Our Unconventional Life

Hiking through New York it's hard to think of yourself being in the wilderness when you're able to spot the New York City skyline from some of the high points. At the campgrounds it's clear that people from the city value coming out here to get away, spread out, and enjoy a little country air. 6/12 Arden Valley to Bear Mountain - 18.2 miles A good hiking weather day today although it's supposed to get into the 90's in the afternoon so we're planning on getting an early start. Angelika dropped me off at the trailhead but opts out of hiking in since right off the bat there's a steep climb up out of the valley. Passing by Island Pond there's an interesting looking stone sluiceway that directs the water under a bridge. There are so many rocks in this area it's no surprise that a lot of the construction is done with stone. Next up is the "Lemon Squeeze". The trail goes through a jumble of large rocks and through a very narrow space between a cou...

The trail is wrapping up in Pennsylvania and heading into New Jersey now. This area is referred to as the New Jersey Highlands, but never rises above 1500 feet. This is the oldest part of the Appalachians and has experienced a lot of glacial activity during various ice ages. Glacial erratic boulders are common.  6/5 Wind Gap to Mount Minsi - 13 miles Angelika dropped Steve and I off at the trailhead and we head off for another three day overnight. Close to the start is a reminder of how far we have left to go to reach Mount Katahdin.  Not too much further on the trail, there's a nice view from a pipeline right of way that crosses the ridge. At Fox Gap we meet Trail Angel Steve who is hosting trail magic at the road crossing. He has cold drinks and snacks on offer. We gladly accept and stop to chat for a while. Turns out he has relatives in Germany that live near Nuremberg and we have visited a lot of the same places there. He also did work in the town Steve lives and knows tha...