Date: 2014-06-18
From: Jim Murray Property

To: St. Thomas Episcopal Church Hostel via NJ 94
Miles today: 13.5

You would think we were on the coast with the amount of boardwalks on the trail today - all we needed was a Ferris Wheel! New Jersey has more wetland swampy areas than I anticipated.Great sleep in the hammocks and leaving camp at seven was the makings of a good start to the day. It was a little warm in the morning and we knew it was going to be a very warm day so we wanted to get into town as early as possible!We left camp just after Blue and Next Five with her dog Little Bear and caught up to them shortly after. While hiking with Next Five and Little Bear we all spied a huge bear up ahead on the trail! It was the biggest bear we have seen on the trail and it was most likely a full grown male - a big boy! We watched him from a distance while moving slowly up the trail and all of a sudden Little Bear tore off into the woods after the bear - we thought the dog was going to get attacked by the bear! Luckily the bear had run off a little ahead and Little Bear caught sight of the size of the bear and turned around so no harm done. Ran into Reset coming out of Unionville and our little group hikes together briefly as we headed towards the Wallkill Preserve. Next Five and Little Bear went ahead since he was trying to herd us all together and getting in the way of our poles and legs. Blue and Reset dropped back so it was back to our hiking duo. We came out onto some roads and followed them for a while until we turned into the preserve.Reset caught up to us but quickly sat down at the first bench he found to enjoy one of his two beers he carried out of town - living like a king on the trail!The preserve was nice and reminded me of the wildlife area near Savannah Georgia I visited while working at Gulfstream - no gators here though. We also saw this momma doe and really little baby deer walk into the swamp and start walking around - the baby had to hop through the swamp it was so small! The whole seen was a"doe"able!After a quick rest by the wetlands and a quick chat with Blue we started up to the climb up Pochuck Mountain - but not before walking over a long long stretch of short little boardwalks over some swampy area! Simple construction of two planks mounted on two logs to lift them off the ground but there was a ton of them!Walked the plank(s) and climbed up the mountain - turned out to be surprisingly steep! The profile in the guide did not seem as steep but it was still a good climb to the shelter. Another quick rest at the shelter and we moved on - into some more rocky climbs. The climbs were not as long as the one up the mountain but they were very rocky and steep at times - with the day getting warmer the climbs got a little harder. Big Dawg's feet still hurt from the previous days so he did not enjoy those climbs.We hiked on looking for a place for lunch but did not find a good spot until we were down by Country Road 517. On the way to lunch we passed a father-son pair hiking the trail - more on them later - and we ran back into Next Five and Little Bear - she had gotten turned around and accidentally went the wrong direction for a little bit.County Road 517 was a good place to eat since there was a boardwalk to sit on and someone had left some trail magic! By time we got there it was only some Oatmeal Creme pies and a bottle of Powerade but Big Dawg ate two creme pies with lunch. Next Five joined us shortly after we started lunch and moved on ahead before we left. We shared a peanut butter cup with Little Bear and he was very appreciative!Neat boardwalk set up to and from a suspension bridge over a river on the trail - this was a traditional boardwalk built up with planking running left-right and not front-back. Kind of like the ones you would see on a beach! It took us through a nice natural area and dropped us off at a bike trail. We were nearing our destination and Big Dawg was ready for a rest! We crossed railroad tracks at a private crossing (fancy!) and finally reached the road that went into Vernon. Since we were going to take Blue's offer for a ride we decided to head to the nearby Heaven Hills Farm for ice cream, soda, and a rest. I left Blue a note on the fence stile telling her our location and we walked to the store - a great place to stop for a break! It is very near the trail and the ice cream was great! We set up at tables out back and I got ice cream and drinks for the both of us while Big Dawg sat down. Next Five and Little Bear were also there resting and enjoying the ice cream. We waited for Blue and after a little bit I went up front to see if anyone had seen her. I asked the father-son pair if they had passed her and right after I asked that she stepped out of her brother's car - weird how that works sometimes! I bought her brother Matt ice cream since he was very kindly taking us into town and we sat out back while they ate their ice cream. As we were leaving Reset came into the store and had a milkshake and we said goodbye to him as we headed into town. We piled our gear and selves into Matt's car for the short jaunt. At the church we thanked him for the ride and wished Blue and Next Five luck on their journeys. Such nice people out on the trail!We finally figured out how to get into the hostel (go down the stairs by the food pantry entrance) and checked into the hostel - Seabiscuit had already settled in and we introduced ourselves to a new hiker Michael. He is currently going SOBO to Delaware Water Gap and was a very nice fellow.A shower later and laundry running the next hostel guests arrived - the father and son we had met earlier. Turns out the father and son (Texas Slick and Kendan) were from Indiana and even crazier was the fact that they were from Carmel, IN - pretty close to our hometown! It is amazing that way out here in NJ on a 2200 mile trail we would run into another father-son from Indiana! We talked to them while they settled in and then went off to the post office and grocery store for a resupply.The food is purchased and sorted and the clothes are folded - dinner time! Kendan Texas Slick Michael Big Dawg and myself walked to the Vernon Inn for dinner and had a great meal with lots of appetizers shared by all. From dinner we headed back and settled in - time to prep for the morning hike and we all decided to eat breakfast together and split a cab to the trailhead.A lot of good hiker bonding today at the church hostel - the feeling of family and friendship on the trail stood out strongly!