AT Days 155-166

155On Sunday, July 28, we prepared to hike out of Port Clinton, PA. We stayed the night before at the Port Clinton Hotel, a cozy old hotel with no frills, down to the common bathroom down the hall. We breakfasted in our rooms, mostly on protein bars and such, and went downstairs to check out and start our hike. While we were on the front porch getting ready to hike out, a van pulled up and the driver rolled down his window. He informed that the 3 C’s restaurant was open for breakfast about a mile down the street. Even though our morning meal was less than ideal, we weren’t sure whether we wanted to walk down to the diner. Sensing our dilemma, he offered to drive us down. Three of us climbed into the back of his cargo van, complete with a cage separating us from Bullfrog in the front. Along the way, we found out that the driver was the owner of the restaurant and Bullfrog was able to get him to commit to bringing us back to the trail when we finished. Needless to say, we had one of the best breakfasts we have had while on the trail.

After eating, the restaurateur returned us to the trail, packs and all, and we set out for the day. Our goal was the Eckville shelter, about 14 miles distant. We had a bit of climbing and descending, which was quite a challenge since we were not used to carrying our packs. I suppose it would be redundant to say that there were plenty of rocks as well. By early afternoon, the trail had taken its toll on us. Fortunately, we had an out. At mile 9.1 there was a 1.3 mile trail down to the Blue Rocks Family Campground. It was a tough climb down over lots of rocks, and much of it seemed to be in a ditch, but before too long we arrived at the campground.

We hiked an additional half mile or more down to the office to register. They gave us a hiker rate of $9 per person and we chose a campsite that would be close to the trail back to the AT the next morning. It must have been nearly a mile from the camp office to our campsite, and it wasn’t marked well, so it took us at least an hour to get settled in a spot. It turns out that we set up in a campsite beside the one we had been assigned because it was so poorly marked that we never found “our” campsite. It didn’t matter because those tent sites were so remote, there was no danger of someone else coming to claim the site we were in. We had a good laugh at several things about the campground. First, there was a huge boulder field in the middle of it. Truthfully, we expected it to be the kind of terrain we’d be traveling through before we left the state, but thankfully, we never had to traverse anything quite like it. We were about 0.3 miles from the nearest privy and at least 0.5 from a water source. I joked that had this been a campsite listed on the trail, we wouldn’t have stayed in it, yet we paid a total of $36 to stay there. Gratefully, we slept well anyway.

On Monday, we set out to rejoin the trail. We didn’t know it, but the yellow-blazed trail from the campground back to the AT was probably the steepest and rockiest trail that we have traveled. There were multiple places where we had to toss our trekking poles ahead so that we could use our hands to climb the steep rocks. Eventually we made it to the top of the trail and were back on the AT. We rested briefly and then realized that we were only a few tenths of a mile from The Pinnacle, a rocky outcropping with incredible views. We moved on down the trail toward that destination with the plan of stopping and resting more fully after the rigorous climb. The Pinnacle was everything the guidebook said it would be. We had gorgeous views of the valley floor below. There were also some day hikers there whom we chatted with a bit. They were impressed when they realized that we had started our trip in Georgia. We answered all their questions and then headed on down the trail.

Thankfully, the trail for the rest of the day trended downhill. When we reached the Eckville Shelter, we decided to call it a day, even though we had gone only 5.7 miles. Eckville was an unusual shelter for the AT. It was actually an outbuilding or garage behind a farmhouse that had front and back doors. I’m not sure we had stayed in a fully-closed shelter before. There were a few hikers there ahead of us, and a couple came in behind, but they all hiked onward so we had the place to ourselves. Another feature of the shelter was a flushing toilet and solar shower. Essentially, there were two barrels of water that heated in the sun and gravity fed into the shower. Not knowing how many people had used the sun-warmed water, I didn’t take my chances on all the warm water being used up.

Used up and beaten by the rocks and the weight of our packs, after eating we called a local shuttle driver to explore the possibility of slackpacking the next day. It was arranged for him to pick up our bags between 7:30-8:00 the next morning, and we went to bed happy.

On Tuesday morning, Mike from the Common Ground Farm and Retreat arrived as scheduled to pick up our packs. Our planned hike was 16.4 miles to Bake Oven Knob Rd. where we would call him back and be picked up to go to Common Ground. We didn’t know it at the time, but the day had lots of boulder-hopping in store for us. We started our day with a significant climb back onto the ridge line. Over lots of rocks. The peak of the climb was Dan’s Pulpit, another rocky outcropping with views. It was a bit difficult to enjoy, though. Just after we got there, Angel walked up the trail just a few feet and squealed. Copperhead. Right beside the trail where she was going to take care of some business. I really don’t care much for venomous snakes, especially when they’re hiding and you don’t see them until you are right on top of them. I did venture out on the rocks to take in the views, but I moved slowly and watched my feet carefully for fear that the snake had a friend.

On up the trail we got to a section called the Knife Edge. This was a tremendously rocky part, much akin to hiking at Rocky Face. The main difference, though, was the rocks were broken apart and car-sized, and slanted at a steep angle. One plus, though, is that they were dry, so they weren’t especially slippery. Picking our way through this section of the trail was slow-going, especially since it is just the sort of place that I’ve always pictured as a great hangout for rattlesnakes. Thankfully, we made our way through without seeing or hearing any.

As we made our way off the Knife Edge, we were near the end of our hike for the day. That was a good thing, because as we made our way to the parking lot, the wind whipped up and the temperature dropped. We feared that we were about to get hammered by a storm. When we arrived at the parking lot, we went to the far side and sat on some rocks slightly under the cover of some trees and waited for Mike to come pick us up. We had called him about a mile or so from the road and he offered to stop for us to pick up pizza on the way back to the farm. When he got there, it was evident that he had picked up sweaty hikers before. All the seats were draped with towels and sheets so our hiker funk didn’t become a permanent feature of his car. He had menus from the pizza place and we called to place our order before heading out. It did eventually rain a little bit, but it was nothing like what we expected.

With pizzas in tow, we arrived at the farm. We really didn’t know what to expect, but there is no way we could have imagined what we saw when we got there. Common Ground Farm and Retreat is a non-profit organization whose mission is to reach out to those who are going through life transitions, especially veterans. The whole place is made up of old farm buildings that have been renovated into comfortable, antique-laden guest rooms. I’m not sure how many people they can accommodate, but we were the only ones there that night. Gavin and I stayed in the Barn Room. It featured a living room with leather furniture with a separate sleeping area with a queen sized Murphy bed and a rollaway cot. Being the larger and more aged person, I called dibs on the queen bed. The bathroom and shower were across the barn. It was quite rustic. Instead of tile or a regular shower enclosure, the walls had been fitted with sheets of tin. There was a huge “rainwater” shower head and the shower area was at least 6’ x 6’. It was a really neat place to stay, and I’d love to go back sometime. Mike’s hospitality was endless and we were made to feel right at home.

On Wednesday we awoke and headed over to the main farmhouse for breakfast, which was included in the price of our stay. Mike made coffee for me and tea for Angel, and had prepared an excellent breakfast. There were organic muffins that his wife had made that were to die for. There was also wheat toast and homemade strawberry preserves. Another special treat for me, since I don’t eat eggs, was a bowl of fresh fruit. It was a great breakfast, and we appreciate Mike for taking the time to make it for us. 

We had talked with Mike the night before about slackpacking us to Palmerton, PA. He dropped us back at the trailhead and took our packs ahead. For a slackpacking day, it was a short one, at only 8.9 miles, but along the way we passed through several boulder fields that really slowed us down. We stopped at the south bank of the Lehigh River and got an Uber ride into Palmerton. Our options for lodging in Palmerton were somewhat limited. We had to choose between the Sunny Rest Resort, a clothing-optional retreat for vacationers who aren’t afraid of a little sunburn in some sensitive places, or the bunk room at Bert’s Steakhouse. Opting on the side of modesty, and since we were traveling with a 14-year-old, we decided to stay at Bert’s.

When we went into the restaurant to check in, we didn’t know what to expect. The guy behind the counter checked our reservation and said, “Go down to the end of the street and turn right in the alley. From there, meet me behind the building.” We didn’t know if we were getting a room or getting mugged. Thankfully, it was the former.

The layout of the hostel wasn’t the most convenient, but it was cozy. Laundry was included in the stay. The washer/dryer did double duty for the hikers and for the restaurant upstairs and was located in the basement of the restaurant (with a 5’5” clearance to the floor joists above.) The bathroom was a few doors away from the door of the hostel, just beside the back door of the restaurant. These minor issues aside, there were comfortable chairs and a multitude of DVDs to choose from. Gavin had never seen Forest Gump, so we put that on. We warned him that there was sadness in the movie, and he did a great job with it until the final scene. I think he really enjoyed it. For the first time in a while, I let Gavin have the bottom bunk and I took the top. Thankfully I didn’t break my neck climbing up and down in the night to get up and walk the few doors down to the bathroom.

Our hike on Thursday was incredibly short, at only 4.8 miles, but more about that later. First, let’s talk about the first mile or two. Have I mentioned that Pennsylvania is an incredibly rocky state? I’m sure there is some geologic reason for it, but the rocks really outdid themselves today. We started at the Lehigh Gap parking area and began to climb. Usually saying began to climb means that we were going uphill, and we were. About 1,000’ in the first mile. This time, though, we really had to climb. There were several places where the trail and rocks were so steep that we had to hand our poles ahead and use our hands and some ingenuity to ascend the rocky trail. I have to say, though, that compared to the ankle-breaking rocks we have traversed for the previous several days, this was actually quite fun. Once we climbed up the steep rock face out of Lehigh Gap, we began boulder-hopping, while still continuing uphill. It was a really big day for the rocks. Actually, the trail in this first mile was so challenging that there was a blue-blazed side trail to avoid this section. In retrospect, I’m glad we challenged and conquered the rocks, but there were several times that morning that I questioned that decision.

Once we got to the top, we walked for several miles along an old road. It was smooth and grassy, and we had incredible views down to the town of Palmerton below. Even though we were looking down at the town, they were some of the best we have had in quite a while. One feature of the town that was particularly striking was the American Zinc Recycling plant. It is a really old-looking facility that from above was quite impressive.

Palmerton was the home to a large zinc smelting operation that for years pumped heavy metals into the air. As a result, much of the mountain ridge near the town was defoliated and the soil contaminated. It is now a Superfund Site. I believe that the road walk along the ridge is an AT reroute that bypasses some areas where they are doing reforestation. Whatever the reason, the road walk was much appreciated after the arduous climb that brought us there.

Along the sides of the road were tons of blackberry bushes. Every so often, we stopped when we found some with larger berries. Just before the trail left the road and continued upward, there were tons of bushes weighed down with ripe fruit. Angel and I picked from the ones beside the trail, but Gavin ventured off the trail to get to the bushes with even larger berries. Having eaten our fill, Angel, Bullfrog, and I walked on up the trail, but Gavin wanted to stay a minute or two more.

It wasn’t long before we heard Gavin holler. We didn’t know what had happened. The thoughts that went through my head included venomous snake in the bushes, a large bees nest, or losing his balance and falling into the briars. We hurriedly made our way back to him and found him mostly upside down in a broken tree. It turns out that he had stepped into the crotch of the small tree to climb out of the bushes, and after grabbing it to lift himself, the branch snapped and twisted, pinning his ankle between two branches. In an “I’m glad he is not seriously hurt” way, I really wish we’d snapped a photo of him upside down in the tree. Needless to say, he was scared to death, and it took several minutes after we extracted him for him to settle down.

The trees bruised his ankle pretty good, but going back the way we came, down the 1,000’ rock climb, wasn’t an option. We had no choice other than to move forward and hope his ankle worked itself out.

Before long we reached Little Gap Rd. Gavin got there before us, but he was still nursing an ankle that was obviously giving him quite a bit of pain. We decided that it would be best to call a ride and go back to the hostel so that we could ice it and assess whether he needed an X-ray. Thankfully, it was only bruised and didn’t require a trip to the doctor. To test it out, we headed out to a great little pub called Joey B’s for dinner, with the promise of Dunkin Donuts afterward. Gavin was able to make the trip without a limp, so we were set to hike again the next day.

Thursday afternoon we talked with the owner of the buildings that housed the restaurant and some stores and arranged for her to take us back to the trail Friday morning. She was also willing to take our packs to a hotel in Wind Gap, PA, which would be our next stop. She was a really interesting person to talk with. She had worked for more than twenty years at the Pentagon with Top Secret clearance. After retirement, she moved to Palmerton and purchased the property that housed the restaurant and a Carhart/Red Wing store. After breakfast at Bert’s, we were off, back to the trail for a 15.4 mile day.

The hike was essentially flat for the whole day, but we still had rocks to contend with. I know I seem to be hung up on rocks, but they were the story of Pennsylvania. We had a mix of larger rocks and the smaller ankle-breakers, with some sections of smooth trail thrown in just to tease us. I hiked by myself for much of the afternoon. It is a toss-up as to who is the faster hiker, Gavin or me, but Angel and Bullfrog will both admit that we’re both much faster than they are. That is okay, because they have more stamina for hiking longer days than we do. We’d rather hike and be done early, while they walk at a more comfortable pace and don’t mind hiking later into the day.

On this day, I was faster than Gavin and arrived at the road crossing to the hotel about 20 minutes ahead of him. We were probably 45-60 minutes ahead of Angel and Bullfrog, but we decided to wait on them rather than hiking on up to the hotel. When they arrived, we walked the 0.2 to the Gateway Hotel. What a place. From the outside, it appeared to be falling in, and I’m pretty sure that there were some permanent residents, but Allyson, the manager, was great. She got us settled in and told us that Domino’s would deliver if we ordered via the phone app, but that they wouldn’t if we ordered by phone. After showers, and with dicey cell reception, we finally got pizzas ordered. Gavin and I each ordered a large pizza, with the idea of eating half for supper and half for breakfast. After eating, we turned in for a good night’s sleep.

On Saturday, we had planned to hike 15.5 miles to Delaware Water Gap. It was another day with packs and rocks, so it was going to be a long slog. After an initial uphill, the bulk of the day was reasonably flat, but the trail more than made up for it with ankle-breaking rocks. I’ve used this term a few times, without explaining it. Imagine a dump truck offloading load after load of rip-rap on the trail. Then imagine it being spread out to just about cover the surface. After that, think what it would be like if another truck dumped enough dirt on the rocks to half-cover them and hold them solidly in place in case you kicked them hard with the toe of your shoes. There are few places to plant your feet solidly on the ground, or even on a flat rocky surface. These are the infamous ankle-breakers of Pennsylvania, and they struck again on Saturday.

About three miles into the hike, Gavin, who oddly, was hiking behind us, turned his ankle again. It was the same one that was attacked by the tree a couple of days before. He called us and we waited for him to arrive so we could evaluate. We didn’t have much of a choice other than to go forward, so we did. After the pain subsided, he got out front and put some distance between him and us. I actually hiked ahead of Angel and Bullfrog so that I could keep an eye on him, but he dusted me, sore ankle and all. By the time I reached the first road crossing about five miles up, he had already arranged for a man who was parked there to shuttle us into town. I told him we’d need to wait to see if Angel and Bullfrog wanted to continue hiking, or whether they wanted to end the day early. When they arrived, they chose to hike onward, which was fine. I explained to Gavin that if we went on to town, we’d lose a planned zero day, and he was fine with that. With some reluctance, we took the ride he had arranged into town.

I admire Gavin’s independence and ingenuity. One day soon, though, we do have to talk a bit about asking for a ride from a stranger without another adult present. It turns out that our ride, Tim, had been camping in the woods near the parking area. For a while. It seems that his wife had enough of his drinking and kicked him out of the house until he could get the problem under control. Along the trip he detailed his 21-day program, his nightly AA meetings, and his frustration that his 14-year-old daughter seemed to be calling the shots. With all his issues, he still seemed to be a pretty good guy, and he got us safely into town. The trip definitely wasn’t up to Uber or Lyft standards, but he got the job done and deposited us at the hotel for the night. He was even kind enough, bless his heart, to give Gavin a couple of bottle rockets which he fired off behind the hotel. As luck would have it, there was a fireworks store right beside the hotel. We went in to look around, but we didn’t buy anything.

Check-in at the hotel was an adventure. Somehow, even though I had booked online, our reservation was cancelled and the hotel was short on rooms. With a little finagling they were able to reinstate the reservation and we had rooms for the night. As a side note, the hotel is managed by and staffed by two gentlemen from Statesville, one of whom used to work at Domino’s in Taylorsville. Small world.

One of the reasons Angel and Bullfrog wanted to continue hiking was that the PA/NJ state line was at the end of their hike. Though Bullfrog didn’t go all the way to the line painted on the Delaware River Toll Bridge, Angel did, because she wanted to be done with Pennsylvania. I had planned to do the same myself, but Gavin and I would have to wait one more day.

On Sunday morning I woke up to get breakfast at the hotel. This was the first “nicer” motel that we’d stayed in that didn’t have a complimentary breakfast. I didn’t take my wallet, and the guy who was managing the food said not to worry about it. After coffee, yogurt, and toast, I went to wake Gavin and to get an Uber back to the trailhead. 

We knew that since we were only carrying water that we’d be able to make a pretty decent pace. We were able to keep up a 2.5-3 mph pace despite the rocky terrain and completed our seven miles in just over two and a half hours. We met quite a few day hikers along the trail and we stopped to talk with many of them. We also had some incredible views of the Delaware River below us. At the Lookout Rock overlook we had a day hiker take a picture of the two of us that is probably the best photo of us together on the trail to date.

Rocks aside, after a couple of hours we made our descent into Delaware Water Gap. Once into town, we continued down the road and made our way across the Delaware River Toll Bridge in search of the PA/NJ state line. It was an incredibly long bridge, but eventually we made it, and Gavin commemorate the occasion by kissing the New Jersey side. Then we backtracked the bridge into town and stopped for ice cream, a well-deserved treat.

It wasn’t a long walk back to the hotel, but we texted Angel and Bullfrog to meet us at the local outfitter’s shop. Both of us needed new shoes, and fortunately, they had some in our sizes. I also picked up a new pair of gaiters to keep pebbles, leaves, and dirt out of my shoes. From there, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed R & R. After a shower and some rest, Bullfrog and I headed out to a local restaurant for supper. Neither Gavin nor Angel wanted to leave the hotel room, and I can’t say that I can blame them. Afterward, we all settled in for a good sleep with the hope that New Jersey would be kinder to our feet.

Monday morning we left Delaware Water Gap with our packs heading for the Rattlesnake Spring campsite about 13.5 miles away. The first part of the trail was backtracking through town and halfway across the bridge, and then we headed into New Jersey. The problem with leaving an area called something Gap is, the only way out of a gap is up. Thankfully, our 1,100’ climb was spread out over several miles, so it wasn’t as bad of a climb out of town as some we have done. Not quite five miles into our hike we passed the 1,300 mile mark on the trail. Each time we pass such a milestone we stop and take a photo and reflect on our accomplishments. Without trying to sound egotistical, we were all pretty impressed to have made it so far on our journey.

A mile or so later on, we passed Sunfish Pond, a 44-acre glacial lake that, according to Wikipedia, is the southernmost glacial lake along the Appalachian Trail. It was truly beautiful, though signs nearby said that due to its acidic composition, only a few species of fish can live in it. We enjoyed the beauty of the lake, but the trail around it would have made Pennsylvania jealous. We had passed several SOBO thru-hikers in the days before who said that we’d have about half a day of rocks into New Jersey until the trail smoothed out. They were wrong.

Once we reached the ridge, we had views off and on for the whole day. In one area we were looking down on the Yards Creek Reservoir that had four small, square ponds cut in nearby. I’m not sure what they were all about, but it was interesting to look at. We also had quite a bit of hiking over some rocky ridges, but thankfully, the rocks were mostly flat and reminded me of hiking at Rocky Face.

About three miles before we reached the campsite, Angel and Bullfrog pulled off onto a side trail down to the Mohican Outdoor Center. Angel had a package sent there so they went down to pick it up. Gavin and I continued on, with him out front as usual. After the short descent to Rattlesnake Spring, I looked around and thought to myself, “Where’s the water?” The only thing I saw was a muddy trail and a bit of a ditch with running water beside the trail. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to make potable water from that, but I figured I’d sort it out later so I continued on to the campsite. 

Gavin was already there, as were about 15 other youth his age who were on a 10-day Outward Bound trip. They had already claimed some of the larger camping areas with their community tarps, but there was plenty of room for our crew to pitch our tents. Talking with one of the Outward Bound leaders was more confusing, because he talked about a water source that wasn’t on our map. He also said that there was another group scheduled to arrive at the same camping area shortly. At that point, I said a silent prayer that those groups would settle down earlier in the evening than my scouts usually do and that I’d be able to get to sleep before midnight. After pitching my tent, I went back up the trail to investigate the spring that at least one hiker I passed said was a good one.

I walked just a few feet beyond where the AT turned into the path to the campsite and found Rattlesnake Spring. It was indeed a good water source, though it needed the help of a rhododendron leaf to make a place to easily fill my water bladders. While I was there, Angel and Bullfrog walked up from the Outdoor Center. I really expected that they’d be at least 45-60 minutes behind us, but they didn’t dally after retrieving their package. We had left them a good spot to tent and they settled in for the evening.

Just after eating some supper I realized how much I had been spoiled by slackpacking and staying near shelters with bear boxes and bear poles. This would be the first night in I don’t know how long that we’d actually have to hang our food. Bullfrog and I both went out to find good tree limbs and got our lines up and over. It wasn’t until a little later on, when we actually went to hang our food that our recent inexperience showed itself. My branch was too flimsy to hold my bag and Gavin’s. I pulled my line down and searched for another, more substantial limb. It was a difficult search, but eventually I found one, even though it wasn’t high enough to do a traditional hang. I made it work and got our food off the ground at a distance I considered “safe” from bears and headed back to the campsite. Bullfrog went to hang his bags and was gone for quite a while. Eventually I heard a huge crash from the woods behind my tent and I went to explore. It seems that the first branch he chose had rough bark and the friction was too much for him to be able to hoist his food bags. He had rehung his line over another limb, but when he started pulling it up, it broke off. It was a huge limb, and is what made the crashing sound I heard, but apparently it was dead as a rock and rotting to boot. Eventually we got his bag hung and hoped that it was high enough. We all retired to our tents, and thankfully, the teenagers settled around 9:15 so we were able to sleep well.

On Tuesday morning Angel and Bullfrog left about an hour before us heading to Culver’s Gap and Branchville, NJ. Gavin and I can’t help that they’re morning people and we aren’t, but they will tell you that he and I are faster hikers than they are. The plan was for us to catch up with them later in the day, and we did. One of the first things we encountered on our trip was a beaver pond. It was interesting to see their lodge and to think that small mammals had a large part in the creation of this beautiful pond. We skirted around the dam and the pond, and thankfully, this time it didn’t involve wading through knee-deep muck.

The hiking for the day was a mix of small ups and downs, with tons of rocks. Mistakenly, we thought we had left those behind in Pennsylvania. Like the day before, we had quite a view while we were hiking along the open ridgeline. One really curious thing we saw was a huge, car-sized rock with the number 55 painted on it. We have no idea why, or who bothered to come deep into the woods with a can of spray paint, but we were sure there was some reason. We also passed an interesting stream that had grasses growing in it. It was neat how the current of the stream had laid the grass over and it was just billowing in the water with the current.

We eventually caught up with, and overtook, Angel and Bullfrog. Our hike was 14.5 miles and when Gavin and I reached the road crossing at Culver’s Gap, we waited on our friends. While there, we both felt that our feet were more sore than they had been on any other day. Fact is, mine hurt so badly that I was almost brought to tears. Once we were all together again, we hiked up the roadway to Gyp’s Tavern to have some food and get a ride to the hotel. I have to say a few things about Gyp’s. First, the hamburger was phenomenal. Second, the fries were even better. They were thin fries kind of like McDonald’s, but crispier. They also came with blue cheese dressing. Unfortunately, the burger only came with a half order, so I ordered more. After talking with the shuttle driver, we realized we were going to be there for a while longer so I asked the waitress how much they are and she said $3. Duh. I had another basket of fries and another pint while we waited on our ride.

We were taken to the hotel by Brian. He is a local Uber/Lyft/independent shuttle driver. He used to be a phlebotomist, but the lab where he worked closed so he has since been driving people full time. He was definitely in it for the experience. When we got in the car, he had a basket of fruit, granola bars, and water, complementary with the ride. Along the way, he pointed out many historic buildings and mountains. He also explained that he was organizing rides for about 30 people to go to a concert at the site of the original Woodstock festival. He was providing tailgating and drinks, and had three large vans commissioned for the event. He was earning $80 per person. I got the idea in a very short time that he was definitely a wheeler and dealer, and that he really has the whole idea of shuttling people around down pat.

When we arrived at the hotel in Vernon, NJ, we stepped into the office to check in. Unbeknownst to us, the New Jersey State Fair was going on nearby, so they were almost full. Thankfully, the lady at the hotel, who was hilarious, was able to get us into rooms for two nights. We headed to our respective rooms, showered, and went to eat at the Italian restaurant next door. That place was the real deal. They had pizzas, pasta, and stromboli, and it was great. After having a big lunch at Gyp’s, I still had room for more so I tried their meat stromboli. With all our physical needs met, we went back to our rooms for the night.

We had planned a zero day for Wednesday so that our feet and legs could rest up a bit. The highlight of the day was spending about an hour on the phone with AppleCare trying to sort out the issues with my watch. After trying every trick the agent had in her bag, she decided that it probably qualified for a replacement, and since I had AppleCare Plus, it would be no charge. She asked me where to send the new watch, and I had no idea. She suggested that I check my trail guide and that she’d call me back in a few minutes. Shortly, she called me back and we agreed to have the watch sent to Vernon, NJ, which looked to be two hiking days ahead of us. With that plan made, Angel, Bullfrog, and I went back out for an Italian lunch. We might have gone somewhere else, but that was the only restaurant nearby.

We all spent the afternoon resting and relaxing. It was good to give my feet a break. When supper time came, it was back for more Italian. This time order was for fettuccine alfredo, and it was good. Just after we ordered, Gavin called me in a panic. I quickly hurried back over to the hotel and tried to calm him. I think he was overcome with what has been nipping away at both of us- we were very tired and had been away from our loved ones for a long time. He and I walked back to the restaurant, and afterward, we went back to the hotel to talk. We talked with each other, with Beth, and also with Angel and Bullfrog about what it might look like for us to leave the trail for the summer. We each decided to be prayerful about it and to sleep on it.

We had scheduled for Brian to come pick us all up on Thursday morning and drop us back on trail. After getting up and talking with Gavin and Beth some more, he and I made the decision. It was time to go home. Thankfully, our driver was behind his schedule because another hiker wasn’t ready to be picked up at the time he had arranged, so we had a bit of extra time to spend with Angel and Bullfrog before they got back on the trail. We wished them well and promised to keep in touch, which I’m sure we will do. When the driver arrived, we gave hugs all around and bade them farewell for now. As they drove away, Gavin both went back into the hotel room in tears.

It would have been nice if we could have just rented a car and left for home that day, but unfortunately, I had to be in Vernon on Friday to get my new watch. I checked with the hotel office and we were able to keep our room for another night. I called ahead to reserve a room in Vernon and then spent quite a bit of time on the internet and on the phone trying to arrange a car rental. Though Enterprise had been our choice so far along the trail, I learned that Hertz was more cost-effective for a one-way rental because they didn’t charge a drop fee. Unfortunately, the agent told us that the Hertz dealerships in Hickory and Statesville were unwilling to accept a one-way vehicle. I understand the concept of fleet management, but really, I just wanted to go home. After messing around with the Enterprise app with no luck, I called them. The agent there also had a difficult time finding an agency in New Jersey that would allow a one-way. Finally he hit on a franchise in Milford, PA, that would let us rent there and drop the car in Hickory. Problem solved, but it was a bit more expensive than I would have liked. After settling the hotel and car rental, I texted Brian back one more time to see if he could drive us to the Enterprise agency in Milford. He was willing to pick us up around 10:00 the next morning. Finally, all the ducks were in a row, so I could spend the afternoon resting and reflecting on the trip.

Friday morning came, and so did Brian. He dropped us off at the Enterprise agency, and even went in to put in a good word for us. We collected our car, a Ford Fusion, and set off to our hotel in Vernon. We arrived there just after lunch and our room wasn’t ready yet. I had expected that, so Gavin and I went to a nearby Subway for lunch. That afternoon we drove a few miles back to High Point State Park. Had we stayed on the trail, we’d have passed by this landmark in the next day or two. High Point is the tallest mountain in New Jersey and there is a huge obelisk on top. We drove up to the monument and decided that we didn’t really want to climb to the top of it. We had great views from the ground anyway. There was also a lake in the state park with a beach and swimming. I thought Gavin might want to give that a go, so we stopped by there on the way down the mountain. As we approached the lake, Gavin saw a couple of boys fishing, so he left me with his stuff and went to talk with them. I rested in the grass for a little while and we decided to head back to the hotel. The room was ready and my watch had been delivered, so we went upstairs to relax a bit before supper.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I walked down to a gas station and deli nearby, only to find that they had already closed the food counter. Thankfully they had a few cold sandwiches in the cooler, so I got one of those, some chips, and some soda for the both of us. As I sat in the hotel room that evening the reality of ending our trip and going home began to set in. It was both sad and exciting. While I was certainly tired, I was disappointed that we didn’t make it to Maine in one go. In my heart, though, I knew we had made the right decision for the two of us.

I had hoped to arise at 6:00 on Saturday, eat the hotel breakfast, and get on the road. Unfortunately, it was more like 7:00 or 7:30 before I finally woke up. We packed our bags and were loaded up and heading out around 9:30. That would put us home somewhere between 6:00-7:00. Unfortunately, our peaceful trip home was disturbed after about 30 minutes of driving. We were headed down a county highway when, out of nowhere, a deer ran straight into the rear passenger door of our car. Glass went everywhere. Needless to say, Gavin was really freaked out. Truthfully, I was too, but I played it cool. About a mile up the road there was a diner and convenience store, so I pulled in. I went inside to get the address of the place and I called 911 to have them send an officer out to do a police report. While I was waiting, I eventually got a human on the phone at Enterprise who told me to call back after the police officer had come and gone. The state trooper who came to do the accident report was a good guy, and he was done in about 30 minutes. I decided that the best thing for us to do was to drive back to Milford where we got the vehicle and to interact with Enterprise face to face rather than on a phone by a busy highway. We got there a little after 11:00 and I explained the situation to the agent. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any vehicles at her disposal, so she set about trying to find another office nearby that did. Finally, she told me that there was a vehicle available in Vernon, NJ, which we passed on our way back to Milford. It was about 30 minutes away and they were due to close in about 30 minutes. No pressure.

We arrived in Vernon with a minute to spare and they had two vehicles available. We got to choose between an F-250 Super Duty truck and a foreign sedan. Gavin insisted that we take the truck because it looked (and drove like) a limousine. I might add that it also drank like a fish. When I finally had to stop to fill it up, I put 42 gallons in it. The traffic on the way home was actually pretty light and we had 65-70 mph speed limits most of the way once we eventually got off the country roads and onto a highway. We arrived safely at home at about 11:15 Saturday night.