July 9 Gren Anderson 1324 Miles
Whiskers had gone off to be with his girlfriend the night before and I had parked next to Crater Lake, near the trail.
I left my tenting spot at Crater Lake about 7 AM and proceeded up the hill that I wanted to avoid the night before when I was tired. It wasn't too bad after a good night's sleep.
After a few miles, I climbed the short Rattlesnake Mountain and heard some loud thumping off to the right in the brush. I instinctively crouched down and turned and saw a bear cub running away from me through the bush and then further on I saw mama bear angling to meet her cub. Then they disappeared into the forest.
Shatterproof told me there were many bears in New Jersey and that I would most likely see a few. But that was last year. Since that time, Governor Christie signed off to the hunting and killing of 636 bears. There have been 3000 bears killed since 2010 in New Jersey when hunting bear season was reopened.
Now, there are approximately 3000 bears remaining in New Jersey today according to the Wildlife Commission.
Apparently the bears are trapped in New Jersey, surrounded by massive freeways and neighborhoods, and they continue to grow in population until they are shot and arrowed during hunting season.
At US 206, Culvers Gap, I walked to a diner a half mile away for lunch but it was closed. So I went to a tavern a short distance from it, a biker's bar, and met Whiskers and a number of other hikers, eating sandwiches and drinking beer by a lake.
I played some pool and had a burger and had a nice time.
I learned that Whiskers had met his girlfriend last night at the lake and camped out near a parking lot and was fined $80 this morning.
I'm glad I tented near the trail and away from the roads.
Many were reluctant to leave but I knew that I had a climb to the next shelter.
I arrived at Gren Anderson Shelter, an older one, and saw that it was full of mosquitos. I tented out instead.
July 10 High Point Shelter 1337 Miles
Lil cub and Dundee come in this morning to Gren Anderson as I was eating a peanut butter sandwich breakfast alongside twenty or so high school kids out hiking and camping.
Lil Cub is slower than I, so Dundee and I walked together up to the top of Sunrise Mountain and had a snack at the pavilion with the Kids. Then we descended down to Mashipacong Shelter where we stopped for lunch and a nap. Some kind soul and left some water jugs.
The high school kids came in and lied down and napped too.
I walked with Lil Cub out of the shelter and stayed with him until I had to press on at my pace. We expected to meet up at High Point State Park Headquarters for a lake swim and concessions.
But I was tired by the time I arrived there when, lo and behold, there was a tent full of trail magic and Dundee was eating a Jersey popular Taylor pork roll and egg sandwich and a pancake.
Mom and Dad said they were doing Trail Magic for their hiker-son Iron Man.
A half and hour later Lil Cub rolled in and we ate and left together to the wooden
tower where one could see 3 States: New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
We walked another mile to High Point Shelter and tented out near a flowing stream. It was a nice campsite. I'm glad I put up the whole tent. It rained some around 1 AM.
July 11 Unionville Memorial Park 1344 miles
If Northern Pennsylvania feels like the trails are 90% rocks and 10% ground, than southern New Jersey is about 40% rocks and northern New Jersey is about 75% rocks. My soles of my feet feel like they have been beaten with a hammer. The left heel is particularly bothersome. But at least the trail is not too hilly.
I left the Shelter with Lil Cub and Dundee and we walked five miles to the Murray property, the so-called secret shelter. It is an old cabin and some other little cabins on an 80 acre pastureland. Very scenic and bucolic rolling hills. I took a quick sponge bath with my shirt under a pump from an artesian well.
We had a 11 AM lunch together and old Mr. Murray came up in his pickup, drinking liquor out of a foam cup, as we sat there eating.
He was trying to sell the land to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. They offered 420K for 17 acres and he wanted 500K. He was holding out he said and drove off. Seemed like a nice guy and I hope the ATC can acquire some of it for hikers.
Lil Cub and Dundee were going past Unionville and I was going in to the Post Office to pick up some shoes. I walked across some swampy areas on footboards and then walked down the paved road into a flag waving, church-populated Unionville. A town with no stoplights that I observed. It had one restaurant, an Italian restaurant run be Mexican-Americans, two convenience stores, and a bar.
I went by the Post Office and one package, my blowup sleeping pillow, had arrived. I put up my tent under a tree behind the basketball court in the park with a number of other hikers. Then I went and had a Panini and some Cokes at the restaurant with Giggles and Blue Deer (and his dog) and then resupplied with some bagels and peanut butter from the store.
July 12 Appalachian Motel, Vernon NJ 1356 Miles
Today I walked out of Unionville, New Jersey and into New York, walking along the border for a number of miles and down some paved roads and around the perimeter of the Wallkill Reserve, a swampy area that is being renovated by the Forestry Commission.
I think swamps are beautiful and took a number of pictures of the marshy grasses and glistening water and then entered into the forest and almost ran headlong into a deer. We were both surprised and then he decided to move a few yards into the brush. I guess there is not much hunting there or he would have really hightailed it away from me.
After five or six miles and a number of footbridges over streams and rivulets, I came into a long swampy meadow with almost a mile of two by four boards to walk on. I was behind another hiker and at the end of our walk we came onto a road.
He said his name was Chili Dog and we were both hungry and decided to walk over to Heavenly Farm, a nice farm supply store, a few yards down the road.
It was closing time there, 6PM, and so I hurriedly bought some watermelon, chocolate milk, ice cream, and a roast beef sandwich. We ate our food and charged our phones outside while deciding what to do.
It was a long climb up the hill known as "the stairway to heaven" and we were both tired. I was going to tent behind the store, behind the farm tractors, and leave before 6AM in the morning.
Chili Dog called a hiking partner, Persistent, who was staying at a nearby hotel and the partner said I could share a room with the two of them. I agreed to that. A shower sounded good.
Then, providently, a car by to pick up a backpack hidden at the store, and the hiker agreed to take us the few miles to the Appalachian Hotel.
The Indian owner was upset that there were three of us in a one bed room. We gave him some extra money and then he stopped shouting. Apparently hikers were always taking advantage of him.
I got some laundry done and got a shower and put my mattress and bag to the floor.
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