Date: 2014-06-18
From: Unionville, NY

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Unionville was a great stop. Hiker friendly. The town market opens at 0600 and they made me a breakfast sandwich and had the coffee on. I sat on the porch to have breakfast and charge my phone. The day was already hot and humid. Townspeople stopped to chat. I like it here. The trail was flat the next section. There were road walks and a detour around Wallkill wildlife reserve. It was flat and exposed to the sun. Boggy areas are crossed over side by side boards. The elevation is around 400 feet. But you can see Pochuck Mountain coming up. Time to sweat and pant in the humid heat. Then came the boardwalk over Pochuck swamp. I had been anticipating this with pleasure. Eight tenths of a mile long, this boardwalk was fun to walk on. It was an important addition to the AT. The construction could not have been easy, nor cheap. I think people really enjoy just stopping by and walking out over the swamp land. It's good to remember that the AT is not just about thru hikers. Indeed, we are a minority of the ones who use this incredible trail. "Fellowship with the wilderness." That was the original vision. Lots of people access the trail for this fellowship. There was ice cream just before the climb up Wawayanda Mountain. Just off the trail. My shake melted quickly in the heat. But it was oh so good. I immediately became coated in sweat when I resumed my hike. But the mental boost was huge. And the calories mattered. Wawayanda was a steep climb. My trail legs didn't care but the humid day made it a challenge for the rest of me. Just past Wawayanda Shelter there's water at the State Park ranger station. About .4 of a mile away. I needed water. On my way I had my second NJ bear encounter. This time I reached for my camera right away. But this bear was a juvenile. Not full grown like the last one. He bolted and ran as soon as he saw me. Still, I got to see another bear. What a thrill. The mosquitoes were bad as I set up my tent. So on goes a layer of DEET over the dirt and sweat covering my body. I'm pretty much disgustingly in need of a shower about now. Around other hikers it doesn't matter. We're all in the same condition. We sit around the picnic table, making supper, in a cloud of bug spray, sweat, and comraderie. I try to remember the last time I showered. Was it Palmerton? Yes, I think so. How many days ago was that? It is what it is. We're on the AT, in a surprisingly beautiful New Jersey, and all we have to do is walk and enjoy the passing forest. Later I lay in my tent, on top of my sleeping bag. It's too warm to get under the bag. I'm wishing for rain, to clear the moisture from the air. Meanwhile I hear stuff dropping from the trees overhead. It sounds like rain but it isn't. I still don't know what's falling. Is it some kind of seed? Caterpillar poop? I don't know. And I wasn't motivated enough to leave the tent, stand exposed to mosquitoes, and find out. I'll be asking other hikers about it. I knew these humid, mosquito filled, days would come. You just deal with it. One of the seasons on the trail. I think it's one of the elements that makes a journey a journey. An adventure an adventure. A chance cool breeze becomes something to savor and enjoy. How often do we have the opportunity to step outside our man made world and really immerse ourselves in nature's rhythm? Well, immerse to a point. I'm not about to go all natural and give up my DEET, cuben fiber, and Jet Boil. But I do feel like I'm having "fellowship with the wilderness." It's damn awesome.