Shiny Happy People

July 16 Mile 1301!!!-
If today is any indication of what the rest of our week in New Jersey will be like, it will be hard to say goodbye. We partied through our first day. The terrain was rocky, but nothing like PA. Started back at the Village Bakery where Shadow dreamed about a cheese danish the size of his head last night. The lady was nice enough to open :30 early for us. Next we crossed the Delaware river into New Jersey. This is the most active portion of the trail yet. I love that people took advantage of a great day to hike with friends and family. Usually we only see other thru-hikers and the occasionally section hiker. One group hiked with us about a mile to the southernmost glacial lake on the AT called Sunfish Pond. The afternoon was spent grazing on blackberries, blueberries, and wineberries while meeting other hikers along the way. We even got our picture taken by a few foreign exchange students. In our last few miles we came across 3 ladies from New England that hike a section of the trail every year. They plan to section hike Maine around the time we plan to be there. These ladies do it right. They day hike mostly so that means a good dinner, a hot shower, and a soft bed every night.
Our guide says that New Jersey has one bear per square mile and that they are "active". Signs are also posted as a reminder. Through the SNP, parts of PA, and now here we see large rocks and fallen tree trunks moved along the trail. Our suspicion is that bears in the area and looking for grubs to eat. I can't imagine why a human would spend the time and energy to move them. Fingers crossed for another sighting this week.
I spoke too soon on my last post. Shadow just found some poison ivy on his arm at dinner.


Country Mouse and Shadow still NOBO (North Bound)