Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 56 – Highest point in New Jersey
20th September 2023
Secret Shelter (851.6) - Brink Road Shelter (876.6)
Daily miles: 25
Total miles: 884.5
It was such a great nights sleep in the cabin / shed thing. Cal is borrowing Toe’s watch for a thing he’s doing and the alarm on it was going off at 5am, buzzing through the floor. Of course it not being his watch he didn’t realise it was his alarm going.
With another hour to go before my alarm I had to get up and have a wee. I pressed all the buttons on my head torch multiple times but I couldn’t get it to work so I had to use the torch on my phone. White light. Bad etiquette. But also peeing my pants in the shelter would have been bad etiquette too.
It was cold and very damp outside, the long grass was full of condensation.
When my alarm went off for real it was a bit of a struggle to get out of the warm sleeping bag, and as a result didn’t end up leaving until just after 7am. It’s hard to get up in the mornings when it’s still dark.
Waking up in the dark
Getting ready to leave the shelter
I had to have a poo this morning. It was now about 70 hours since I had been. I had to go and dig a cat hole, and it was little but at least it was something.
I hiked with Toe for a bit but I had to stop and get water and take my fleece off because I was instantly too warm as I knew I would be. The temperature in the cabin last night was 10°C / 50°F which isn’t actually that cold. I continue to be worried about the colder weather as we head south. Eye ooze was a problem this morning; it’s a struggle to see properly
I’m making it look cold, but it wasn’t
Beautiful morning light
I hiked along enjoying the scenery; through lots of fields and in and out of the forest. There was a gentle uphill to the junction to the high point of New Jersey, The Obelisk.
Sunrise across the fields
Walking round the edge of the fields
I did feel a little sluggish today, heavy in the legs. About an hour before the junction I heard Cal, May Queen and Pyro catching up to me. I could hear their voices reverberating through the forest. I thought they would have caught up with me long before they did, but it took about an hour. They were just pulling away from me on the uphill when they said they were going up to the obelisk for a snack break, 0.2 off trail. I don’t think we bothered going up there in 2018 so I went up there this time. It was nice. We had a break and a snack and took some photos.
The Obelisk
The highest point in New Jersey
Album cover
I then walked with Toe for a couple of miles, we passed the observation tower (where I spent the night in ‘18 and where we had planned to stay last night but didn’t because of the town stop) and we went down to the park headquarters. There were trash cans and there were toilets which was great for me because there had definitely been something brewing over the last couple of miles and I needed to go very badly. Let’s just say that I was glad I didn’t have to dig a cat hole for that.
The observation deck
The view of The Obelisk from the observation deck
Approaching the park HQ
The park HQ
I felt a whole load lighter and considerable more comfortable after that toilet break. Everyone else caught up and we all filled water from the spigot there. The water was some of the foulest tasting water I’ve ever had. I tried to mask the taste by putting electrolytes in it but it still tasted disgusting.
I carried it anyway, knowing I wouldn’t drink it. I would just carry it to the next water and tip it out.
We hiker trained for a while and some people dipped in and out. We found ourselves going down a blue blaze by accident, but on closer inspection that was where the water was and it looped back to the AT so we took it. Toe had stopped to pee and that left fast people at the front so I took the lead for a short while.
A nice trail through the forest on a blue blaze to water
We found Lemonhope having a nice peaceful break by the water which we quickly ruined for him by sitting with him and talking a lot.
We had a bit of lunch and then we all carried on as solo hikers, needing to just get our heads down and get the miles done and we all needed a bit of headphone time.
I felt great after lunch. My legs didn’t feel as heavy and I was flying up the trail at a 3 mph pace. Maybe it’s because I’ve packed out so much real food and I’ve been eating Turkey and cheese and bread and hummus, not just relying on sugar to get me through the day. Or it could just be one of those few times where I just feel really good.
We got to the top of Sunrise Mountain and that’s where we had originally planned to stop and have lunch but as we had already eaten we didn’t stop long. Lemonhope hiked out first. Cal stayed there for a while for his lunch and the other 2 girls were behind a bit. Pyro was up there sat in the rafters. He’s a strange boy. As I watched him get down it was precarious and it gave me a funny feeling in my bum.
Pyro being the crazy boy he is
The view from the top
Pyro and I left at about the same time and we both made the mistake of not being on the trail. I managed to trip over a stick and landed straight onto my knees and hands. Thankfully it was a soft landing because I really went down hard onto my knees. We bushwhacked our way back to the trail which wasn’t too far away.
He flew off ahead, running over all the rocks! I’m not sure how he does it but he is 22 and fearless, not worried like I am about blowing out a knee or a hip. But I went my own pace and I really was flying (for me) and over all the rocks too. From Sunrise Mountain to the fire tower I managed a 3.2 mph pace which I was very pleased with. The temperature helps for sure; now it’s a bit cooler it’s easier to go a bit faster on the climbs as I don’t feel like I’m going to pass out.
I climbed the fire tower but the very top was locked. It was still a nice view nonetheless. I waited at the top for the others as I thought they might all catch up and we could hike down to the town together which was a couple of miles. Toe arrived and didn’t stay long so I hiked down with her.
Fire tower
The view from the fire tower
Me, on the fire tower
The small town of Branchville is basically on the trail, not a lot in it but there was a restaurant. None of us needed food because we were all carrying too much but we did stop for a drink. Lemonhope, Pyro and Toe all had a beer and I had a Ginger Ale!
Soda stop
I thought maybe we should wait for May Queen but they wanted to hike on so I sent a message to let her know we had left the bar so she wasn’t looking for us. We had a little bit of a climb to start with, it really wasn’t that bad and it was even better because Toe had a beer so she wasn’t hiking as fast as she normally would. My legs were feeling pretty sore from today, so we moseyed up the hill and the remaining 3 miles to the shelter.
Sunset
We arrived just as it was getting dark and we were disappointed to see that there were already a load of people camped. And there are people in the shelter. What was going on? Why were there so many people here?!
We had gotten used to having to trail to ourselves and the shelters being empty. Apparently there are a couple of schools groups here and the shelter is really accessible, so we were going to have to camp, but where? We decided to get water and walk back up to the junction of the AT where there were some flat spots.
It was really dark now so we were going by our head lamps. We are camped on the side of a dirt road. Lemonhope and I pitched our tents and the other 4 are cowboy camping. In amongst the salamanders, centipedes, ants, slugs and whatever other creatures they have already seen. I would not get a wink of sleep if I was cowboy camping.
I did have to move quite a few acorns form under my tent in fear that my mat would get a puncture and there have been a few acorns falling while I’ve been writing this. Hopefully no one gets hit by one in the night.
I ate the rest of my Turkey and cheese for dinner because any longer in my pack and it would probably start to get a bit funky. It’s noisy tonight. A lot of noise from the creatures. I can hear the sounds of people sleeping too. I’m envious. It’s 9:30pm and I’m just finishing this up.
My legs are throbbing this evening. I’m lying on my back but my heels are sore from the pressure of the mat so it’s time to roll over and get my ear plugs in.
