Day 98: NY-NJ-NY-NJ

Woke up early to shower and pack up. Said goodbye to Dana and Mike as they went to work, and I left as well. My friend, Stacy, came by for a quick catch up before she had to go to work, and then I walked over to Scatters' friend's apartment to meet up. Soon after, we were on our way back to Unionville with Scatters' friend, Allison!




We hit traffic for a while, but then found higher speeds. We stopped at Dairy Queen for Blizzards, and Jen (a very nice worker there) gave us bananas. What a nice, extra (healthy) treat! We continued into Unionville and got dropped off as it began to sprinkle a bit. Said goodbye to Allison (thank you SO MUCH for the ride!!!!), and sat on the porch of the general store for a half hour getting ourselves prepared.




We were hiking by 1:30, and thankfully it had stopped sprinkling. The terrain was quite flat for a while as we walked on a few roads. Then around a squared-off pond. Took a break after the hot sun, then headed into the swampy woods. There are a lot of boards to walk on through the swamps, but because it's been so dry, the ground wasn't too wet.




Later we hit a few hills and rocks before walking out on a long, exposed track of boardwalk over a swamp. We didn't go swimming... There were long cat tail plants, but, luckily, very few mosquitos. All my joints were aching. My feet were sore. I felt old. Two days off = achy breaky body...?


We made it to NJ-94 around 7pm and tried to hitch a ride into Vernon - about 2.5 miles away from the trail. This road was kinda hard to hitch from, and no one was interested in stopping. We smiled. We got smiles back. We waved. We got waves back. But no one stopped. Scatters tied a bandana around her knee for sympathy. We made a sign that said Vernon. We smiled more...

Then Bob saved the day! We were headed to the St. Thomas Episcopal Church hostel, which happened to be his church - perfect! Thanks so much, Bob!!! It only took 30 minutes. Not too bad.

We got cosy in the nice hostel, and despite a water problem (laundry and showers were out of order), we loved it. TV, AC, a few snacks, and no bugs. We made dinner in the kitchen and watched a little TV. Relaxed and talked about the next few weeks. Should be a comfortable night and a big miles day tomorrow....?
(11.8mi 6st)


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:St. Thomas Episcopal Church hostel in Vernon, NJ