.April 23, 2006
It was a cold and rainy day, so I had stopped at Walmart to pick up a waterproof coat and pants. The poncho I had just wasn't cuttin' it. As I left Culver's Gap, I started the 700 foot climb up to the Culver Fire Tower. About 10 minutes into my hike, I heard a voice behind me. It was Lynn. She noticed I had forgotten my hat and ran to catch up to me. She was soaking wet. I felt so bad, but she said she was going back to the motel anyway and that I needed the hat more. What a great crew!
When I got to the Culver Fire Tower the area was fogged in. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I thought near the top of the tower I might get out of the rain for a little bit so I climbed the tower anyway. No such luck however, the top level was locked and the level below it was soaking wet. I started my way down carefully stepping on each slippery, wooden step. A slip here and I would be taking the express.
The creeks and paths were flowing as a result of the rain. The trail in sections resembled a small creek more than a trail. The Gren Anderson Shelter was .2 miles off the trail. I wanted to get out of the rain for a little bit so I went to check it out. Just before leaving I made sure I had all my belongings.
About 15 minutes later I had to crawl under a fallen tree. This scraped the top of my pack. I checked my pack to make sure the waterproof covering was still secure. It was gone. I finally found it but it cost me an additional bonus mile.
I made my way up to Sunrise Mountain which was also completely fogged in. I was in for a nice surprise however. There is a large pavillion at the top. There were benches pointing out toward the east and west. There had to be great views from here. There is a road that goes to the top of Sunrise Mountain so Lynn and I checked it out as we left New Jersey two days later where Lynn took a picture of Snoopy and me.
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A couple of miles after this I noticed a sign on a side trail that read, "Not the A.T." This is the first sign I have seen like this. Usually a side trail is marked with blue blazes or nothing at all. I just thought it was kind of unique. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Next I stopped at the Mashipacong Shelter. Just try to say that 5 times fast. There were two people there: '3-D' and 'Slow Cooker'. I noticed they had a tent set up inside the shelter. They said they had to do this because the roof of the shelter was leaking.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ After saying Goodbye, I quickly came across the Deckertown Turnpike. The rain had finally subsided and was now just a mist.
Wildlife today consisted of small, bright orange salamanders. The Rutherford Shelter looked a long way off the trail so I didn't bother stopping. A few more miles and I meet about 10 hikers coming from the other way. They didn't have packs which is usually a sign that I am getting near a park or road.
"Great views today," one of them joked.
"There out there somewhere. How far to Route 23?"
"About 45 minutes."
"Great. Thank you."
I reached Route 23 which is where the park office is for High Point State Park and also where Lynn met me. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ We took a detour and drove up to the High Point Monument. It was fogged in like everything else but was much larger than I thought at 220 feet. Lynn drove me back to where I left off and drove ahead to Route 519. Snoopy joined me and we began to hike further into the park when I came across a large observation deck. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I could somewhat make out the fogged in monument from here. The trail doesn't go up to the monument and the best view of the monument from the trail is just north of the observation platform. The observation platform can be easily reached by driving the scenic road through the park. Lynn and I did this two days later as well so I could get a picture while the weather was nice. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Going down the mountain I came to the blue blazed trail for High Point Shelter. There was no sign saying how far it was but I heard water. Shelters tend to be built near water sources so I decided to check it out. It was probably .2 miles one way. I returned to the trail and continued on, meeting Lynn at Route 519.
The next few miles were a lot of fun. There are several roads that intersect the trail and were easy to get to. Lynn found the trailhead at each location and met me at each one. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I passed numerous stone walls and crossed New Jersey farmland. Some may not believe it but New Jersey does have farmland. In fact, Lynn read a fact up at the monument that the valley before us was very fertile. If you eat an onion in this country it most likely came from here. I also went by a small pond which had plenty of beaver activity. The creeks were swollen and I was glad that bridges were built. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Then the trail entered back into 'wetlands' and a went a minimum of 100 yards on bog bridges through Vernie Swamp. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lynn then met me at our final destination for the day, Unionville Road.
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