T+21 Tequila shots for one and all

​T+21 (June 19, 2020)

Navigation Report:
Starting point: Pochuck Mountain Shelter (mile 1353.0)
Destination: Wawayanda Shelter (mile 1364.5)

Travel Log:
9:10 Break Camp
9:30 Rocky outcropping (mile 1353.8)
10:10 Stream (mile 1355.2)
10:25 Large Stream (mile 1355.5)
10:40 County Route 517 (mile 1357.1)
11:20 Pochuck footbridge (mile 1357.1)
11:40 Pochuck Creek bridge (mile 1357.8)
12:15 Railroad (mile 1359.3)
12:20-1:40 NJ Route 94 (mile 1359.5)
2:35 Pinwheels Vista (mile 1360.8)
3:00-3:30 Large stream (mile 1361.7)
4:45 Old Wawayanda Road (mile 1364.4)
5:00 Wawayanda Shelter (mile 1364.5)

Daily Mileage: 11.5
Total Mileage: 211.9

Commander’s Report:
The plan for today is to make it to NJ Route 94 early and enjoy some refreshment at Heaven Hill farm stand before heading up to the shelter. It is unclear what is available there, but it is known that they have ice cream at the very least. No firm plans for any in the gaggle of hikers to meet up at the farm stand, but its almost inevitable that many, or most of us, will meet again there.

Right off the bat there is a rocky viewpoint. There weren't too many of these today, so getting this out of the way so early this morning somehow taints the great view.

View to the southwest from near Pochuck Mountain Shelter

​​After that view the trail cuts perpendicular over a series of ridges. So, it was up and down, but without the payoff of getting to see a nice view. In the late morning, the trail descends from the final ridge and into the valley below. A large section of the trail in the valley is through a wetlands region and the path consists of an elevated walkway. Here's three of my best pics of this.

Elevated walkway through the wetlands

Looks more like a farmer’s field than a wetland.

It’s a boardwalk, not a bored walk!

​Passed by an orchid in bloom. I know a couple of people who would love to have such a lovely specimen.

Orchid in bloom. Unfortunately, I only saw the one of Mexico’s.

​The Pochuck Creek bridge is quite an interesting engineering undertaking. The kids loved running back and forth on it. I probably would have at their age too.

Pochuck Creek bridge in the distance

Pochuck Creek bridge

​A mile and a half north of the bridge is a railroad crossing. It says private railroad tracks, which I think is a bit redundant as virtually all railroad lines are privately owned here in the US.

Pretty sure there’s no wrong side of the tracks out here.

Almost immediately after that crossing, the trail goes over a fence, and through an active cow pasture to reach NJ RT 94 and the prospects of yummy ice cream.

​While standing in line for the ice cream I passed a pie rack with a single strawberry rhubarb pie on it. This pie ended up being lunch today [ed. note: and breakfast tomorrow]. The half pie that I couldn't carry got packed up and taken with me. I can't help but think of my Grandfather when I have strawberry rhubarb. It was his favorite and most years someone in the family would make one in late spring / early summer. Lets just say that I have #NoRegrets consuming an entire pie in a 24 hour period.

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​After getting my gluttonous butt back on the trail and hiking 1.3 miles north I made it to Pinwheels Vista, which has a nice view out onto the community below.

​This was the last view of the day, so why not double dip on the pics?

Now that I've shown you the pictures, here's the story. I climbed up to the vista and found JERMS sitting there waiting. Turns out that there was a bear at the vista just a few minutes before. JERMS caught some video of it protecting the high ground and munching on some trash that a hiker left behind. Apparently, the bear was quite bold and didn't appear to be very scared of humans. Seems like that has all the makings of a beer habitualized to humans. Unfortunately, this means it is likely to be put down some time in the future. Hardly seems fair that the thoughtlessness of some humans can lead to apex predators being destroyed, but there you have it. In my darker days, I fantasize about a truly just world where the ignorant humans are punished for their actions, not innocent bystanders.

Anyway, the rest of the hike up to the shelter was uneventful. Took a break to dip my feet in a creek on the way up and it felt glorious! The humidity yesterday and today has been quite stifling. Let's hope that passes soon!

Nearly at the shelter, Cyborg came up behind us and the 3 of us rolled into camp together. We got in early, but were beaten to the place by a group of weekenders. They turned out to be quite pleasant company. I guess that means we were the loud ones.

​I headed off to the tent early in hopes of catching up on some blogging (only partially successful). That said, it appears that this will probably be the last night with this particular bubble of hikers. Like I mentioned yesterday, JERMS is planning on getting off trail tomorrow and cyborg and French Press are planning on doing 14 miles tomorrow to camp just a bit north of the shelter I plan on staying at. It's been interesting being part of a loose pack of hikers. Not sure if I will miss it or not. I was certainly more efficient at keeping up with all the myriad tasks when going it alone, but I often noticed one person catching some pertinent piece of info from the guidebook and sharing it with the rest of the group. I guess strangers can still work together at times.