Entering Deepest New Jersey

With apologies to the Roche sisters for the title of this post. I finally left Pennsylvania behind and entered my fourth state New Jersey. The state gets a bad rap from many but the northern part is beautiful with mountain ridges, forest, streams, lakes, and waterfalls. And New Jersey is the state where a thru hiker is most likely to see a bear.

Northern Pennsylvania

This section of the AT certainly lived up to its reputation as Rocksylvania. Seemingly endless stretches of medium sized rocks to large boulders at random angles that I tried successfully to navigate without twisting an ankle or something worse. What surprised me were three sections that required scrambling, Bake Oven Knob, an unnamed peak, and the north side of Lehigh Gap, the most challenging. So far, New Jersey has been only slightly better, and we know that big boulders await in places like the White Mountains.

A Trekking Pole Ordeal

I have not heard of other hikers struggling with their trekking poles, so perhaps I’m just clumsy. First, I got one of my poles stuck between two rocks and I surged forward, bending the pole. That night in the shelter, my fellow hikers encouraged me to try to bend it back. Snap. Luckily the shelter caretaker had an extra pole a hiker had accidentally left behind, and he let me keep it. Sadly, I proceeded to bend that pole the next day, but not badly. Later, as I was crossing the Delaware River, I leaned the poles against the bridge railing (I 80). As I took the same entering NJ picture shown above, a large truck came across the bridge, shaking the leaning poles. I watched in dismay as my recently acquired pole fell through a slat in the railing and plunged into the river below. It’s now on its way to Philadelphia. The problem is that my tent requires two poles to erect. Needless to say that new trekking poles are at the top of my list to purchase when I have an upcoming zero day at home.

Nature Update

As I hike the trail, I try to stay observant, though my eyes can’t stray far from the rocks ahead. I often see squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits, animals you see in any neighborhood. I did see a porcupine at Wolf Rocks. He waddled away from me as best he could and then looked up at me with fearful face as I passed. I truly felt sympathy for him, something about that face. I see an interesting mix of wildlife frequently along the trail, bumblebees, millipedes, toads, and red efts. I particularly enjoy the red efts with their orange glow. No more rattlesnake sightings since the one I reported earlier. I finally downloaded the Merlin app so that I can distinguish the song of a Carolina Wren from a Cardinal. Birdsong is truly the music of the AT, and I’m enjoying it every day.

Tomorrow, I will pass the 300 mile mark of my hike. Within a few days, I should enter New York, my 5th AT state. And soon, I will be accompanied for 8 days by Luna, so expect a doggie picture or two in my next post.