Day 116
Start: Backpacker Campsite
End: Brink Road Shelter
Miles Hiked: 20.1
Miles on AT: 1322.3
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This morning was a quiet one. I took my time getting my things together and eating breakfast. It was an overcast day, making the air a bit cooler than it had been. I was grateful for the cloud cover as I headed out onto the trail.
Today didn’t appear to be a hard day according to the map. I had a couple of short climbs, but most of my day would be spent walking on nearly flat ridges. I hoped that the rocks truly ended in PA and I wouldn’t see too many of them today.
My first landmark of the day was Sunfish Pond. A little large for a pond, the body of water was still under the layer of clouds that hung in the sky. The trail brought me through overgrown trail along the western edge of the pond, revealing tempting stealth campsites every so often (although camping was prohibited).
As I passed the pond and climbed up on the ridge, beautiful views of NJ spread out before me. It was hard to keep hiking because I just wanted to stop and admire the valley below every time I saw it. As I hiked, my head flicked from trail to view, trail to view; I never grew tired of it.
On the ridge I found a huge family of wild turkeys doing whatever it is that wild turkeys do. Soon a bright red lookout tower appeared in a clearing. A number of young guys were up there, so I stayed below and ate my lunch, enjoying the view from the ground.
Today was a bit of a muted day. The clouds hung low and threatened rain, but it did seem to materialize. I crossed paths with kids from what looked like a Jewish summer camp. Most of them were moving right along, but there was a straggler at the end who needed some personal attention from the counselor.
As expected, the day was pretty easy. It was mostly flat, simple walking. There were a few rocky sections here and there, but it was smooth sailing for the most part. Right before I got into camp, I hit an open grassy area that would’ve been perfect for camping except for the fact that there was no water. Since I had planned to stop at the shelter, I didn’t have enough water with me to stop early and make dinner, so I had to leave the perfect campsite behind.
I arrived at the shelter relatively early for a 20 mile day on the AT. It was about 6 o’clock and there was only one other hiker there. She was a section hiker who had attempted a thru hike last year, but went home in PA. Now, she was taking a long weekend to get a few miles done and work toward finishing the trail.
We had a lot to talk about, including how brutal the trail was, so we chatted right up until sunset. Yes, the trail was hard, but I still looked forward to all that it might bring.
And that’s day 116.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.