Day 118
Start: High Point Shelter
End: Stealth Site
Miles Hiked: 19.1
Miles on AT: 1361.1
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Today, I was going to cross into a new state: New York! But, then I would cross right back into New Jersey only a few miles later. That half counts as entering a new state, right?
With that to look forward to, I left the shelter site in the morning and hit the trail. I had a package waiting for me in Unionville, NY, and wanted to get there in time for lunch. Plus, it looked like it might rain today, so the sooner I got there the better.
As I crossed my first stream of the morning, I spotted a flower that was new to me. It was bright red and seemed to love being by the water. I saw a few more scattered around the banks of the small stream. Beautiful!
The trail had noticeably started to smooth out, with fewer rocks impeding my progress. It was a relief to walk on flat ground after so many miles of unapologetic rocks.
Before long, I arrived in Unionville, grabbed my package just before the office’s lunch break, and headed across the street to grab some pizza. Miles and Skittles also showed up, so we grabbed a table together. Just as I was biting into my slice, the sky opened up. Rain! It came down hard, too. I was happy to be warm and dry eating pizza inside.
After a while, the rain slowed a bit. Miles and Skittles were going to head out, but I was feeling a bit tired, so hopped on over to the convenience store a block away to grab some coffee and whatever else I needed. It seemed like a family-run operation and was very hiker friendly. I sat with a few other hikers on their porch and ate ice cream while sipping my coffee and charging my electronics. I stayed for a good while, waiting out the rain and enjoying my sweet treat.
As I got ready to go, I remembered that I had to throw away one of my trekking poles. It had broken in half yesterday and I had been carrying around the dead weight. With the skies now clear, I continued on, weaving around fields and farmland. There was a wildlife preserve area with big open fields where I saw a crane and a deer hiding among the tall grass.
I met a number of NOBOs while in town and also chatted with a SOBO as I was about to start my climb of the day. I asked him what his assessment of the trail was so far and he said that it was hard but beautiful and something to look forward to. Nice!
After a few climbs, I reached a unique boardwalk area that wound through thick swamp flora. It was a great way to experience walking through the plants without having to deal with the mud that seemed to lurk below.
It was starting to get late and I had to find a place to camp, although the map didn’t show one for another few miles. That would have been okay, but there was a pretty huge climb in front of me that I didn’t have the energy to do. Plus, dark clouds loomed in the sky, threatening to dump their cargo at any moment. I didn’t want to get caught in that.
I hoped that the flat spot at the base of the climb would hold at least one site used by previous hikers with the same idea, and it did! It was a little tight, but it was better than climbing in the rain.
Speaking of rain, just as I finished my camp chores and dinner, I heard a number of big rumbles. Uh oh, it was about to start. I got into my tent and, sure enough, it started raining a few minutes later.
Happy to be dry and safe from the rain, I feel asleep to the muffled patter of rain through my ear plugs.
And that’s day 118.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.