent itching the little bites by 7:00 and asleep by 8:00. Did I mention the thunder? Had a storm about 1:00 AM. Oh the life.