New Jersey (June 30-July 4)
June 30.
This morning I crossed the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge over the Delaware River, which was also a crossing from Pennsylvania into New Jersey on the Appalachian Trail. That was a good feeling- I enjoyed the NJ part of the AT, the last time I was here.
The Delaware Water Gap area tends to get crowded with day hikers, and it was good to pass through in the early morning, before the crowds arrived.
The hike up to Sunrise Pond was gradual and pretty. A startled bear cub ran up a mountainside. I added it to my tally of bear sightings so far: number five. New Jersey is known as the area along the AT where bear sightings are common, only rivaled by Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
The day was humid and the gnats were irritating again. I hiked over the rocks along Sunrise Pond, always a peaceful place, even when other irritants are present.
Mom and Dad had driven up from PA to camp at a nearby campground and visit. Our plan, forged a couple of days ago, was to meet at Culver’s Gap today, though I had texted back yesterday to modify it to Millville Road, so that I could hike 14 miles today instead of 25.
Mom’s unexpected lack of phone service made it difficult to communicate. I paused at Millville Road and laughed a bit as I texted that I hadn’t anticipated that she wouldn’t have phone service when we were planning, then called the campground they had planned to stay at. Apparently they had arrived- good sign.
I decided to keep going towards our original rendezvous point. Things would probably work out…and they did. Mom later called me from a restaurant and told me about the phone issue, and that Dad was currently sitting in a chair at Culver’s Gap waiting for me. We shored up the plan to meet at the end of the day at Culver’s Gap.
In the afternoon, I hiked through a thunderstorm that approached with warning, thunder booming overhead like bowling balls rolling down a creaky alley. Soon, rain thundered down, creating a creek where I walked. It was dramatic and short-lived, passing by within half an hour. It was enjoyable, because I walked sheltered among trees, in an unexposed area.
A grandfather, father and two young boys hiked towards me on the trail. The boys had on small ponchos, and one said, “That was quite a rain”, when I laughed and asked, “How are you doing?” It was said in such an adult tone, it made me laugh. They were adorable, faces bright after walking through a storm.
I hiked over many pretty New Jersey views- rocky outcroppings surrounded by yellowed grasses, Catfish Fire Tower, the Delaware River below.
Towards the end of the day, I descended a ridge to Culvers Gap and walked into the parking area where Mom and Dad were waiting. It was nice to see them there. We all laughed. Dad pulled out a chair and I sat and chatted and ate a sub they’d brought me. We drove to their campsite and visited throughout the evening.
July 1.
Today was a relaxing day. Mom and Dad helped me complete a few town chores, then they dropped me at a trailhead so I could hike 9 miles with just my fanny pack.
It was very freeing to hike without a large backpack, gliding over rolling mountains mostly up on a ridgeline. It was nice to take it easy for a day.
I reached Culver Fire Tower and climbed it. I could see High Point Monument ahead. Pretty view.
It was a nice short day of hiking and visiting more with Mom and Dad.
July 2.
After a morning at the campsite, Mom and Dad dropped me back on the trail. It had been a really good couple of days of visiting together. We took a picture together, then I headed back into the forest to resume the hike.
The forest was particularly sunny, as if I were hiking in early spring, before leaf cover developed. I looked more closely and observed that a lot of the leaf cover had been depleted or tattered from spongy moths. The moths seemed to be in the height of their egg laying, with many white females attached to tree trunks or rocks, their bodies covering egg masses, and the tan males fluttering around wildly, filled with a manic energy. I’d continue to notice the thinned leaf cover throughout the state of New Jersey and part way into the state of New York.
I hiked up to the High Point State Park Monument, a tribute to veterans which offered beautiful 360 degree views and signs labeling the surrounding mountain peaks. It was neat to look both ahead and behind, to what was to come and what I had passed already on the AT. I was also surprised to see stunted alpine growth around the monument- apparently the summit endures harsh weather, even though the high point is quite low, compared to some states’ high point elevations.
July 3.
This morning I walked by a pretty swamp, crossed over several wooded hills, then stepped out into a scenic meadow opening. Another hiker was sitting on a bench on the meadow’s edge, and we remarked about how New Jersey has a little bit of everything, from swamp to pond to meadow to forest.
I hiked on, along a road and then turning off at a trail angel’s house who had sodas and water on offer to passing hikers. The trail angel had everything in its place, from a phone charging area and hiker sitting area to a trash can for hiker garbage. I drank a soda, charged my phone, and chatted with the kind resident who lived there.
A hiker walked by as I was setting off again. We hiked together around the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, once a sod farm, now lush with life in a wetland habitat. We noticed many birds among the reeds and a box turtle crossing the trail as we passed by.
It was a day of notable features. The AT followed a boardwalk extending over more wetland, as I approached Wawayanda Mountain. The insects and birds were loud and active there. I felt lucky indeed that the bugs weren’t swarming towards me and biting. It was the perfect day to be hiking through there.
I hiked up the Stairway to Heaven, a long ascent of boulder hopping up Wawayanda Mountain. I passed a hiker and noticed a dark shape in the woods: a juvenile black bear. The bear watched me for a moment, then nervously huffed and charged away from me, paused, and started walking towards me. I felt very nervous. The bears in New Jersey tend to be tamed towards humans, and I was hoping this one hadn’t learned to link humans and backpacks to food. I slowly backed away and hiked on, looking behind myself frequently. The bear did not follow.
I caught up to a day hiker who said he was waiting for a thru hiker to come along so that he could hike with someone, after having had a bear encounter of his own. A bear had charged towards him, then veered away. We hiked together for a mile before he hiked down towards his car and I hiked in to a shelter area. The shelter had a bear box in place, for food storage. I was happy to store all food well away from my tent site that night.
I camped near other hikers that night, and fortunately, there were no further bear encounters for me there.
July 4.
It was buggy this morning around my tent and on the trail, with mosquitoes often diving in to offer quick bites to the neck and face. I hiked out to a road and sat on a rock to eat breakfast, a rest stop unpleasant for the traffic noise but more enjoyable than being chewed up in the woods. 3 out of 5 stars. Sometimes you work with what you have.
The trail wound up and down small hills within the mountains, often with large rocky outcroppings atop the hills which offered views towards NYC to the east. I soon passed by the NY NJ border, and an American flag stuck in a rock nearby, where you can look out and see the big city. I saw hazy skyscrapers hovering over a landscape of pretty forested mountains and Greenwood Lake. It was surreal to stand in comparative wilderness, mosquitoes whining and sweat dripping, and think that the huge city existed nearby.
I caught up to a hiker who was the very first hiker to set off on the AT this year, beginning his hike January 1st, 2024. He winked when I caught up to him chatting with a couple of day hikers, who asked us some of the oft-asked questions about footwear, bears, and when and where we had started hiking. His had been a very solo and frigid trip for the first months, which I was to hear more about later that day. I wasn’t to hear a satisfying answer as to why he had chosen to start so early. The popularity of this trail continues to draw hikers out at all times of year, sometimes in the unpopular, uncomfortable months merely for the notoriety of it, I believe.
My time in New Jersey had been brief but pleasant, with diverse habitats, mild elevation changes, and family time. I continued to enjoy the adventure of hiking on the AT.
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