Though it seems I only reached Connecticut, the state of Connecticut is a short one, and already we hike through Massachusetts. MA is also short, and soon there will be only three states to go. It is hard to believe that the trail draws to an end, and emotion are already running high.

MA is beautiful though, and we have heard from the ever-more-frequent southbound hikers that the land only becomes more beautiful further north.

I also have been making modifications to my gear and setup, which I will try to update. For the most part, I am aiming for a lightweight pack and a minimalist approach. We are looking forward to the coming trails.

Going for a total of twenty-five
With ten more miles to go
And bugs’ attempts to eat me alive
And dusk, it’s creeping in slow
But when I stop to think it through
I think it will be thirty
I’ll catch some hours of sleep (a few)
For I’ll be tired and dirty
And once I get to Salisbury
And certainly by Maine
I shall be rewarded, very
(Or else I’ll be insane)

I’m almost through New York and into Connecticut. How crazy to think that I have come so far with still a few states left to go.

My quest is no less exciting than when I began. The mountains are filled with strange mysteries and even stranger people.

We spent the greater portion of yesterday hanging out by and swimming across a beautiful lake. It reminded me of summer in Michigan, swimming and not doing much else all day.

Sustenance!

There have been delis right along the trail with good food and mostly friendly people. Currently, we are at a garden center! It’s a very pleasant place, and we are waiting out some storm clouds and enjoying the early afternoon.

You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself.

I took a zero yesterday, the first in a while. We were hanging out at a campground right off of the trail, with an interesting man whose hobby is to camp here and make egg sandwiches for thruhikers.

It was a pretty enjoyable day, but getting to sleep was actually quite challenging. My body had way too much energy after lounging all day. Now, we are planning to crank it up and get to Connecticut in two days and probably push through it in another two. Time to pack up and move.

Well, I might have to take what I said back. New York has been very rocky and the terrain very strenuous. For three days, it became very hot and humid – so much that it slowed our hiking plan and delayed our arrival to town.

It could be that I am just from Michigan, but the heat seems to really get to me while I hike. I have been dripping with sweat, and the water sources have been scarce. Fortunately, trail angels are kind in this area and often leave caches of water at road crossings.

But the terrain was also pretty ridiculous.

It didn’t help that my phone died, lowering morale, and that we had only brought food for three days. When we camped that night, we were tired from the day’s climbs, and had only a few handfuls of food remaining. In the morning, we hiked quickly to Bear Mountain, and bought Pringles out of a vending machine.

There was no real risk of starving, but our morale was pretty low, and it did remind us to have a bit of extra food for comfort.

That morning was pretty strange, as the trail goes directly through a zoo! We did get to talk to some people at the zoo and encourage them to hike the trail. Then, we headed into town. We were planning on heading to a bagel shop, when a local invited us over for chili! He was very kind and really enjoyed talking about the trail.

After that, we hiked on to a market right on the trail and stocked up on food, with some help from food packages from some friends! That was wonderful!

The weather has cooled down a bit, and the trail itself has too, making for a much more enjoyable hike. I’m glad things have settled down again, and I hope the weather stays cool.

I have been missing my friends and family back home. Not much longer until I go back home. Well, it’s still a little while, but for me, it seems soon.

Arriving in town later, I got some groceries and headed to the only other open establishment in town: the tavern. It was a blast. We hung out for hours, shooting pool and playing songs on the jukebox.

The hiking has been really pleasant. Switching back and forth through New Jersey and New York, the land stays relatively flat. Also, the “polar vortex” has made for some great hiking temperatures. The nights have actually been fairly chilly, and the days cool enough to enjoy a long stroll.

I am frequently reminded, by the many day hikers and others, what an awesome adventure I am living. It feels great to be alive. I’m looking forward to hiking a long day in the mountains tomorrow, however dirty I may be.

After playing a final game of Monopoly in the morning, we hiked out ini the world.

Almost right away, we crossed out of Pennsylvania and into New Jersey. A new state! A lot of the upcoming states are shorter routes than previous states. It’s going to be a few short states before we are in Maine! I better not get too far ahead of myself. I still have 850 miles or so to go.

The trail has crossed in and out of New York and New Jersey. The small towns near the trail don’t have much, but we hikers don’t need much. Friendly people and a bite to eat is pretty much all. We usually get both.

I’ve been hiking a good amount the past couple of days. It has been a bit easier since I sent some gear home. At the same time, I am making sure to enjoy the sights and experiences around me. Last night, I camped at a tower with a great view. The advantage of staying there was that I was able to watch both the sunset and sunrise! It was wonderful.

For now, I am off to get some groceries and enjoy the beautifully moderate weather.

I got some good questions that I wanted to answer. Often, I take for granted the knowledge of the trail and assume y’all know what I’m talking about.

The town I am in now is called Delaware Water Gap. Generally, when the Appalachian Trail comes down out of the mountains for a bit before going back up into them, it’s called a gap. This gap is a little confusing for two reasons:
1) It’s not in Delaware. This gap is where the Delaware river crosses the Appalachian Trail, naming it Delaware Water.
2) There are two of them. Yes, this becomes extremely confusing when trying to navigate and meet people, but there is the town called Delaware Water Gap, where I am now, and then the actual gap where we cross the Delaware River, in about ten miles. It can be crazy, especially with common names like “Low Gap,” where there must have been ten in one state.

My current location is in Pennsylvania, but I have almost reached New Jersey, another state! I have hiked 1290 miles as of now, with about 900 left on the trail.

I wore through my first pair of shoes and am on my second pair. I am hoping to get this pair to Maine, but I don’t know how realistic that is. They wear down, even when designed for trail use.

When we passed the Appalachian Trail Museum, they had a pair of shoes that one of the original hikers, Grandma Gatewood, had used. Converse!

As noted, the trail was fairly strenuous. It increased to a laughable amount, where the rocks were more apparent than the trail. At this point, everyone was hiking below one mile per hour, especially with everything rainy and wet.

My phone died at one point, which meant no music and no blogging until I reached the next town, Delaware Water Gap.

We hiked a solid day and set up camp in a shelter. Soon after came our long-lost hiker friends Willy Wonka and Boucher! They were hikers from a large group that we used to hike with. They were followed by a summer camp group of children and counselors. They were a lot of fun, and we had a great time hanging out in the shelter.

Despite the rain, we stayed mostly dry when we hiked out, and we avoided any injuries on slippery rocks.

We made it into Delaware Water Gap today, and after the usual town errands and some pie, we found Monopoly at the hostel. We got a pizza, soda, and had a family game night between all of us. It feels great to reunite with relatively “old” friends and share a night of fun.

Today was one of my final days in Pennsylvania, and the hiking was certainly memorable.

We started our day in the Jailhouse Hostel, not an actual jailhouse but a basement reserved for hikers to use. The town was Palmerton, quite a hiker friendly one. We went to. Bert’s diner, and I ordered a banana split for breakfast.

Afterwards, I was still hungry, so I got some eggs too. We walked around town a bit. They had some strange things, like fishing bait vending machines.

When we started hiking, things got exciting.

The whole day was fairly rocky, but that first mile of climbing was the real climbing. It was surprisingly intense – the first time that I felt a risk of death on the trail! It has been an exciting day, and now my body is ready for rest.