Date: 2008-06-21
From: Kirkridge Shelter

To: Vernon, N.J.
Miles today: 69.7

I am in Vernon, New Jersey at the Appalachian Hotel on N.J. RT.94. A friend from N.J. is picking me up at 5 to take me out to eat. The last time we met almost 4 years ago he told me to call if I ever got to N.J. I don't think he was expecting me to be walking however. I left Delaware Water Gap on Thursday morning. I had hiked in on Wednesday after only 6 miles. I stayed at the Hostel at Presbyterian Church of the Mountain. It is in a basement room and had a hot shower and bunks and a common area to visit. I plan to do another journal entry rdescribing my day in D.W.G. Some days I do nothing but hike, other days I live large. That day was the latter. On Thursday soon after leaving D.W.G. I came across Sunfish Pond. It is a 40 acre glacial pond carved out during the ice age billions of years ago or maybe it was thousands. It was during the age of global cooling. A Man named Algonquin Gorovsky was in his shop hammering out a warning about global cooling but by the time the warning was chisled out it was too late, everything was frozen over. Fast forward to modern times and a nuclear power plant wanted to use this pond for a cooling pond for its nuclear waste. Can you imagine the engineer that came up with that brilliant idea. I'm guessing he never contributed to the save the whale foundation. I'm also guessing his Sierra Club membership dues are not paid. Of course the enviornmental movement was not impressed by this idea and saved the pond from becoming a 40 acre microwave oven. I stopped and took a break at a bench there. It is a really nice spot. There are no camping and no swimming signs posted everywhere. To a thru-hiker a no camping sign means there must be some good spots to camp. There were many nice areas where hikers had camped. There actually are a lot of bears in N.J. and the Park Service is protecting themselves from a lawsuit in case someone gets eaten by a bear. Although it would be hard to sue if you were truly eaten by a bear. Your case would not have a leg to stand on. I have eaten lots of blueberries in the last 3 days. They are so good. I came across a turkey yesterday 5 feet beside me. It did not seem scared at all. I also saw 2 bears in the last two days. Yesterday I got rained on again. I got soaked but managed to find a rock overhang to stay under till it stopped. I had planned to only hike 19 miles but when I arrived at the shelter it was only five thirty and I was 6 miles from an area that a former thru-hiker had a small cabin in a clearing in the woods. It is only available to otherv thru-hikers. I did those 6 miles in record time. The little cabin had a solar shower which felt wonderfull after hiking 25 miles. Tomorrow I leave N.J. and enter New York state. That will be my ninth state. Today is my 83rd. day on the trail. Some days I just want to get this hike over with so I can go home, but then I have a day like I did Wednesday at D.W.G. and I realize I still have people to meet and experiences to write about. I have met the most wonderfull people. Today is June 21th. The first day of summer. There is a tradition on the Appalachian Trail on June 21th called hike naked day. Hikers really do hike in their birthday suit. I'm not saying whether I did or didn't, however I can just imagine the insults hurled at me from interested bystanders, such as, hey mister! your suit needs ironed. I must go get ready my friend offered to take me out for supper, I politely protested for about 2 seconds before agreeing. I'm a hiker, I accept food offers any time. I plan to do another entry later tonight.