I camped next to the Wes Anderson shelter last night (I think it was actually called Gren Anderson)

This is what my foot looked like this AM, plus I had a pretty good kankle going. The foot swelling was mostly from my feet being downhill of my head. The ankle and leg swelling was helped a lot throughout the day by the compression sleeve and Advil. I will try to elevate my feet when I sleep tonight which should help.  

The highest point in New Jersey (~1700′).
What a beautiful day. The morning was cool but it was hot in the midday sun.

The picture is a little dark showing the inside of the shelter at my mid AM break…but it’s very bad form setting up your hammock inside.
Wild and scenic NJ.

After the high point of NJ the trail descends into farmland. The fence stile was a little off kilter.

This structure is on a farm located a couple hundred yards off trail and owned by a former thru hiker. He allows hikers to stay here and has some deliciously cold well water coming out of a spigot This was a great treat as the water sources in NJ have been less than optimal (stagnant streams, scummy ponds, etc). This is the first time on the trail we’ve had less than great water.

The trail skirts around this wildlife refuge before climbing up the mountains in the background to the Pochuck shelter.

Overall, my leg improved noticeably today. About 3 hours of painful walking and 8 hours of modest discomfort… Definitely, headed the right direction. I seem to do better if I don’t stop for very long (<10 mins). Anymore than that and the pain would flare up. So this is why I wound up walking 26 miles today on a bum leg…not much stopping. I’m also encouraged that things feel pretty good after being off my feet in camp for the last 2+ hours. The last several nights everything starts to cease up when I stop. Hopefully there’s more improvement tomorrow. FYI, I got my first blister of the trip…probably from over compensating with my right foot.

It was a cool morning. New Jersey is the first state we are seeing lots of natural lakes. This is Sunfish Pond just mile out of camp. At 6:30 AM the sun has been up for well over an hour.

This is the view from the far side of the pond (seems big enough to be called a lake if you ask me).

Passed mile 1300 !

The temps warmed up to the low 70’s and it was perfect day for hiking.

Mountain laurel is blooming everywhere.

It was a long day and I’m glad to be in my tent.

I hadn’t planned to go as far as I did since my leg was in a miserable state from the shin splints for 3/4 of the day, yet tolerable for the other 1/4… It would go from one to the other out of nowhere! I had ordered some compression sleeves from Amazon for overnight delivery and pushed the extra miles to intercept those today.

Between the compression sleeve on my leg and some ice from the tavern, miles 23-26 went much better than expected. The best way to describe the pain is it’s very similar to a high ankle sprain without the instability. The downhills are the worst part, the flats aren’t much fun either. Surprisingly, the uphills are the least problematic. Hopefully, things improve tomorrow.

I left the motel at 6:30 and enjoyed the remains of the sunrise. Unfortunately, what should have been an easy 2.5 mile hitch turned into a long road walk back to the trailhead. There were too many roads for drivers to turn off on, plus it was the commuter hour. Needless to say this put me in a bad mood, especially with my shin splints still throbbing.

There were several long cobble sections that had my leg screaming. Luckily, this section of ferns were accompanied by a pleasant section of trail.

After three hours of wincing in pain with every step, all of the sudden things got better and I was merely dealing with modest discomfort. The body is a strange thing. It definitely, made appreciating this view on a beautiful day more enjoyable.

After lunch I made the descent into the Delaware Water Gap. Descending definitely aggravates the leg 😦

I was able to get some ice in town which seems to help quite a bit…plus, I can hike while wearing it!

Not the prettiest section of the trail…a 1.5 mile road walk next to I-80. At least we get our own sidewalk.

Even better, it got me into New Jersey.

I had a great campsite up high on a grassy ridge.

The sunset from my tent was a great way to end a long-rough day.

Everyday there is some new challenge that makes you appreciate when everything is going smoothly. All the additional miles walking to the trailhead on the road and the on-trail road walking wasn’t optimal for aiding my recovery. Hopefully, a good nights rest will help.

This is a pic I meant to post yesterday. It’s the Eckville shelter (cabin in back right). It’s a 100yds down the way at a road crossing. The main house is an AT caretaker’s residence. This was quite the little lunch oasis. Someone had left homemade brownies plus I got to dry my tent in the sun and charge my batteries.

This mornings hiking started off great. Perfect temps at 6am and impeccable trail conditions.

Those trail conditions deteriorated quickly…as the rock dancing began. The best comparison is that it’s a lot like skiing the bumps. You need to keep searching for a good line and bad things can happen when you lose your forward momentum. You’d be surprised at the size of boulder one can make teeter while walking across it.

At least we were rewarded with some great views.

This was a brutal climb of vertical rock scrambling in the blistering sun late this afternoon (86 today).

Wish I had gotten a person in this pic to give these boulders some perspective… they are huge.  
We did get a view of Lehigh Gap and the Lehigh River.  
This post apocalyptic scene is enhanced by the lack of all vegetation that was the result of toxins from a zinc plant that closed down 30+ years ago.

My cozy campsite on a bed of pine needles.

This was last nights accommodation (pitched my tent out front) compliments of the Port Clinton church. Hikers don’t need much.

This is Marshall and Mark, day hikers from the area…they hooked me up with some Snickers bars. Now they are officially Trail Angels. 
A great view on a blue sky day from Pinnacle Rocks. 
A local astronomy club has a pretty sweet setup at the top of the ridge.

Gotta Love these giant rat snakes…this ones a 5-footer. 
The rest of the day (7-miles) looked mostly like this…brutal! Rough on the ankles, plus it gives me a headache from having to concentrate so hard for so long.

This is a significant milestone as we now have less that 1000 miles to go (989).

Trooper from Scotland was wearing the best hat I’ve seen on the trail (homemade too!)

Frank the barber in Port Clinton, PA is a great host who lets hikers hangout at his shop (see rocking chairs), charge their phones, listen to his classic vinyl collection and stay cool with the AC.

A short 3 mile hitch to Hamburg is the worlds largest Cabelas.

If you haven’t seen wild life they have plenty.

Live carp swimming below the moose.

The Kodiak Grizzly is not indigenous to PA.

Today had several very rocky sections and I hear the real bad stuff starts tomorrow and lasts on and off over the next several days…definitely not fun.

Tonight I’m staying in the small town of Port Clinton. They have a park with a gazebo they allow hikers to use and camp next to. Cabelas would also let you camp in the grassy area next to their parking lot (but not as convenient to get back on the trail).

It was an interesting day of on and off showers and then sun, and quite a bit cooler than it has been recently.

This an old railroad bridge that is now used specifically for the trail.

There are a couple log benches under the I-81 overpass that made a perfect place to take a break and get out of the rain. It Definitely had a vagrant quality to the whole scene, but a welcomed amenity.

The William Penn shelter was a good looking two story design and made a good lunch stop.

When the skies cleared (as well as the trees) we were treated to a nice view.

The 501 shelter is actually a cabin.
It has bunk space for about 16 and made a good evening rest stop. The road is about a 1/4 Mike away and most folk were getting pizza delivered.
The last 5 miles had a lot of rock sections like this which is brutal and even worse when it’s miles 23-28. Needless to say the boots are officially broken in!

One last view before camp.

The long day leaves about 18 miles to Port Clinton tomorrow, a small town the AT goes right through the middle of. There’s not a whole lot there but they allow camping at the town gazebo and have a restaurant.

We drove back to Duncannon at 6am to start our day where we finished yesterday. The first 2 miles were a road walk through town.

We then climbed above the Susquehanna River. It was just about here, Gus and I parted ways. Thanks for the hospitality Gus and Christy!

There was lots of Mountain Laurel in bloom.

The rest of the day was fairly quiet and uneventful. I didn’t see any other northbound hikers on the trail. One guy rolled into this campsite I was at around 8pm.

The new boots felt good until the last 4 miles…then my feet were feeling pretty sore and tired. Hopefully, everything gets dialed in over the next couple days (at least the first 20+ miles felt good!)

It was a long day running around doing errands and town chores. Around 1:45 Gus and I left where we finished yesterday for the 9 miles to Duncannon, PA. The 4′ high grass we had gotten soaked in yesterday had miraculously been mowed since we left.

There were a couple good views from the ridge.

More of the Allegheny’s ridges in the distance.

We finished our day in Duncannon at the famous Doyle Hotel. Gus’ wife Christy was nice enough to pick us up again and bring us home …after some food and drink.

My trusty boots lasted over 1100 miles but now it’s time to lay them down to rest.