Date: 2017-06-10
From: Mashipacong Shelter, NJ

To: Ramsey, NJ
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: scattered clouds

6/10/17, Ramsey, NJMiles hiked: 1026.9 Miles to go: 1162.9We had a "Holiday Hike" today, as 1st Sgt named it. Believe me, I realize how lucky I am to be out here doing this hike; but, some days it just feels like work. You get up, break camp, hike 10-12 hours, set up camp, eat, go to bed. The days where you slog through rain or through the green tunnel with no views feel even more like work. Today wasn't like that. Today we only hiked 13.5 miles; but, we packed a lot in. We awoke to another beautiful day and were on trail by 7:15 AM. It was just a few miles to High Point State Park, which included the highest point in NJ (1860 ft). We had seen a sign in the shelter the day before telling us that thru hikers could get a free soda at the High Point State Park visitor's center, so we were excited to get there. It's amazing how food-driven thru hikers are!After our free soda we visited with a nearby Boy Scout troop and talked to them about our thru hike. One scout thought my kilt was really cool and wished he'd worn his (I bet he gets made fun of a lot). We then headed out toward the actual high point. On the way, while stepping over a fallen log, my right foot got snagged. Unfortunately, my backpack didn't realize my boot was communing with a log and kept on hiking. The result was me sprawled out face down on the trail. After ascertaining that I was unhurt, 1st Sgt asked me to stay where I was until he could get his phone and save the picture for posterity. I politely declined (Ok, so the declination may not have been all that polite). It's amazing that I survived the rocks of PA to be taken down by a log! Oh well, nothing bruised but my pride!We eventually reached the highest point in NJ after taking a 0.2 mile blue blaze trail to the summit, which has a 220 ft tall obelisk at the top. For some reason, we decided it would be a good idea to climb 291 steps to the top of the obelisk to look out a hazy narrow window. At least we were smart enough to leave our packs below. After descending, we were soon on our way again. The rest of the day, the trail trended downward, passing through old farm fields and wetlands. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable hike. We kept flip flopping with a young female thru hiker from Poland named Zebra. We would pass her and stop to look at something and she would pass us back. She appears to hike at a steady 2 mph and does not stop for anything. She started her hike in GA over a month after us, so the technique appears to be working for her thus far. We came to a road crossing at County Rt 519 and were met by two friends of 1st Sgt. They are two geocaching friends of his who are both named Sue and collectively go by the name The Sooz (they are not to be confused with my two running friends named Sue who collectively go by the name The Suez). They were geocaching in the area and had decided to do some trail magic. They had brought fruit, sodas, snickers bars, chips, and home made brownies. Score! We hung out visiting with them and Zebra for quite awhile. We eventually moved on, passing through more stone wall bordered fields and pretty woods and wetlands. We were making for the town of Unionville, NY, where we planned to resupply and spend the night in the park behind the city hall (with permission from the city, of course). We are not done hiking in NJ yet; however, the AT passes so close to the border that the town we were hiking to was in NY. We even lucked out and were offered a ride into town from the trailhead. Score again! You know how much thru hikers hate to walk non-trail miles. We were under the impression that there was a shelter with showers behind the city hall. It turns out that they only had a portajohn and a small picnic pavilion. Not even an outdoor electrical outlet to recharge our electronics. Bummer. Getting our clothes laundered was out of the question. The Sooz had arranged to meet us for dinner  at the pizza place in Unionville. When they arrived and we told them of our disappointing accommodations, they offered to drive us to a hotel near theirs (it was already fully booked). We were able to make arrangements for a local motel and headed to dinner. During dinner, Sitting Bull texted saying he was in Unionville. He soon joined us at the pizza place and took us up on our offer for floor space in our motel room. We are now in our motel room. It is adequate, if not fancy; however, there is no Vortex to Hell, so we are good!  We are showered, 1st Sgt laundered our dirty clothes at the Sooz's hotel, and we are even resupplied thanks to the Sooz running us to Walmart (thanks for everything, ladies!). Tomorrow, we are back to work!