Date: 2020-08-22
From: Pochuck Mountain Shelter

To: Warwick Turnpike (Warwick)
Miles today: 12.0

The humidity began rising yesterday afternoon, stayed through a warm night, and followed me out this morning. The mosquitos hung around most of the night so I kept myself cocooned in my liner.A retired couple from Georgia was tenting next to the shelter. They've been hiking sections in each state and have gotten as far north as this. Not trying to walk every mile, just get the flavor.Aside from some pasture and marsh walks in the middle, New Jersey is a continuation of Pennsylvania terrain on one side and a preview of New York on the other. The first few miles from Pochuck Mountain roller-coastered, New York-like, up and over small rocky knobs and ridges, occasionally taking unexpected turns. Then came a beautiful marsh walk over a mile-long boardwalk. Lots of walkers out on this sunny Saturday morning. Cattails dominated the marsh, with strokes of purple and yellow wildflowers throughout. At the road I headed to Mitch's Roadside Grill. Dozens of cars already lined the road at this popular trailhead, near the Stairway to Heaven. Mitch was sitting out under an umbrella by his hot dog stand but wasn't ready to cook yet. It was only 10:30. So I crossed the street to get an ice cream at Heaven Hill Farm and charge my power brick. An hour later I came back and got my dogs, along with some life counseling from Mitch. He doesn't sell hot dogs to make a living, he sells hot dogs to meet and talk to people. And he's full of sound advice, the kind you need to hear, not necessarily want to hear.So I had that to think about as I threaded through the dayhikers up the Stairway, a steep 600-foot-gain rock-hopping delight that leaves you panting but with a sense of satisfaction. The trail rolled over a few small hills after that, staying rocky, until it emptied me on the Warwick Turnpike. A dog walker in Wallkill last night had urged me to camp at the Warwick Drive-In so, having never done any such thing, I figured it might be an interesting highlight. It messed up my schedule a bit, since it would now take me another day to get to the Hudson. I'd only come 12 miles today. But I don't want this hike to turn into a race against time at the expense of a good experience. I looked at this as a test of the kind of hike this would be. Hitching was initially difficult. Dayhikers had taken up the shoulder near the trailhead and the road was too narrow for anyone to stop. So I walked about a half mile until I decided the road was just too narrow and sketchy to walk the whole way. I found a gravel shoulder in front of a small farm and stuck out my thumb. About fifty cars passed in waves and caravans before an SUV pulled over. A local named Sal had two little kids in the back but he invited me to jump in the wayback which I gratefully did. He dropped me two miles later at the ShopRite next to the theater where I got a late lunch of fresh fruit and sushi. A couple people stopped as I ate on the curb in the shady side of the market, including a guy named Mark who offered me a ride back in the morning.After scoping out the drive-in and meeting the owner Pop-pop, who offered water, a charging outlet, and free radio rental for the movie in addition to tenting, I headed directly across the street to the Pennington Beer Garden, part of their farm market. It was a busy Saturday evening but I was able to sit down and enjoy a lobster roll of all things. I finally got what I'd been craving in Delaware Water Gap. Headed back to the supermarket for another half-gallon of iced tea. Here in the north not only do they have unsweetened tea, but unsweetened tea flavored with lemon, my favorite! Leaving the store I was surprised to find another thruhiker on a bench eating Chinese from the prepared foods aisle.Poison is the first legal southbounder. He left Katahdin on July 1st and the only hiker ahead of him, a multi-time AT thruhiker named Hambone, got off after New Hampshire to raft the Mississippi instead. He's a recent college grad from North Carolina who started hiking in Georgia in February, then stopped in Damascus when the ATC asked hikers to get off, largely because his friend and hiking partner wanted to. But his friend went back to the trail in May without telling him, so he decided to southbound and do the entire trail. He doesn't feel right about stopping in Damascus after leaving trail for several months. And he's got plans to hike the CDT next year and after that who knows? Aims to do it all before family and responsibility hit. We joined up at the drive-in, set up our tents on a small rise behind all the cars with an excellent view of all three movies (you choose which audio to listen to), but mainly spent the next four hours in deep conversation about life, the kind of conversation you only have with a perfect stranger when you're both on the trail going through the same experience. Both of us have been alone for much of our hikes, so there was some pent up desire for socialization there. A very pleasant way to pass the evening. A bucket of buttery popcorn helped too.