August 14 - 16 (2 nights)
I found old photos of a backpacking trip from a couple years ago and decided to post a couple to the blog.
I got dropped off at the Delaware Water Gap to hike the New Jersey section of the AT. I don't remember a lot of the details at this point, but I do remember enjoying the views once I was up on the ridge.
I hiked about 15 miles the first day and set up camp in a small clearing off the trail. When I woke up in the morning and went to retrieve my bear bag, there was a bear up in a tree about 50 feet from the bear bag and there was another one on the ground about a 100 feet away. I made some noise and headed back to pack up and give them some space. About a mile down the trail there was another bear up in a tree right off the trail. The bear did not pay any attention to me as I hurried along. A minute later I ran into a south bound thru-hiker and stopped to warn him about the bear. We were chatting for a minute when one of us looked up and right above us were three cubs looking down. We both took a couple pics and said goodbye. I did not see anymore bears the rest of the day or the next. Pretty cool experience.
The second night I set up camp at the Gren Anderson Shelter and chatted with another south bound thru-hiker. I ended up not hiking the whole NJ part of the AT, I missed the last bit of High Point State Forest because my feet were killing me and I arranged for my wife to pick me up a little earlier than planned. But, it was 3 days of great hiking weather and I got to see a different part of NJ than I usually do when we visit my in-laws.
