Date: 2008-06-03
From: Stealth site .1 past Rattlesnake Spring, NJ

To: Gren Anderson Shelter, NJ
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: clear sky

No more bear activity all nite, except in my dreams that is. I drempt a bear showed up and was chasing all the Outward bound kids around, but I was sitting back and laughing! How rude of me! LOLI slept thru my alarm again, but woke @ 6:30 to 55 degrees. It got a bit cool due to a breeze in the nite, so I added more layers.I did my chores and said goodbye to the kids, then stepped off @ 7:38 a.m. I crossed a road ad then headed to this huge pond. It was so cool because there was this bullfrog chorus going on. I also met Baggins, an older woman who does 500 miles a year. She was wearing a Marmot jacket and long pants, not sure how she was staying cool in it all.Today's hike was more short climbs (some steep though), and then down and then up and some ridge walking. I actually like this terrain because each direction (up\down\flat) hurts in its own way, so NJ has been mixing it up nicely.I will say the silk worms are driving me crazy. There are tons of them hanging down from the trees right over the trail, so you are constantly walkig into them. It feels like I'm walking and covered by spider webs all day, and I must be flicking at least 75 off me a day. At nite it sounds like it's raining lightly, but I think it's silk worm poop falling all around.I ran into a YMCA group doing their 3 mile walk today. The kids gasped when I told them I had a little over 800 miles to go. Made me laugh, and then I realized (later today) I totally missed my 1300 mile mark today! BUMMER! I'm 10.6 miles past it..oh well, I was very focused today.I think I;m going to switch and start marking 100 miles that I have LEFT!There were few landmarks, but I spent a fair amount of time on 2 occasions wandering aroud trying to find the next blaze. It's always in rocky areas that I lose it but one little side trail took me to see a pretty darn long molted snakeskin! It was about 5' long. I picked it up and took a pic.I found my way and next thing I know a man is hiking towards me. We talked for a bit and then I found out it was Warren Doyle, sort of a trail icon who knows this trail like the back of his hand. He was heading south for a (get this) 28 mile day hike. I couldn't do that if wanted to..my feet would literally fall off.Hike Farm (who has poison ivy on his feet of all places) showed up and the 3 of us talked for a bit. Warren told me that Peter Pan (one of the Jacks from JRB) and Lori Pottinger (from the ATC) were ahead of me surveying Chestnut trees. Not sure if I'll catch them but it would be hilarious to see Jack out here. Warren also shared a story about how he had 30 butterscotch candy one day (when he thru-hiked) and decided to see how far he could hike while sucking on just 1 candy. He said, .4 miles, so he decided if he ate them all one after another, he knew he could hike 12 miles! LOL That's a perfect example of how we distract ourselves, and I do stuff like that too, so it made me laugh.So I moved on, and it turned into a very hot day, in the mid-80's. I made it up and over Rattlesnake Mountain and came upon a small creek. It was 12:15 p.m., so I decided to pull a Sailor and "eat my hot meal" now and take a long break. I'm trying to increase my efficiency, because this hiking stuff is actually quite difficult for me.So I ate my noodles (good carbs for the afternoon) and took a pic of a cool little frog that was chilling inside of (I think) a bear paw print in the mud. It was a beautiful spot with lots of pine trees, but no bear.I started hiking again @ 1:30 p.m. and my feet felt pretty fresh.I decided to go for Gren Anderson Shelter, knowing it would be around 6:30 p.m. when I got there.There were some climbs and on the way down to Brink Rd. Shelter, there was a big pile of bear scat on the trail.I finally made it down to Culver's Gap @ 4:58 p.m. There's a coffee place and restaurant there, so I thought I'd try to get an iced mocha, but alas..te coffee place closed @ 5 p.m. I'd just missed it. Oh well.I took a short break and knew I had 3 miles and a pretty steep 1.5 mile climb ahead of me. I was definitely tired by now, but just kept going.The climb had me dripping with sweat, but it passed quickly. I got to the top of the next mountain and just had a mental game to play. My feet were absolutely killing me, but I knew when I saw the Culver Firetower I had about 30 min. left.Finally @ 6:00 p.m. I was @ the tower but just didn't have the energy to climb it. I sat on the picnic table instead and enjoyed the mountains across from me.I got to the shelter @ 6:30 p.m. to find absolutely nobody here. It surprised me really. It's a great hanging site, and then I realized there's a freakin road I could see! None of my info told me this, but I don't think it's a main road and I'm too darn tired to care.I set up camp got water @ the spring and sat on the picnic table while I ate dinner and had the amazing opportunity to watch a deer eat not 20 yards away. I was careful not to startle it and it trusted me. Pretty cool thing to watch so closely.There's a bear box here, a large metal box you put your food in.   I was glad, I don't have the energy to throw a rope (but would have). Also, there's a big red warning sign about being in an area with high bear activity. I cracked up because there is a plastic baseball bat in the shelter. I brought it over to my hammock tonight. LOLI am beyond exhaustion and my feet hurt like a SOB. I have new shoes in Greenwood Lake, NY, and I hope that helps some with my feet (it's not the plantars though, still no sign of it at all.amazing huh?) Need sleep and it's a great 75 degrees @ 8:52 p.m. Tomorrow is another day.~Certain