A bit of heaven

May 12, 2014 / jim fetig / 6 Comments

Jim Murray property, N.J., AT NOBO mile 1,339.4, Sunday May 11, 2014 — Heaven. In New Jersey? You bet.

A former thru hiker has a farm with two friendly mules and a couple of tiny cabins, one of which he has set aside for hikers. There’s a well, outdoor shower and a privy. Zowee! When we saw the set up, we dropped anchor.

Maglev was here for a short time, but his hike ends Tuesday, so he motored on. Bus, Swayed and I moseyed a mile plus I to the nearby town of Unionville, N.Y. for dinner, then trucked back to Murray’s bunkhouse.

As we hike along the NY/NJ border, the trail is changing to rocky tops and soggy bottoms as the two young hikers from Rheinlander, WI foretold. We also passed the NJ veterans memorial. Tomorrow night we’re in a church hostel in Vernon, NY tho we won’t have officially crossed the border.

Meanwhile we’re thanking Mr. Murray and loving every minute of our stay.

Another day, another rock

May 10, 2014May 11, 2014 / jim fetig / 2 Comments

Rutherford Shelter, N.J., AT NOBO mile 1329.7, Saturday May 10, 2014 — Today was all about nature, human and otherwise.

First, last night Swayed, Bus, Maglev (the nurse) and I were at a shelter with two young women from Rheinlander, Wisconsin. They were. It only a total delight, but a hoot as well. It’s been a long time since I’ve met anyone that genuine.

The girls are on a six week southbound section hike for all the right reasons. Adventure and discovery will punctuate their personal growth. May the wind be at your back ladies.

Today’s hike was rocky enough that we thought we’d taken a detour back into Pennsylvania. The rocks will thin out permanently within the next 100 miles or so. Not going to fret about them.

We discovered where a bear had been making its own blazes. I only wish humans could to that well. We spent two hours this morning chasing the trail due to some poor and unconventional marking techniques.

Later we encountered some tourists near a parking lot. “No, I didn’t see any bears today!” I need a sign to put around my neck to answer that ubiquitous interrogative.

A funny black snake which had a payday crossed the trail. He was pretty slow, being fat in the middle. Once his head was hidden, he stopped trying to get away thinking we could no longer see him.

Also watched some red tailed hawks trying to make their living.

Beaver Dam Rules

May 9, 2014September 2, 2019 / jim fetig / 7 Comments

Brink Road Shelter, N.J., AT NOBO mile 1,314.4 Friday May 9, 2014 — Once upon a time a hard working beaver built a dam and all was good.

It was a strong dam with a very large pond away from people. Each day the beaver greeted the other animals when they came to drink. They were happy that the beaver chose their neighborhood to make his living. Everyone was happy.

Then one day the beaver heard strange noises. Heavy construction equipment was making a lot of noise. He learned from a passing deer that men were building a power line on the next ridge over.

That same day people with picks, McClouds, Pulaskis and white paint began carving a hiking trail on the beaver’s dam and around the edge of the pond.

The Appalachian Trail was being rerouted around the power line construction. This was sad news for the beaver and the other animals in the forest. People, especially smelly hikers would be everywhere. The peace and quiet would be gone forever.

With winter coming on the beaver knew he needed to raise his pond’s water level to make sure he would have room under the ice. So he set out to reinforce his dam and the water rose to the appropriate level.

Sadly, the trail crews didn’t like it when the water level rose and covered the trail they had worked so hard to build. The crews installed a drain to lower the water level. The beaver plugged it and the trail crews unplugged it, and so it went.

In time the beaver decided to draw the line. Be permanently plugged the drain, then he cut down the trees with white blazes, then be blocked the trail itself. That’ll show ’em, he thought … and it did. The trail crews moved the trail up slope and decided to leave the beaver alone.

When the hikers saw what the beaver had done, they cheered. They like it when nature wins.

We stopped short today so Bus could stay with us. Life is good and the beaver story is true.

New Jersey tries harder

May 8, 2014 / jim fetig / 8 Comments

Mohican Outdoor Center, N.J., AT NOBO mile 1,300.4, Thursday May 8, 2014 — Early this morning I passed a sign that said Sunfish Pond was one of the seven natural wonders of New Jersey. I know Cape May could be another of them, but for the life of me I can’t think of any candidates for the other five.

Actually, it’s New Jersey’s unnatural wonders I worry more about – the Meadowlands superfund sites, the urban blight of Elizabeth and Newark, organized crime and state politics as if you could tell the difference. Then there’s Snookie…

New Jersey has more bears per square mile than anywhere else on the trail. We saw three huge piles of bear scat today, but no other indications. We even saw a sizable stash of uneaten acorns. Bet we’ll see a bear before we’re ought of here.

To be fair, most of the day was rainy and foggy. Very little of Sunfish Pond was visible, so maybe I’m missing something. If not, old New Jersey is trying awfully hard to make something out of not much. That was confirmed when we tripped upon the state’s cache of spare hiking rocks. Nice try NJ, but you’re no Pennsylvania.

We’re at the Mohican Center, a former Scout camp operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club. The AMC is derisively know in some circles as the “Appalachian Money Club” for charging excessive fees for the use of its facilities, especially the huts in the New Hampshire mountains.

Tomorrow’s hike is 21 flat, and (we hope), moderately rocky miles to the next shelter. Here tonight is Swayed, Bus, and a male nurse section hiker from North Carolina. He makes the eighth male nurse I’ve met on the trail.

This is probably the last night we’ll see Bus. He’s much slower and can’t consistently do the mileage Swayed and I routinely turn in. He’s a great guy who will be missed.

3.14159 reasons to love Delaware Water Gap

May 8, 2014 / jim fetig / 4 Comments

Delaware Water Gap, Penn., AT NOBO mile 1,289.6, Wednesday May 7, 2014 — If I had been a character on Sesame Street, I would have been the Pie Moocher.

I love pie – pot pie, apple pie, cherry pie, punkin pie – any kind of pie, even the number pi. You can fill my pie hole morning, noon and night.

Well, this threadbare burg has its very own pie bakery. Talk about a hiker vortex. You can walk in, but you can’t walk out.

No sooner did I saunter in than a piece of apple pie a la mode jumped right out and landed right on my table. It was so yummy.

Not to be outdone, the second course consisted of a savory shepherd’s pie. Scrumpilicious!

For desert I tried waddling over to the strudel table but fortunately I couldn’t make it all the way. The button on my waist band was about to pop.

Did I forget to mention the homemade giant size cookies or the cupcakes? Oh mercy!!!

They open at 8 o’clock. A special breakfast awaits, I can tell.

The rest of the week will be much warmer and rainy. My quick trip home and back paralleled the AT. Spring is about a hundred miles south of us at the moment, and should catch up momentarily.

Of course the cats were delighted to see me. 🙂

The dry state

May 6, 2014 / jim fetig / Leave a comment

Pennsylvania — Perhaps more than its rocks, Pennsylvania is famous for thirsty hikers, especially as summer deepens. Its springs simply dry up.

The past several days presented the opposite problem. Following last week’s rain storms there was more water than the ground could handle. The liquid simply sweat right out of the ground like an endless artesian well.

The trail turned into a series of rivers everywhere we hiked for nearly four days. Since then we’ve seen more mud than water.

Words cannot describe this phenomenon well. Perhaps this short video might help.

Is that all you got Pennsylvania?

May 6, 2014 / jim fetig / 1 Comment

Delaware Water Gap, Penn. AT NOBO mile 1,289.6, Monday May 5, 2014 — Big milestones today. I’m three tenths of a mile from crossing the New Jersey border and early this morning the odometer clicked less than 900 miles remaining before Mt. Katahdin. Amen!

As for Pennsylvania, it’s one of my favorite states.

At dinner we debated what percentage of the AT within the state is actually “rocky.” The consensus opinion is around 30 percent, meaning that the rest of the state is smoother than a baby’s bottom.

My friend Karma was correct yet again. Some of the rocky sections were rough, but they didn’t last long. They sure did some damage to our boots though.

So, Pennsylvania, is that all you got? If that’s it, you ain’t got nothin’!

Virginia was worse for both rocks and tedium. Maryland wins on total percentage of rocks and gratuitous boulder fields with rock pile traverses.

I love you Pennsylvania and I’m coming back to prove it.

The woods are beginning to transition into spring. The undergrowth is greening up. Soon we’ll be in the green tunnel. I’m posting two photos to show the contrast.

Tomorrow Enterprise car rental is picking me up so I can drive home to swap gear.

Nobody is yet switching into strictly summer equipment, so I’ll set it all up to be mailed as needed. I’ll sent my colder weather stuff forward to my cousin in Hanover, NH. There I’ll snag it as we enter the big boy mountains of NH and Maine.

Superfund Site

May 5, 2014 / jim fetig / 3 Comments

Leroy A. Smith Shelter, Penn., AT NOBO mile 1,269.4, Sunday May 4, 2014 — Zinc smelter in Palmerton operated from 1898 – 1980. The resulting pollution killed the vegetation on the ridge above town and contaminated the water.

Palmerton is a very hiker-friendly town but notable for having an inordinate number of lawyers, numerous medical facilities of various types and two funeral homes on main street alone. I know the rules about correlation and causation, but I’m just sayin’.

During our short visit we heard talk about cancer clusters. Sadly we saw evidence of obviously neurologically damaged people in town.

BUS (Big Ugly and Slow) is a mining engineer with a degree from the Colorado School of Mines. His observations were fascinating. He noted that the plant is operating albeit with new air scrubbers.

The climb up the Lehigh Gap was the biggest one in a long time, but pro forma after more than 1,200 miles.

I’ll let the pics tell the story.

Blood Sacrifice

May 3, 2014 / jim fetig / 6 Comments

Bake Oven Knob Shelter, Penn., AT NOBO mile 1,245.9, Friday May 2, 2014 — One trail aphorism is that “the trail provides.” The corollary is that the trail also demands.

Me, I’ve been tempting rock fate, raiding lost shelters and walking on the knife edge (more on the last one later). Sooner or later I knew I’d have to pay. Today the bill came due.

Let’s set the stage. Eckville Shelter was a great place. There were four of us including a new personality trail named BUS – Big, Ugly and Slow. He’s a nice guy with whom I have a lot in common.

Following a convivial evening we rose this morning knowing we were facing some of Pennsylvania’s most challenging rocks including a feature known as the Knife Edge and the Bake Oven Knob. There also were plenty of “rock puddles” decorating the more common and otherwise brilliantly smooth stretches of super smooth pathway.

Early on we encountered a mean boulder field. While dancing through it I missed a step and slipped backward suffering a little rock burn on my elbow. It looks far worse than it is. I treated it with anticeptics and left it exposed to the air.

Sadly, the trail of trash continues. In PA the shelters tend to be close to roads which is the best explanation I can conjure .

All-in-all, a good day. The trail passes right by the Blue Mountain Summit restaurant. The portobello mushroom burger with Swiss cheese was yummy. So was the Coke.

So fortified, I managed to waddle over the Knife Edge and Bake Oven Knob without tossing my cookies — but barely.

Tonight’s accommodation is pretty rustic, even for the AT. We’ll correct that tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Palmerton where the city lets hikers stay and shower free in the “jail house hostel” located in the basement of city hall.

Mother Lode

May 1, 2014May 1, 2014 / jim fetig / 4 Comments

Eckville Shelter, Penn., AT NOBO mile 1228.5, Thursday May 1, 2014 — I found it!

I found the Pennsylvania rock stash, the Fort Knox of the Keystone State, the horde of hordes, and the Salomon’s mine of all things hard!!!

I was picking my way through a poorly marked boulder field, worried about whether I was on course or not and there it was. It was like I’d found an Aztec pyramid in a small clearing. It was almost hidden in plain sight.

With such a find, Indy would have been proud. But now we know where the Pennsylvania trail crews stash their rocks for future use.

Rocks don’t wear out very often, but when they do what’s a trail crew gonna do? Replace ’em of course. Then there’s new trail that must maintain Pennsylvania’s repetitional standards. That adds up to a lot of rocks.

Other than the big find, the day was pleasantly warm and humid. The deluge of recent rain was sweating itself out of the very ground itself turning the trail and Forest Service roads into rivers of runoff.

The walking was sloppy but swift.

I lunched at a local astronomy club’s observatory. It has, count them, five telescopes! No idea what kind they are or their focal length, but there are no towns or cities nearby, so the light pollution must be tolerable.

All-in-all a very good day and the third night on the trail in a shelter with a door! Bake Oven Knob Shelter tomorrow.