It felt just like old times. Talking about boys, life, and singing our favorite songs (which is an eclectic mix of country, folk, rock, and Disney). My husband was so gracious in agreeing to drive with us so we could park my sisters car at the ending trailhead and then shuttling us to the northern trailhead: Crater Lake. As I kissed him goodbye, I knew seeing him the next day would be cause for celebrating a well-accomplished adventure.
As he drove his mom's Subaru down the dusty road away from us, there was a fleeting feeling of fear. Not for being alone, but that our only way home was to walk the twenty miles back to the car. The entire journey was now determined on our ability to traverse the New Jersey terrain back to Pennsylvania. I guess I should preface my sister's frustrations of the initial few miles. I had chosen this section because the terrain was pretty level. "It's a ridge walk," I had said. "Get high, stay high." Well, part of that was true. But as we trudged up the first of many grueling uphills, I couldn't help but feel a little guilty. I should have known better; I knew the Appalachian Trail is just a continuous string of PUDs (pointless ups and downs), but I guess I was feeling optimistic.
But as we crested our first ridge and looked out to the rolling hills of New Jersey on our left and the green peaks of Pennsylvania to our right, we knew this was going to be a trip for the books. And was it ever! Even for mid-September everything was still green and gorgeous. The infamous "green tunnel" was very prevalent and we spent miles walking under the shaded trees along the well-worn footpath. The white blazes never led us astray and as we came into camp on that first day, we were exhausted and all smiles.
Unfortunately the price to camp at the AMC Mohican Outdoor Center is a little high, so we continued on, passing the 1300 mile point of the AT, drawn colorfully onto a wooden bridge in what looked like marker. On our descent into the Mohican Center we passed several flat exposed ridge areas, perfect for camping. So logic would assume that the trail leading up and out of the valley on the other side of the center would provide us with similar accommodations. We were so wrong. Every clearing we passed was either on the hillside or covered with sharp rocks. The sun was starting to set and we needed to find something or the night was going to be very uncomfortable.
Finally a little side trail opened up to reveal a secluded little area, thick with picker bushes that would have to do. After setting up the tent and making dinner, we proceeded to amuse ourselves with the task of hanging up the bear bag. Jersey is known for its black bear population and we weren't going to take any risks. But there weren't a lot of options. Thinking back on it, we probably should have video taped it and sent it in to America's Funniest Home Videos. We were sure getting a good laugh from it!
We both slept well. Or at least I hope we did. I think I gave my sister my puffy as a pillow sometime in the evening because it had gotten cold (she was using her liner as a pillow). But the next morning we were up and moving pretty quickly. The air was damp and chilly and we decided to wait to eat until we could find a sunny ridge in which to stop on. Little did we know that ridge would be just up the trail (the perfect camping spot we just missed out on).
We quickly realized that day two was going to be ten times more beautiful than day one. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the morning fog was hanging low in the valleys, and the day wasn't too hot. The trek up Raccoon Ridge would give us the most stunning vista, but not before giving us our first fright. Not a bear. A Southbounder (a thru-hiker of the AT going from north to south). I had stopped to remove a very large branch from the trail and all the sudden, there he was, causing both of us to jump in surprise. And then he was gone, charging up the trail. Just goes to show the stamina one acquires on a thru-hike. Entering New Jersey and never even pausing on a long uphill. Someday...
But anyway, like I was saying, the view from Raccoon Ridge was extraordinary. And we weren't the only ones sharing the view. There was a team from Hawk Watch observing the migrations. And another Southbounder! With a little break and ton of pictures, we headed down the other side. For the next eight miles, it would be mostly down, which was actually worse than the ups. The main reason? You may know that Pennsylvania has a AT nickname: "Rocksylvania." Lots of boulder fields, trails filled with large rocks, small rocks, rocks that destroy your shoes, rocks you have to hop, rocks you want to kick (those ones make you fall)... And apparently New Jersey never got the memo that the rocks stopped in Pennsylvania. I've hiked portions of Rocksylvania and this section of Jersey might be worse. And yes, I tripped. And yes, I fell. And yes, it hurt. But it wasn't my fault! The forests are just that amazing, you can't take your eyes off the green that's surrounding you!
Probably the highlight of the trip, was our lunch break at Sunfish Pond. As a National Natural Landmark, it was sure to be beautiful. But it was so much more. The bright late summer sun was shimmering across the water like a million little bugs and the grassy field was so inviting, that we sat in the grass and ate lunch and just wasted time. At 3.5 miles from the trailhead, it's an easy enough day hike, if it weren't for the 3.5 miles of uphills of the way there... This is the section of the trail where we saw the most people. We only ran into four previously, but now it was every turn. We even gave some corrective advice to some people who clearly didn't know what they were getting themselves into. It gave us a good laugh and also a feeling of accomplishment, since we had hiked 16 miles to see that lake, rather than the measly 3 from the parking lot.
In the end, we made it safely. My feet have never been that happy to be dunked into a freezing cold stream and my tummy never so happy to be filled with instant mashed potatoes. And even though we cursed the last three miles of straight downhill and we limped all the way to the car, we were smiling the whole way there! We were sore and our pains had pains, but it was incredible nonetheless. And I wouldn't have traded the time with my sister for anything.
