Mass thru NJ

So in the last couple of weeks since Dalton, Mass..

The last 20 or so miles of Mass into Conn were so cool.. a great mix of all kinds of terrain and scenery; farmland/pastures full of cows and flowers, swamps, wetlands, river walking, corn fields, mountains, forest of course, small gorge with a beautiful stream of waterfalls/rapids, etc.. loved it. And the weather was really good too - a little warm, but partly cloudy or clear skies. Actually one of my favorite sections of the trail simply due to the variety and change from the 'long green tunnel'.

Conn, NY and NJ pretty much flew by.. I think I completed Conn in a couple of days. And unfortunately, despite NJ having the highest density/population of black bear on the east coast, I didn't see a single one. But very fortunately while Conn, NY, and NJ posed the greatest threat of deer ticks and Lyme disease, I didn't see a single one of those either! I think we're nearing the end of their season though, if they in fact even have a season... just not as many around. But believe me I was a little worried after talking to sooo many northbounders who got Lyme disease - talked to one guy in ME who got it and personally knew of 5 others around him who got it too!!! So very thankful for avoiding that so far.

As I hinted at in my previous post, the legs are in amazing shape. I've been routinely knocking out 25-30 mile days.. Three 29 milers - haven't quite put in an official 30 miles simply because of shelter spacing.

Missed my maildrop in Unionville, NY (actually the beginning of NJ on the trail) - simply got hung up in the USPS system.. so I've actually been re-supplying in towns like most thru hikers for this week which has been a new and interesting experience. Glad to get a taste of it, but will be glad to be back on track with the mail drops when I get to Port Clinton, PA.

Some misfortune coming into Delaware Water Gap - one of my downer days. Had a pretty good skin rash working on both of my quads/thighs. Seriously thought I'd finally picked up some poison ivy after walking through sooo much overgrown trail, but I was hoping it might just be another case of a heat rash in combination with not having done laundry in almost TWO WEEKS! (Keep in mind that I really only use one set of clothing that I hike in every day ;) The bladder containing my denatured alcohol for my stove busted and the zip lock containing it did NOT contain the spill! So had that crap all over some of my pack and clothing. Yet another reason to REALLY want to do laundry. On top of that I've been dealing with an intermitten pain in the bottom of my left foot that was bothering me at the time. I'd skipped making dinner the night before as I was tired after trudging through a short thunderstorm and getting soaking wet - I did eat, just chose to eat cold instead of breaking out the stove and fixing a hot meal. That was the first, and probably last time I did/do that. I didn't sleep all that well the night before for some reason - maybe it was the bright moon..? I came across a guy at a quick food store at a road crossing who (perhaps w/o meaning to) ended up being a pretty big prick. One of the things he did was almost short change me $5.. the only way I got my money was due to the fact that I could tell him that if he checked his till he'd find two $1 bills and a $20 bill that were WET. So ok, walking through the rain can have its benefits! And to top it off (that I can think of), I was starting to get a taste of what PA was going to be like when it comes to rocky trails - not fun. So yeah, it was one of those times when thoughts of bailing ran rampant through my mind. ;)

But all that said, there were some bright spots that kept me going... and somehow whenever I came across someone I pretty much expressed how good things were overall... I've been called "smiley" by some... even had a girl ask me when/how I'd become the natural optimist she took me for being - couldn't really answer that one. But I don't know... for the most part, life is good, no matter how crappy it can be sometimes.. I mean hell, even if I pulled off the trail, I'm doing what I want to do and I had (and am still having) one heck of a ride! :)

I'm off to watch a movie now - one of life's little pleasures and something I so look forward to doing when I get the chance to in a town (not many are big enough to have a theater - and actually we had to take a cab into the next town for this one!)!!!

'Til the next time I take a night somewhere with 'net access! Have no idea when that'll be.

BTW, I've not only showered and but I've managed to do laundry (even if I had to do it here in Stroudsburg) - I'm a new man. Life is good.

HAHAHAHA, oh yeah and during today's slackpack, this girl, "Cold Feet", voted me best calves on the trail! Hehehe - too funny ;)

FOOL!