Days 24 – 30 on the Appalachian Trail: New Jersey and New York

Day 24 – Delaware Water Gap to tent site 1309.4 (12.0 miles)

Day 25 – Tent site to Brink Road Shelter (12.9 miles)

Day 26 – Brink Road Shelter to Mosey’s Place Hostel (18.0 miles)

Day 27 – Mosey’s Place Hostel to Pochuck Mountain Shelter (14.0 miles)

Day 28 – Pochuck Mountain Shelter to Wawayanda Shelter (11.6 miles)

Day 29 – Wawayanda Shelter to Lost and Found Hostel (13.7 miles)

Harper’s Ferry milepost 1026.   

78.6 for week

Mountain Laurel finally in bloom…Day 28.

Day 24

Severe Thunderstorms continued from last night into the morning. Weather was forecast to clear later morning, so I held off starting until 10am.

Crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey. Thank goodness the Pennsylvania rocks are done.

The trail was immediately nicer. Near the end of the day I stopped at the AMC Mohegan Center and got something pepper steak sub, and an ice cream sandwich. I decided to go a little bit further and camp out at a tent site. I was the only one there and I slept fantastically.

Nice view and fantastic sleep.

Food hang with the Ursack.

Day 25

Nice day. Made good time.

Excellent sunset today near Mohican Center.

Day 26

Pushed hard to get 18 miles which I finished by 4:30. Picked up by Mosey. Showered and washed clothes and then went out to eat.

Beavers be afoot.

Day 27

This was the most enjoyable day so far! It was a delightful mix of mountains, pastures, and Forest. Got very hot at the end of the day, but luckily a local resident provided Trail Magic. At the very end there was a long climb up to the shelter.

High Point, NJ! (Elevation 1804ft)

Some afternoon trail magic at Forgotten Plum Farm. (Thank you to Birdfeeder & Dusty Curtains!)

Day 28

Storms were scheduled to start up around 3:00 in the afternoon so we pushed hard to get to the shelter by then. But at the same time, we took time to enjoy the day.

The trail went over the boardwalks at full shock.

Some sources say the Pochuck boardwalk is 1.5 miles long…

…others say it’s 2 miles long.

Either way, it’s a boardwalk and it’s long.

At the end, we stopped at a farm stand where I got a sandwich, a apple cider slushie, and a pint of black raspberry ice cream with chips.

Black raspberry ice cream…it’s all about health.

Then we headed up a steep Mountain on The Stairway to Heaven. Then it was a race to finish before the storm started. Less than 5 minutes after we got there, it poured. We had severe thunderstorms during the night.

Meanwhile, my left shoe wore out. So I had to find a way to get another pair of shoes. So I booked for the next night at the Lost and Found Hostel.

Day 29

The weather had cleared up but left a lot of flooding on the trail. I ended up soaking my shoes several times.

I crossed from New Jersey into New York halfway through the day. Amazingly, the terrain changed about the same time. There was now lots of Flat Rock and rock climbs. But still we got to the pick up point by 2:00 p.m.

New York!

Typical New York “trail” so far…

Typical Marty.

While everyone else did a resupply, I bought new shoes. There’s so much better and my foot won’t hurt anymore. I showered, did laundry, and went to eat at Murphy’s which was very reasonable and very good.

Old things are passed away…

…and behold, the old shall become new.

It’s hard to believe I’ve been out for almost a month!

Maine or Happiness…can I choose both?