To access a topological map showing the AT route and shelters click on the Appalachian Trail Map link in "Useful Links".
Day 20/20 Jun 2, Saturday, Camp Ken-Etiwa-Pec, NJ
Miles From Katahdin: 877; Miles Hiked To Date: 287.9; Miles Hiked Today: 17.8
We got a late start this morning. Brad realized that he had left his journal at the hotel. He called there last night but nothing had been turned in. We were advised to check with housekeeping after 9:00 am this morning. So, we got up around 6:00am – got our gear together and went to breakfast at the Greek diner near the Pocono Inn. We returned to the hostel to read and nap while we waited. Then to the hotel where, thank goodness, the journal had been found. The housekeeper had recovered it the day before but had forgotten to turn it in. I told Brad that she probably hadn't finished reading it before the end of her shift.
We were on the the trail around 10:00am . Finally out of Pennsylvania! A gradual ascent along rushing streams made an easy (mostly rock free) time of it. A lot of hikers were out because of the weekend.
Blooming mountain laurel lined the trail leading us past Sunfish Pond. The beautiful weather, skies cleared by yesterday's storm, and blossoms everywhere made for a fantastic hike.
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| Mountain Laurel |
A woman, probably in her 30's overtook us on the ascent. She had stayed at the Hostel the night before. She had left DWG a full hour after us and had already caught up. I didn't get her name but think of her as Smoker. Smoker told us that she started from Springer in March with everyone else and that she knew Renaissance Man, Many Names and the others. What a walker! We passed her a couple of times during the course of the day because she stopped frequently to smoke a cigarette. It is surprising that we have seen several smokers thru hiking. She hiked alone. I don't think anyone could keep up with her. The last time we saw her, we were taking a break by a stream, trying to decide whether to try for Brink Shelter or just go to the nearby AMC Camp that rents rooms to hikers. The shelter was still 14 miles away. The problem was the weather. For the last several days, big thunderstorms hit in the late afternoon. Could we make it to the shelter in time? We really didn't want to get caught out in a hail storm on an exposed ridge with lightening and pouring rain. On the other hand, we had only walked 10 miles and didn't feel ready to stop (although we had reached our original goal for the day). Smoker paused briefly to tell us that she planned to keep going to Brink. Not to be outdone by a 'girl', we decided to do the same. We never caught up with her again.
Sunfish Pond
Although we didn't get any storm, the sky boomed with thunder all day. All through the rest of the afternoon, I kept thinking, “This is dumb. We should have stopped”. We had no more than 5 hours to walk the 14 miles before the storm. There was no way we could make it in time. Two things saved us from a walk in the storm. It didn't rain and we unexpectedly came to Camp Ken-Etiwa-Pec. Situated on Long Pine Pond, this is an old YMCA camp that recently began allowing Thru Hikers to stay in one of their cabins. We only learned of the camp when we met a SOBO group of 4 men out for a weekend hike.
The camp looked derelict. Only few of the buildings looked habitable; one being the Caretaker's home. Seeing no one around, we signed the registration log hanging by the caretaker's door and followed the posted directions to the Thru Hiker's huts. Walking through the camp, you get an uneasy feeling. No sign of anyone. Broken backed roofs topped leaning buildings scattered among the trees. Overgrown open areas interspersed with recently maintained recreation fields, coupled with an unnatural quiet, prompted an eerie, 'slasher' movie feeling. We edged alongside an absolutely still pond. No wind, no birdsong, no people; weird. We approached the Hiker huts with some dismay. They were virtually shacks. Holes in the roof had been covered with blue tarps that billowed in the breeze; a breeze that didn't seem to touch the pond. Moldy mattresses had been strewn on the floor. Rodent droppings and the detritus of abandonment littered the floor.
After a brief rest, we dumped our gear and headed back to the Caretaker's cabin. There we met the Caretaker, Chris – chain saw in hand, hockey mask covering his misshapen face – only kidding. Chris, a bearded, mild mannered ranger type welcomed us and offered the use of his shower and something to eat. Brad said, “I'll be right back,” and headed for the shower while Chris and I finished watching the movie he had been watching – Hitchcock's The Birds – seriously!!!
Chris and I talked about the AT and the hikers that had passed through. He brought out a woman's wrist watch and explained that a Thru Hiker, trail name – 'Nuts' – had stopped there 3 days before and had left it. He handed me the watch, an inexpensive Timex with a broken band, asking if I would take it with me and try to return it to the owner. Nuts was NOBO but covering only about 10 miles a day. Chris thought we would surely catch up with her before long. I agreed and put the watch in my pocket. Chris, also, told us that Camp Ken-Etiwa-Pec, had only recently reopened after being closed for years. It was owned by the Park Service but had been contracted out to the YMCA to restore and manage. They hosted occasional jamborees and special events but did not offer a summer camp program. He said that the Rec Hall was fully functional and invited us to take advantage of the facility. In spite of our earlier misgivings, Chris made us feel welcome. He lived there alone and had been working there for about one year.
After showering we headed back to the huts. The sky threatened rain. With the DWG storm fresh in our minds, I began to doubt the wisdom of staying in the blue tarp covered shacks. In the event of bad storm, we might find ourselves scrambling in the dark and rain to seek shelter. After checking out the Rec Hall we decided to move our stuff and bunk there, just to be safe. We found a nice picnic table on the beach and made our dinner. As we finished, Chris came down with a lady friend to catch the sunset. I felt that we may have been a little in the way. I think he gets few visitors and on the one day that he gets his girl to come for a stay, we show up!
After dinner, Brad and I went up to the Rec Hall, probably the nicest building in the camp outside of the Caretaker's cabin. It doubles as a dinning hall and offers a small lounge area, large open space, and a ping pong table. After our daily ritual of checking for deer ticks (each day we pull several ticks off our clothes or person) and applying first aid to our blistered feet, we played ping pong, drank Pepsi from the vending machine and eventually set up camp in the lounge. Being the older of our team, I took the couch, Brad took the floor, using seat cushions as a mattress. It didn't rain, but we really enjoyed the comfort of the Hall.
Day 22/22. 06.03.07 Sunday. Mashipacong Shelter, NJ
Miles From Katahdin: 857.6; Miles Hiked This Date: 307.3; Miles Hiked Today: 19.4
We slept soundly in the Rec Hall, up by 5:00am and on the trail by 6:50. Seems to take a long time to organize and pack. We need to get better so we can take advantage of the cool mornings. Another hot, humid day. We reached Mashipacong Shelter around 5:00pm, walking 19 miles (20 if you count hiking from the Camp to the AT).
We have another mission, find Nuts (aka Nancy) and return her watch. Still, we remain suspicious of Chris. Is he really interested in returning Nuts' watch or is it some nefarious plan to cover up her untimely demise? Cast suspicion on us by our having her property? Perhaps she died at the hands of Chris's deranged young nephew who roams the campgrounds at night, the haunted ghost of a young scout hazed to a horrible death seeking revenge on the unwary. We may have saved ourselves only by moving from the Hiker Hut to the hall. Also, we never saw Chris's girlfriend again. No one stirred at the cabin although her car remained parked nearby. Was that blood on the door?
The uneventful walk obviously allowed our imagination to run wild. The weather, hot/humid, made it difficult but we still reached our goal in a reasonable time. This shelter has no spring so we had to stop at the stream, 6 miles south to fill our Camelbaks. The stream barely trickled. I had to hollow out an area in the sand to allow a deep enough pool to scoop it up with my coffee cup. Still (after treating it) the water tasted pretty good.
As we crossed PA 206 earlier this afternoon, we spied a cafe just yards from the trail . Upon entering, Brad and I were gruffly told by the proprietor that there benches on the side of the building for our packs (we had left them outside against the front of the store). The owner of Jo & Go Cafe has something of a reputation for being unfriendly to hikers but I believe he is just unfriendly to all and doesn't discriminate against backpackers. We bought some drinks and deli sandwiches that were great. We met two couples who were hiking north and suggested we meet up with them later. However, we never saw them again.
Rain threatened again all day but held off until just after we arrived at the shelter. We had a snack and decided to take nap. I read a while then we both dozed off. Some little time later, I was very gently awakened by an older gentleman standing next to a lawn mover! He apologized but explained that he need to mow the grass in front of the Shelter. The knee-high grass definitely needed moving but I have to admit, it never occurred to me that someone would bring a lawn mover onto the AT. 'Mr. Mower' is a “Ridge Runner” Volunteer and his task is to maintain this particular shelter. So, in a lightly falling rain, he turned the overgrown clearing into a nice lawn. I told him that I was glad that I would finally be able to use the croquet set I had been carrying! He laughed politely. We chatted for quite awhile. He said each volunteer takes a shelter and a 2 mile stretch of trail to maintain. Working on the trail serves as a reminder of all the good times he and his brother had hiking together. They had always planned on hiking the whole AT but never did. Now his brother has passed away. He has 10 grandchildren and is raising a granddaughter,who's 8 years old. He once met Earl Shaffer, the first man to thru hike the AT. He seemed like a really nice man and I told him how much I and the other hikes appreciated the work. I told him that nearly every day I think about the tremendous amount of work the volunteers do. It would be impossible to hike the AT without their contribution.
This is the first shelter with a “bear box”. These large metal containers keep bears out of food stores. I told Brad that in the event of a bear attack, we could crawl inside (except there is no internal release for the latch). The box is secured by a latch that requires opposing thumbs to open (a challenge to both man and bear). The old stone and heavy beams suggest that the Mashipacong Shelter dates back to the CCC days and made for a great stay.
Day 23/23. Monday. June 4. Pochuck Mtn Shelter, NJ
Miles From Katahdin: 838.0; Miles Hiked To Date: 326.9; Miles Hiked Today: 19.6
Light on and off rain as we headed out this morning. Refreshingly cool. Even with the rain we found the hiking more enjoyable – no stifling humidity. Last night the rain pounded our tin roofed shelter but the big overhanging eaves kept us pretty snug. We hiked into the High Point State Park. There we met some Section hikers (AT hikers who cover a 'section' of the trail each year). They had seen us at the Pocono Inn the previous Friday. Rick Wallace and his brother have completed (with this trip) everything south of NY. Hailing from Damascus/Irwin TN, they offered to help us out when we get there. One of the Wallace brothers lost a “clip-on” watch/temp gauge, identical to the one I carry. I found him looking at the one I keep attached to my pack. I am sure he thought, at least for a moment, I had taken or at least found his and kept it. Luckily, he found his on the path just outside the Park office. Later we passed the Wallaces on the trail and met up again with them and 2 others (Brick' and 'Ground Fault'') at the Shelter.
Our 20 mile hike today took us through some very pretty countryside, including some farm land reminiscent of PA. This is the best time I've ever had in NJ! My boots, my NEW boots, are falling apart. The toe piece has come apart and my feet are soaking wet. I need to call Vasque and see if they'll do anything.
Called Pat on her birthday from the State Park. Good to talk to her and sorry we weren't able to be with her! We somehow didn't have the trail map and guide for the next AT section, but fortunately, the State Park had one copy available for sale! Tomorrow we'll try for NY17 and get a motel. The shelter nearest us is only 12 miles away but the one beyond that is 24 miles. Twenty-four would be a stretch for us. We'll see how it goes. We saw several deer today.
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