Mile 845 - Unionville To Mile 859 - Mashipacong Shelter The highest point in New Jersey seems to be a very popular day hike and the trail here was very busy. Fortunately, the AT diverges before the actual monument and leads instead to a viewing platform on the next peak. So much more peaceful than … Continue reading Day 83. High Point

Mile 828 - Wawayanda Shelter To Mile 845 - Unionville The trail led us out of the rolling hills of the last couple of days, into farm country. Most of today was spent walking along winding country roads and through fields. Trail leading through fields today Rocket has not been close to a cow before, … Continue reading Day 82. Unionville

Mile 816 - Wildcat Shelter To Mile 828 - Wawayanda Shelter Today we left New York for the second time. Lots of climbing today Clear views Looking ahead into New Jersey The trail passed near a creamery this afternoon so we stopped in for an ice cream snack. Several of the locals that we talked … Continue reading Day 81. Entering New Jersey

Mile 793 - West Mountain To Mile 816 - Wildcat Shelter The fog that enveloped us yesterday cleared overnight. We started out today before sunrise and were greeted by a crystal clear view of the city lights. My phone could not really capture it, but it was a bit magical. Rocket stopped for a moment … Continue reading Day 80. City Lights

Mile 784 - Hemlock Springs To Mile 793 - West Mountain The rain stopped this morning around 9:00 and we waited until then to get moving in the hopes of staying dry today and possibly having a clear view from Bear Mountain. We did stay dry at least. After a short hike and relatively long … Continue reading Day 79. Bear Mountain

Mile 766 - Canopus Lake Beach To Mile 784 - Hemlock Springs We were up early to take advantage of the good weather that was forecast for today. We camped last night at a state park with a beach area so we ate breakfast near the water. It was a great way to start the … Continue reading Day 78. Closer to the City

Mile 752 - Morgan Stewart Shelter To Mile 766 - Canopus Lake Beach During the northbound part of our hike the trail slowly became more rugged and remote. We were aware of the changes but they were slow and subtle. Jumping back here from Maine, however, makes the contrast stark. The constant background noise of … Continue reading Day 77. Stark Contrast

Mile 741 - Appalachian Trail Train Stop To Mile 752 - Morgan Stewart Shelter (Starting with this post we are using miles from the northern terminus to indicate our position. Previously we were using miles from the southern terminus.) We returned to the place where we started - this time as southbounders. We easily resumed … Continue reading Day 76. Flip Flop

Off trail We had planned to drive today from Richmond to the point on the trail where we first started in New York. However, the hurricane is passing through this part of the country today bringing flooding and possible tornadoes. Things should clear up by tomorrow, so we'll delay our trip until then! Reading in … Continue reading Day 75. Rain Delay

Off trail We decided to take a couple of days to visit family in Virginia before starting the next phase of the hike so we hit the road. We're looking forward to a bit of down time and also need to prep our winter gear in town. Long drive We may take a day or … Continue reading Day 72. Road Trip