Today was a fantastic weather day for hiking. We started the morning off by hiking through a mile or so of swamp that has a legit boardwalk on it. This was pretty unique and cool. We saw a beaver in a creek just outside the swamp, but it swam away too quickly for me to paparazzi it.

Jersey boardwalk. Where's the beach though? I couldn't find it.

We then had a stop at a little deli right off the trail and destroyed a large blueberry danish for a brunch snack. The amenities of the north are plentiful and always tempting. It seems like there are towns and stores every 5 miles or so here.

Next up was a climb up Wawayanda Mountain. It was steep, but short as is the case in the Mid-Atlantic States.

We then said farewell to New Jersey, home of the New Jersey Jets (go Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez!) and crossed over into New York. There were numerous tricky rock scrambles to navigate. They are fun, but tiring. The one part has a ladder. I guess it was too dangerous to scramble through otherwise.

Scrambling

We had some really nice views down to Greenwood Lake from a couple of the rocky ridges and scrambles.

Greenwood Lake

We stealth camped very near the shelter trail off on a side trail. Tomorrow we have another full day of hiking and then we are taking a nearo day on Saturday in Fort Montgomery, NY.

Vital stats :
Milestone – finished New Jersey, now in New York. 8 states done, 6 to go.
Miles hiked today – 21.3
Mood – back in the groove
Physical state – tired from the scrambles, but good
Smell – hell on earth
Song stuck in my head – New York, New York by Ryan Adams