Day 20 - Wildcat Shelter (NY)

​Day 20

Starting location: Wawayanda Shelter

Ending location: Wildcat Shelter

Mileage today: 12.1 miles

Total Mileage: 240.3 miles

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Today woke up and got on the trail by 7:30 am. There was a state park office only 0.4 mile round trip off the AT, we took advantage and filled up our water and used the flushable toilets! 

We only had 10 miles to get to Amee today but let me tell you those were a tough 10 miles. The trail was nice but we had a lot of boulder climbs that really slowed us down. Praise the Lord it wasn’t raining today because the rocks would have been very dangerous. 

We knocked out our second state today and entered into New York! “Welcome to New York” ran through my mind! It was a sunny and cooler day. Mid 60’s. 

We got some awesome trail magic today. Clif bars and Rice Krispy treats. Later we got some Gatorade from a trail maintainer. I am glad the boys get to experience trail magic since we are technically ahead of the main NOBO thru hikers pack. 

We got to hike with Compass and Cpt. Woody a bit today. We saw the NYC skyline today from the trail. Pretty crazy since it is like 40  miles away. 

Got to our first rebar ladders today as well. The trail was very technical today. Thankfully we only fell a couple times and no serious injuries obtained. lol. 

Not sure which year this sign was from but it says only 819 miles to Katadin! Boom baby! Nearly in the 700’s. Can’t wait! 

We celebrated the finishing of NJ with ice cream today from the Bellvale Creamery. It is the 5th best ice cream in the nation. I would have to say it was pretty delicious. We took a long break here since we only had 2.1 more miles to go to the shelter and it was like 1:30 when we arrived. We ate lunch with Amee and just rested and people watched. lol. Then we ate supper around 5ish with Amee and Froning before heading up to shelter. . Had a Cobb salad, which was the best meal I had yet. 

Those last 2 miles weren’t just a walk in the park. Pretty much scaling up cliffs it seemed! lol. We enjoyed it though. 

More random stuff we find on the trail. Mainly the boys find them. I am just focusing on not killing myself on the rocks. lol. 

And now that we are out of NJ, we get to watch hiker TV again! Yeah!! I have no idea why they don’t allow grown fires. Oh well 

Now off to bed and we plan on taking a zero day in the shelter since it is suppose to rain the whole day. Please pray that Sunday is rain free with all these rock climbs. 

Night. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 19

​Day 19

Starting location:  Sola Hostel

Ending location: Wawayanda Shelter

Mileage today: 17

Total Mileage: 218.3 miles 

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

We go up around 5 am to get stuff together and ready to roll since we were hiking 17 miles today. Pastor Doug made us a pancake breakfast, which the boys loved! We said our goodbyes and got on the trial at 7:45. It was unfortunately raining, so our feet and socks were quickly soaked. Thankfully it wasn’t 90’s any more, so the rain was very nice. 

For some reason there was a random chair on the trail. lol. Never know what you might find day to day. 

NJ has a lot of these boards you walk on since this area is very boggy. They were a little slick in the rain. 

These are the famous boardwalk area of NJ. It goes on for a couple miles. Sweet hiking for sure. 

We made it to the hotdog food truck by 1:30 pm to get some hotdogs, chips and a soda. They boys were really looking forward to eating there. 

On quick story. Legolas (CJ) was about to climb over this ladder into this field when he saw something big and black. He quickly ran back to us and was yelling g “There’s a bear!” I quietly hike up to film the “bear” and realized it was a cow! lol. It got quite the laugh. 

We had one last big mountain climb after the hotdogs, and it was pretty rough but fun. Thankfully the rain had ended, but the rocks were still slippery. 

Made it to the shelter by 6 pm (latest time yet). Got supper going and the boys crashed pretty quickly. Tomorrow is a shorter day of 12 miles. Going to get some ice cream for finishing NJ! 

God bless. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 18

​Day 18

Starting location: Rutherford Shelter

Ending location: Sola Hostel

Mileage today: 12 miles

Total Mileage: 201.3 miles

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

We woke up at 5 am and we got on trail at 6 am since it was going to be another scorching day. We had about 8.5 miles to hike to get to Amee and resupply. I love the morning sun up on the mountains. 

We got to a state park building just as they were about to open at 8 am. It has flushable toilets and water fountain. Ah. So nice! Legolas got an orange soda to go and we trekked on. 

We found this mini Washington monument on the trail. It was some monument but we didn’t get close enough to know why. lol. 

Since it felt like mid 90’s we always take time to play in the streams safe enough to play in. It was very refreshing. 

Since it was so brutal the last 4 days with heat, we made a detour to another Christian hostel. Pastor Doug runs the Sola Hostel. They were gracious enough to allow Amee and Froning to stay with us as well! PTL. He even knew who Froning was named after. Lol. 

So what does one do while in the hostel? Play the official AT hike board game! It was actually pretty fun. Bombadil won on a shortened game. 

We did attend Pastor Doug’s prayer meeting tonight and had a great time of prayer and fellowship with a few of their congregation. Doug and his wife have 3 kids and they also homeschool! Yeah! 

Also he took me up in the bell tower of the church and showed me how they have to wind up the clock every 2 weeks I believe. It was pretty cool. Same clock from like 1909. 

Finally, it seems I finally got to see what the rhododendron bloom looks like (pinkish red). So beautiful. Also my favorite flower is now in bloom, which is the amazing elderflower! 

Well. Pancakes in the morning and then a long 17 mile hike tomorrow (with colder temps!). 

Good night. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil. 

Day 17

​Day 17

Starting location: Brink Shelter

Ending location: Rutherford Shelter

Mileage today: 15 miles

Total Mileage: 189.3 miles 

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Since we nearly died of heat exhaustion yesterday afternoon, we planned ahead to wake up at 5:30 am and got on the trail at 6:15 am. It was already 62 degrees out. Also planning on doing 15 miles or 4 more than yesterday. 

I love the trail this early in the morning. So peaceful and quiet. Saw a few garter snakes and more toads. The downside of leaving first thing in the morning is web walking. Were you clear all the webs with your face that was created during the night. Not fun at all. Lol. 

Found some more flowers in bloom and even some coyote scat (actually a lot of that!). Good thing we didn’t hear them during the night. 

We made it up to the top of sunrise mountain and found this awesome pavilion that we thanked the Lord for providing. The shade and beeze felt amazing! We didn’t plan on taking a break here but we easily changed our mind. Great views too. 

We came to our second fire tower. There was someone up there so the boys didn’t climb the stairs. 

Stayed at this shelter for lunch. No water source here. Not the greatest shelter in our opinion. The boys had PB&J’s again. Still not getting tired of them yet. lol. Oreos and fruit. 

Made it to the shelter around 3 pm (had to walk an extra 0.5 miles to get to the shelter. Ugh.), and got some water and mattress blown up. Boys working on journaling then time for LoTR audible book. No signal out here. 

Trying for 17 miles tomorrow but not sure we can do it. High 87 with possible storms. Might find a hostel around the 12 mile mark. Will see

Night. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil.