Date: 2016-07-12
From: Stealth Site

To: Mashipacong Shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: clear sky

Every serious undertaking needs a three pronged attack. Thus, I have devised such a strategy to get myself back into this hike!!1) Music. I need to listen to music. I might go a day without every now and then, but extended stretches leave me trapped too much in my head. Several weeks back my headphone adaptor for my life proof case stopped working, and thinking a waterproof phone more important than tunes, I would usually go without music. If I did play it (out loud, rather quietly), I had no convenient way to control it without the headphones, so I was mostly stuck with whatever was playing. Well, yesterday in a conversation with a fellow thru hiker, I discovered that my headphones would work without the adaptor! It's just not fully waterproof while they are plugged in, no biggy. I have thousands of songs on my phone, many I have never really listened to. Many that I love, but never think to listen to. Now fully back in control I can shuffle my whole library and skip over the those that I am not into. Yay!2) Food. I have a bad habit of not eating on the trail. I'm damn good at eating in town though! Often times I would have a couple spoonfuls of Nutela for breakfast, then nothing until a dinner of pepperoni and crackers. Maybe a granola bar or a pack of fruit snacks thrown in. Despite not really wanting to eat, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this practice has probably contributed to me feeling pretty beat down. So from now on I will make it a point to eat more.3) Caffinated water enhancer. I enjoy most of the spring water out here. It tastes good. Even the water I collected today that was full of Tannins tasted fine to me. But, most people out here use some type of water enhancer. I'm not sure how much of a difference this might make, but it could possibly be subtle but very important. So I'll try to use the stuff more often.With the three pronged approach initiated today, I had a great hike. The trail did its part by providing some great views, and what I would consider a resonable distribution of rocks that didn't destroy my feet! The plantar fasciitis that I was pretty sure I was developing didn't even bother me until maybe the last mile, and that wasn't really bad. I didn't see any thru hikers today between breaking camp this morning (9am) and getting settled into the shelter tonight (6pm). Must be between bubbles. I didn't get eaten by a bear last night stealth camping solo in NJ (know for its high bear population), so that was good. Had lunch at a fire tower that would have marked 300 miles if I hadn't skipped that 20 mile section in PA (that I plan to go back for), and the view from the top was amazing. FaceTimed my dear friend Michele from the top to rub it in while she was at work. :-)Also hit the summit of Sunrise Mountain today which had some great views all around. I spent a good bit of time relaxing there and catching up with a couple of other people via FaceTime. Was strange how deserted it was up there since there was a parking lot just .1 miles from the stone pavilion I was hanging out in. I did run into a couple of people in the parking lot (where I took advantage of the garbage bins and the pit toilets) though.The Mashipacong Shelter is pretty cool. Pretty old too. But it's set on a nice little clearing, has a bear box for our food, and has the best smelling privy I've experienced so far!! There is no water source here, the next one being another six miles north, but trail angels stock the bear box with water! It gets depleted quickly depending on how many hikers are coming through, but I noticed a new comment this morning in the Guthook app saying they had left 15 gallons. There were still about 8 when I got here. I had collected and carried four liters from the last source several miles back, but it's got a lot of tannins in it (check out the photo). Most people would dump that and refill with the bottled water, but what I have is potable, and every liter I don't take is a liter available to a thirsty hiker, so I only took one liter. I am in the shelter tonight with Line Cook, a section hiker. We are talking about him picking me up about 100 miles north of here and letting me shower and stow my stuff at his place song can go into NYC for a day or two unencumbered. Sweet! We'll see what works out with that. I figure I should see the city being so close.Wander is hanging in his hammock across the clearing, and four other hikers who didn't have much to say to us are camped just in the woods. It's a beautiful night on the trail!