Date: 2008-08-07
From: Blue Mt Lake Road

To: Branchville, NJ
Miles today: 10.0

Today was another great day! I had only 10 miles to do before meeting friends in Branchville, NJ. Much of that was ridge walking, a flat section of trail, wide and wonderful, with lots of opportunity to look around. I loved the goldenrod in among the trees and the vista I came to late in the day, looking out at Lake Kittatinny. I sat for a few mintues, watching the vultures float on the currents above the lake and the clouds rolling in. I thought it would rain, put all of my stuff into zip locks and then after 30 seconds of rain drops, it stopped and the sun came out again. It¢s hard to accurately explain to someone who has not spend that much time outdoors--the way the landscape is always changing, that ¢forest¢ and ¢field¢ can mean many things. One day, early on in this hike I was talking with a woman thru-hiker who made a comment about how she ¢would like to send more pictures home, but why bother because it¢s all the same.¢ I couldn¢t disagree more! My gosh, it¢s always changing! The forest floor can be practically devoid of growth, it could be blanketed with ferns or blueberries, or it could be dense, impenetrable undergrowth, a mix of thorny raspberries or laurel or blueberries, poison ivy and other plants. And the trees! They might be towering old trees, reaching high into the sky, the lowest branch 40 feet up or they might be young trees just finding their way. And field? That is even more variable! When people think of field they likely have one vision in mind. But there are so many kinds of fields. And of course the animals I see daily is never the same--mostly lots of invertebrates like 5 inch millipedes with red legs that move in a way that makes me think of melting chocolate, or daddy-long-legs that bound along fearlessly, their long legs stretching out from their pea-shaped bodies like kite strings. I have seen (Joyce, you may want to skip ahead to the next paragraph to avoid nightmares) a beetle that was the size of a small mouse, climbing up a tree. My gosh! Imagine the reaction of some sleeping hiker, awakened in the deep of night with the feel of something crawling, reaching up to find! Aughh! Not a furry mouse but a giant beetle! I bet the reaction wouldn¢t be one of joy. And mushrooms! My gosh, so many shapes and sizes and colors! I have seen white and cream colored ones that look like mini brains and yellow ones, only inches high that resemble coral on the ocean floor. Some look like pancakes stacked on a plate (hummmm? Am I thinking about food?) and others, bright orange and yellow, cling to decaying wood, almost like giant flowers. I love these best, the brilliant orange so shocking to see in the forest among green and browns and muted colors. I have even seen purple mushrooms, and black and forest green, maroon and red. Many have a strong unmistakable odor that will cause a passerby to wrinkle one¢s nose in disgust. I love when the trail is smooth and rock-free, allowing me to look around. What a unique and wonderful world we live in! To the casual observer it may all look the same, but if one looks closely, well, there is always something new to see!