Date: 2021-05-20
From: Stealth site in NJ

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Good news: stealth camping usually means lots of leaves on the ground so nothing can sneak up on you. Bad news: all night long it always sounds like something is sneaking up on you. I got packed and out at 6:16 with the plan to take lots of breaks today and work on thinning out my food bag. The feet felt ok and there are no other aches reporting for duty. The spiders were certainly on duty and had worked through the night to crisscross the trail with webs from ankle to face height. At some points they were so thick I was walking with my poles out in front of me, flailing up and down in a futile attempt to clear the way.  I finally tied a bandana over my face and pulled my hat down low so that just my eyes were uncovered. I got a lot of webs right in the peepers. This is fine. After two hours I pulled off on a side trail with an overlook to a small lake just so I could clean off the silk and have a break. I was really hoping someone might pass me and talk the brunt of the arachnid scourge. When I went back on trail, alas, I was still silk blazing. I mentioned yesterday I came across a small, aggressive snake late in the day and wondered if that was potentially my rattlesnake story. Today, I got the real deal. I was coming down some large rock slabs and the trail took a sharp turn to the right. As I stepped on a large boulder it shifted slightly and I saw something move quickly into a crevice and then...the rattle. I jumped about 4 feet sideways shouting a ¢CRIKEY!¢ as it buzzed at me. Shakily I got my phone out and was able to record the noise. It had gone deep between the rocks and I thought that rather than enticing it out for a pic, I would leave well enough alone and sidle around it¢s den. This is f-f-f-f-f-f-ine. To celebrate checking off a bucket list item, I had lunch 45 minutes later on top of rattlesnake mountain. Though the only encounter I had there was with a bunch of trash someone left sitting on top of the rocks. *Sigh*. I got out one of my plastic grocery bags and gathered it all up, as I was going to be near town in a few hours and would toss it out there. I did finally try Spam for the first time in a tortilla with some peanut butter. Not bad. The town that I was aiming for was Culver¢s Gap, NJ. I mentioned that in the guest book NJ resident Easy had given me some suggestions of things to see along the trail that I morphed into The Easy Inadvertent New Jersey Challenge (known hereafter as EINJC). Yesterday I had completed the first two legs by having second breakfast on top of Raccoon Ridge and then taking the road to the Mohican Outdoor Center. Today brought leg three: Taking a short road walk to Gyp¢s Tavern for a burger and a beer and sitting in an Adirondack chair by the lake. I got to Gyp¢s at 2 and they were very hiker friendly. They showed me where I could recharge electronics, filled my water bottles, and told me I could relax there as long as I liked (they hinted I¢d be more comfortable outback, I may have been a wee bit sweaty from the 84 degree weather). So: burger, beer, then chair by the lake. I upped the difficulty by taking a 20 minute power nap while sitting lakeside. (Picture above is from my lakeside perch). An hour and 45 minutes later I was back to finish the last 3 miles of the day to the shelter. This is another shelter that is way too close to a road and consequently has a lot of trash strewn about. Back at it tomorrow, though I hope I see fewer rocks than I did today. I had a lot of difficulty getting into any rhythm and just seemed to fight it all day. Didn¢t see any NOBO¢s today, only a few day hikers moving south. I think I¢m 1-2 days behind the ¢bubble¢ with a bubble of flip-floppers 1-2 days behind me.