UNIONVILLE

AT Day 079: Sunday June 25, 2023

Mile 1334.5 + 19.5 miles/ 31.4 km

Total Distance Hiked:1354 miles/2179 km

Mashipacong Shelter – Pochuck Mt Shelter 

A:  2425 ft /740 m  D:2965 ft /904  m 

We woke feeling a little bruised and battered. Hammer lingered in his sleeping bag a little longer and I was dreaming of crispy clean sheets and fluffy bath towels.  Eventually we had to face pulling down a dripping wet tent. 

The birds singing was a pleasant reminder to look on the bright side. It was not raining and adventure awaits ahead.  In the New Jersey section of the AT camping is only allowed at designated shelters. Our next likey shelter was in 19.5 miles so we were in no rush to leave.  

It was a good morning although very warm and humid. It wasn’t raining so it made for really quite pleasant hiking. The red efts on the trail were really active early because of the warmth in the air. In the first 30 minutes from leaving the shelter this morning Hammer counted 30 red efts on the trail.  You know it’s wet when they’re out in such large numbers.  We had to stay focused on the ground otherwise we would tred on them.  There were so many Hammer stopped counting. 

We passed several overlooks, Marcia Lake and  and a fire tower but because of the morning fog we saw nothing. There were a few rocky ascents which were a bit challenging with the rocks still wet and slippery from the overnight rain. The humidity added to effort of the climbs.  

It was almost 12:00 when we crossed route 519. The sun was out and hiking was very pleasant despite the heat and humidity. The next section of trail was incredibly flat with the most amazing tall sledder trees and huge long swathes of stone walls obviously part of some old structure but it’s hard to work out what it might have been. Hammer guessed maybe property boundaries. 

We planned to go into Unionville to get some late lunch and some resupply. Unionville  is about 0.3 miles off trail. Before reaching the turnoff to town, the AT route was deviated around some swampy ground. These wetlands are a local feature as we discovered later in the afternoon. We reached Unionville around 2pm. It was a very pleasant town with some beautiful old buildings. We got a sandwich and some resupply from Horlers General Store. It was so nice to take our shoes off and sit on their porch enjoying a cold drink and a delicious fresh salad roll. Hammer dried the tent fly while we were having lunch. 

It was hard to leave such a nice town.  The heat and humidity has really added to hiking effort today. We had less then 6 miles to hike to get to the nearest shelter.  

A light shower followed us out of town and it drizzled a little for about an hour. We passed some open pastures before reaching a long deviation around a huge wetland. There was little birdlife evident in the late afternoon.

From the wetland we ascended Pochuck Mountain. It was a long and very steep climb to the shelter. We arrived with our clothes fully soaked in sweat.  Nice to get the tent up and get horizontal. A cooling breeze is moving through the tent and the sun is out.  It feels wonderful  to have the day done early and to be resting.