New York - Mile 1,357 July 5 - 10th

We made it into my home state of NY on July 5th. The highlight in NY was meeting family members in Cornwall and walking across Bear Mtn Bridge. Lots of good meals and support in this section!

The sign marking the NJ - NY border

The Lemon Squeezer - a very narrow crevice that hikers have to crawl through. I had to take my pack off to fit through.

Harriman state park

Looking over at the tower on Bear Mtn

We meet up with mom, dad, Chris and Thomas on the top of Bear Mtn

The tower on Bear Mtn

 Dad and Thomas hike the AT down from Bear Mtn

 Overlooking the Hudson River

The trail down Bear Mtn

 Thai food with Scott and Carole in Cornwall, NY

Good luck Bravo - the trail will always be there.

 A large group meanders through the trailside museum - Carole, Nana, Chris, Thomas, mom&dad walk this section of the AT with us.

The bears den at the trailside museum - the lowest point on the AT. (Note - dad has now been at the highest and lowest point on the AT!)

Setting out across Bear Mtn bridge

The Hudson River and Bear Mtn bridge

On the other side of the Bear Mtn bridge

High Point Tower, NJ Mile 1,329

There is actually farmland in western NJ. We went from High Point Tower, the highest point in NJ, to lowland swamps that were full of mosquitos.

 Mom drives us to a motel in Branchville, NJ

 The tower at High Point, NJ

A farm in western NJ

 Crossing a boardwalk across swampland

 The boardwalk ran for over a mile and was very nice to walk on

View from Wawayanda mt. You could still see High Point Tower,  miles to the south.

Delaware Water Gap - Into New Jersey mile 1,285

We were very excited to cross the Delaware River into New Jersey, our 8th state. The terrain improved, we felt good hiking, and mom met us again for several days on the trail.

The Delaware River

Church hostel in the Delaware Water Gap. They fed the thru-hikers a great meal June 30th.

Our trail crossed the river and then passed under this highway into NJ

 A turkey vulture welcomes us to New Jersey

 Sunfish Pond - beautiful, but we couldn't swim in it

Trail along the Kittatinny Ridge, NJ

Thru hikers Do What, Who Knows, and Y-Knot. Any questions?

View from Kittatinny Ridge

Lehigh Gap, PA - mile 1,245

PA is going down as the worst state to hike through - rocks, snakes and then lyme disease. We took almost a week off to recover, then got back on trail doing less mileage.

 Rest and recuperation in Sidney Center, NY

 More rocks in 'rockslyvania'

Climbing out of Lehigh Valley, PA

Coal mining operation in Palmersville

 Great blackcaps along the ridge from Lehigh Gap

We picked enough berries to send some home with mom

Mom came down to PA to support us for several days - always great!

Duncannon to Hawk Mtn, PA - Mile 1,224

Pennsylvania has proven to be our least favorite state so far. There are many rocky or overgrown sections of trail, and apparently the worst rocks are still to come. Poison ivy almost covers the trail in places, and once again I have a bad case of it. There are few overlooks or scenic areas. There are fewer thru-hikers on the trail, since by this point over half have dropped out. Mike was diagnosed with Lyme disease, so we may become part of the drop-out rate as well.
We had some highlights though: Mike's mom and Tony stopped by to visit in Duncannon, and my parents came to Port Clinton and dad did a 15 mile hike with us.

 Barbara and Tony meet us at the Doyle hotel in Duncannon, PA

The historic Doyle hotel. Hikers are welcome, since no one else would pay to stay here.

 The trail crosses the Susquehanna River and several major highways before heading into the woods again.

This was the site of a coal mining town in the 1800's. The only remnents are a few foundations and an old cemetary; it has reverted to woodland.

 White rhododendrons are a novelty to us - we've only seen pink varieties so far

Crossing under I-81 for the 4th time - twice in Virgina and twice in Pennsylvania

 Kimmel lookout, near Pine Grove, PA

 Campsite along the AT

Hideous rocky section of trail - we hate going over these

 Hayman, Y-Knot and Balance on the trail along the Schuykill River

 Another ankle-breaker section of trail

View from the Pinnacle. It was hazy, but we did get some views.

 Rattlesnake and copperhead (Sorry Bridget! My dad thought these were really cool so I had to post it)

Pinnacle overlook