Date: 2009-07-20
From: Near Observation Platform

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 19.6

The earliest day yet on the trail. For some reason the weather last night was abnormally cool in NJ and sleeping on a wooden deck made it feel down right cold! Lows were in the 50's and we were bundled up tight in our tent. Even though it was chilly, I somehow managed to be awake at 4:55am- just in time to peek out of our tent and see an incredible display of colors on the horizon. The sun had not yet peeked over the far off ridgeline, but already there were dark pinks and oranges lighting up the sky. I knew this was something Bark had been waiting to see so I immediately woke him up, even though it was very early. He woke up quickly and minutes later he woke up Otter and the two of them were pulling on their layers and grabbing their cameras so they could capture the moment. I'll admit it, I stayed snuggled up in my sleeping bag for a little longer. We had planned to hike out early anyway, so by 6:15am we were headed down the stairs of the observation tower and onto the trail. Otter, Bark and I were 4 miles into the trail by 8am and the miles continued to roll by throughout the day. The trail was wonderful today- we walked through several farms and fields, very few rocks and some rolling hills. One difference today was the lovely breeze and way fewer mosquitoes! I think the wind blew them away.. yeah! By noon we had made it about 12 miles to the Walkill River Wildlife Preserve. We stopped for lunch after seeing a young coyote pup picking apart a snack he found on the trail. It's not that it made us hungry, there just happened to be a nice bench close by. After finishing lunch we looked around and saw Lucky Joe and soon after greeting him we saw Moe, Blue Ray, Strings and Stewball. It was great to see so many familiar faces and to know that we would see many of them in Vernon tonight. We all made it over the next few steep climbs and soon started looking for New Jersey's famous A.T. boardwalk. The boardwalk covers about 2 miles of trail and hovers over marshlands in the area. When we finally made it there we were not just motivated by the thought of town, but by our surroundings. It was beautiful- wildflowers, tall grass and lots of cat tails all around. We passed many locals who were out for a Sunday stroll, but soon parted ways as we continued on the trail and they all headed to the parking lot. The rest of the trail was only slightly hilly and ended by taking us through a large cow pasture full of cows enjoying the cool mud and grass. We climbed over the stile and crossed the road (NJ 94) only to plop down in the grass to rest our weary feet from the day. Thanks to Jersey Dan, who we met last night at the Ranger Headquarters, we were hopeful for a hitch into town. We gave him a call and were very excited to hear him tell us that he would be there shortly. Otter, Bark and I walked right down the street to a farm store to get some fresh fruit and wait for Jersey Dan. After a couple peaches and a juicy orange later, the 4 of us (now including Stewball) were headed to Vernon and the church hostel where we would be staying for the night. It was so nice to arrive at the hostel and we're very thankful for Jersey Dan's hospitality. First things first- showers and laundry! Second and equally important, dinner at Dairy Queen. We ate with Stewball and Otter and enjoyed some fun conversations with everyone. By the time we were done eating we decided to leave resupply for tomorrow morning and instead, head back to the hostel and get ready for bed.It has been one of our longest days on the trail (time wise) and we are ready for some sleep. Looking forward to leaving NJ tomorrow and entering NY! For now that is the plan, but you never know how comfortable we might become here at this lovely hostel.