Saturday May 5th: For the fourth day in a row the fog enclosed the mountain in its fuzzy damp clutches. Fortunately it burned off by noon, and I got a chance to see the sights - a few nice views from some of New Jersey's "Balds", which are open ridge areas of exposed bedrock - areas where the glaciers scoured away so much soil that vegetation struggles to get a foothold. The best of the views was this one of Culver Lake:
By afternoon it was warm - too hot for some, such as my trail friend, 'Sun Dog', who I met again today - probably for the last time. We met while it was still foggy, and chilly by my standards - I was wearing a heavy fleece. He's from Minnesota, and works his hiking schedule so he can avoid the heat, sometimes starting his day's hike before dawn using a headlamp.
I wished Sun Dog a successful sojourn to Maine, and later found that he had left me his email address in the Gren Anderson Shelter log book, so I fired off an email to him tonight. I hope Mrs. Sun Dog will help keep me abreast of his progress. There is not a gentler man than this, and I wish him well.
Most of the other highlights of the day were little things, mostly good. But with all the damp weather the gnats are out, and so are the ticks. On the positive side, I passed a section that had burned within the past couple of years, and were the tea berries were plump, abundant and perfectly ripe. I absolutely love their special flavor. And it always reminds me of the 1960's TV commercial for Clark's Teaberry Gum (yes, I remember watching it back then).
I saw my second porcupine in two days, this one was ambling down the trail - quills bristling, warning all who might try to pass that the trail was his and his alone!
And I continue to enjoy the recap of spring. It had hit Georgia as I hiked those mountains, now it's hitting northern New Jersey, and there are some really pretty wild pink azaleas blooming. These are 'happy trails', when they are adorned so elegantly. I look forward to more ...
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Below is a map with my hike plotted on it. The title is a link that takes you to more photos and data about today's hike:
AT Day 115 - Culvers Gap at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find the best hikes in California and beyond
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