Day 112-OMG, Amazing!

July 8-11.7 miles-Rutherford Shelter to Unionville (Pastor Doug “Banzai”’s home)- AT mile 1347.7

We got a little bit later start today, and it was a good thing. The humidity was high, and it was foggy. 

That’s a lake over there. 

There were tons of my little orange friends. Seriously, I think I saw 30 or more! Here’s just one photo...I promise. 

But look! There are three!

You know, there are still rocks in New Jersey. There was this lovely downhill. 

Yeah, that’s pretty much straight down. 

Eventually, we popped out of the woods at the High Point State Park Ranger Station. We sat down on a bench to take a little break. That’s when the Trail Magic happened. A guy about my age came over and asked if we were thru-hiking. Then he pulled out a little notebook and asked our trail names. We talked for awhile, and he introduced himself as “I’m Obsessed”. Said he is obsessed with hiking. Then he said he likes to do trail magic and support hikers. He reached into his fanny pack and pulled out...you are not going to believe this...really...it’s crazy...he pulled out two crisp 100 dollar bills and gave them to Sure Foot and I! Funny thing, two nights ago at Brink Shelter, Michigan Millie was telling us about this trail angel who gave her $100. Yesterday, I was thinking that that would probably never happen to us because we are older, and probably appear to not be hurting for money (which is true). 

I’m Obsessed said him and his brothers took over the family artificial Christmas tree business when their father retired, and they just recently sold the business. He pointed to his car, and said I’m not hurting for money. One day, he gave out $2500!

His is the fancy white sports car. 

I’m Obsessed and me. 

I told him I live in the Evergreen State, but I still use an artificial tree. He said to email him, and he’ll hook me up with one of his trees (he’s contracted to work for the company for 2 more years, then he will retire). What an amazing guy! He headed south on the trail to look for more thru-hikers. 

We continued north (still amazed). We were in High Point SP. we climbed up to an observation tower with a view to an obelisk. 

The obelisk sits atop the highest point in New Jersey. We could have gone up there, and would have, except there wasn’t any view due to the fog. 

We did what seemed like a roller coaster of ups and downs. We crossed several roads. At one point we went along a section of pastures. 

And a pond. 

The tractor was moving the hay rolls. 

Then, the rocks mostly disappeared, and were replaced by boards over swampy areas. 

Don’t fall off!

There was thunder in the distance that was coming closer. We picked up the pace. Would we be able to make it to Unionville before the rain? Just barely! In fact, it started to rain just as we were coming up to Annabel’s Pizza. We ducked in under the porch overhang just as the skies opened up. I took my pack off, went inside, and ordered a slice of pizza. 

Yum! New York Pizza!

Haven’t seen daytime rain for a long time! Hopefully, it will help with the water sources. 

Yes, Unionville is in New York, but we are not done with Jersey yet. This is another one of those sections where we hop back and forth. It seems like the trail is in New Jersey, but the towns are mostly New York. 

I had called Pastor Doug a couple of days ago. He lets hikers stay in the basement of their house. He is a hiker too (trail name “Banzai”). Him and his wife “Hot Drink”, and their 21 month old daughter, “Maple Cake” have been in Unionville for just a year. Banzai has spent a lot of time renovating the basement of their 150 year old house for hikers. 

Sure Foot and I got the bunks. Quicksilver got the couch, and Rubberfoot (another hiker) got the bed that is just a box spring (the place is still a work in progress). There’s a brand new shower, and laundry. It’s all donation based. 

As Pastor Doug’s name implies, he is the pastor of the Presbyterian Church. Tonight was their Prayer Meeting. He asked if we’d like to go. Since I was done with my “town chores”, I agreed to go. It was nice to meet some of the Unionville townspeople (all sitting socially distant, of course). They all seemed happy to have me there. Tomorrow it’s back to the trail, but with less rocks (so we’ve been told).