"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves."
-Edmund Hillary
Start: AMC Mohican Outdoor Center
Finish: Route 206, Branchville NJ
Today: 18.0 mi
Total: 167.4 mi
Good news...I didn't fall off the top bunk in our room last night (Heather was scared to sleep on the top bunk). After hitting the snooze button a couple of times we quickly got ready by 7:15 AM. Unfortunately, we had both bought tickets for breakfast which wasn't until 8 AM so we had to wait.
We were off on the trail at 9:15 AM. Is it just me or is there a steep climb straight up a mountain every morning? Although the rocks aren't as bad as's PA, we had some pretty tough patches which we weren't expecting. I realized how often I had asked the trail to be soft and smooth and a trail has never yielded to my wishes. So, today, I decided to use reverse psychology and asked the trail for even sharper rocks. Unfortunately, the trail finally gave me what I asked for.
Near the 8 mile mark, the trail meandered around a small pond. The water was so still that it's blue-black surface reflected the trees like a mirror. Near the shore of the lake were thousands of green lilly pads. As I made my way around the pond I heard a plunging-swimming noise. Confused, I thought I might've discovered the Loch Ness monster's cousin. Just as soon as that thought entered my mind a great big deer leapt out from the lake and darted into the forest. What a cool thing to see! My loud feet must've scared him. (headline: Bigfoot scares Loch Ness monster).
Many ups and downs combined with a rough terrain was an energy sapping combination. One fifth of a mile before arriving at our shelter we decided to hike another 4 miles. Crazy! Below the canopy of the forest it was getting dark as the sun sank towards the horizon. We would have to move quickly because it was already 6:35 PM. By 7:25 PM, we had already done three of the miles and just one remained. Darkness crept into the forest and the crickets were getting louder and louder. The volume of the crickets felt like a countdown to darkness. By 7:45 PM we completed our 18 miles...and we earned every one of them!!
~DADDY LONG LEGS
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