Hello again!
The miles are moving along well here in New Jersey. I've slowed down considerably from my 20+ mile per day pace in Pennsylvania. I don't know why, I guess hiking is just more enjoyable here. I'm taking my time!
Yesterday went well. There was thankfully no tornado overnight, and I ended up hiking to Unionville New York. Even though I ended up in a New York town, I still had 20 miles to go in Jersey, of which about 3 are left for tomorrow. I hiked past the aptly named High Point, the highest point in New Jersey, complete with a Washington Monument-esque obelisk at the top! I also saw bears number 3, 4, 5, and 6. The first one came at a pretty inopportune time. I was searching for a soft patch of ground to dig a hole and do some business (I won't get into details!), when a bear shimmied down a tree and ran away not even 20 feet away from me! Talk about suprising! The other three bears I saw together; a mom and two cubs. The momma bear with cubs situation can be dangerous, but luckily I never came within 50 yards of them. From a distance, however, I could clearly discern the bears. One of the cubs was about 20 feet up a tree. It was pretty cool.
Anyway I made it all the way to Unionville, which was an awesome little town. Glasgow-esque, for sure. There was free camping in the town park, and a great little store, and a pub to boot! It was one of those towns with its own character. It wasn't your classic hiker town; a town first and a hiker town second. But everyone was extremely friendly, and I'm still amazed at how many people are fascinated by thru-hiking. I guess it's just because I've gotten so used to it, I forget that walking from Georgia to Maine is pretty extraordinary! On my way to Unionville, I met Brendan and Kelly, a couple of people my age who were very interested. Its always fun to relate some of the stories from the trail.
Today I had another short day. I'm only two days away from Bear Mountain NY and a meet-up with family. Wooo!
-Scribbles (aka Ted)
7:29 p.m. 6/10/2015
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