Date: 2015-06-22
From: St. Thomas Hiker Hostel, Vernon, NJ

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

6/22, Wildcat Shelter, 17.1Sweet Eyes, Neon and I woke at 5:15 in the hostel this morning after sleeping with the entire hostel to ourselves. We went to the Dunkin Donuts next door for some breakfast then returned to the hostel to pack. With only planning 17 miles for the day we felt we could hike pretty casual and get there relatively rested. We set out to walk the 2.4 miles back to the trail at 7 under clear and sunny skies feeling very positive about he day. As we changed sides of the road about 1/4 mile into our hike a car pulled into the driveway ahead of us and offered us a ride to the trailhead. It is illegal to hitch hike in New Jersey and New York so we were grateful for he latest trail angel.With the ride we were on trail at 7:30, climbing what is labeled by locals as the stairway to heaven. It was largely a stairway leading several hundred feet to the top of the ridge so the climb was an interesting way to start the day. Once on top of the ridge our hike was rolling up and down as we made our way along. Halfway through the morning we neared a road crossing and spotted the telltale cooler labeled trail magic. It was a cooler of iced Yoohoo and orange soda so we took a short break for a cold drink. Hiking on we broke for lunch at an overlook and decided to make the day interesting. Sweet Eyes had found in the guide book that there was a hot dog stand right on the trail at a road crossing 5.5 miles away. In order to beat their 3:30 closing we would need to hike quickly to get here. The bonus was that just .2 miles past the hot dogs was a creamery with ice cream selections for the hikers appetite. Sweet eyes and I set out at a quick pace for the hot dogs but Neon decided to hike safer and settle for just the ice cream. As soon as we left Neon we were hiking over the ridge top boulders, climbing and scrambling up and down moving as quickly as we could. We hiked swiftly past a large group of day hikers who I am sure thought we looked like we were racing each other. We kept hoping for an end to the boulders but no luck there until we nearly reached the end of the trek. As we reached the road we hiked to the hot dog stand and found it is closed Sunday through Tuesday. No hot dogs for us so we headed on down the road to the creamery. Looking back it was a very hard run to cover the miles that fast, but kind of fun to see if we could do it.We settled our gear into the creamery picnic area outside and entered to order. The air conditioning felt great and the menu was every kind of ice cream or ice cream related treat you could imagine. We ordered a banana split and it was incredible! Along with it I purchased a locally made cream soda and headed outside to enjoy. We decided to rest a couple hours in the shade and enjoy the breeze before returning to the trail. We only had 2 miles to hike to the shelter for the night so from 3 to 5:00 pm we ate ice cream, drank water and soda and rested. Back on trail the 2 miles to the shelter was a nice hike and the shelter had spots for e three of us. As we settled in and cooked dinner many more hikers have come into the area making this the busiest shelter I have stayed in since the Smokies. Tomorrow I will hike short, just ten miles, into Southfields where I have a resupply and will take a longer rest. Silverback