Wednesday, May 4th

Delaware Water Gap (1296.9 mi) to Blue Mountain Lakes Road (1314.8 mi)

Hiking Miles: 17.9

Total Ascent: 2,706 ft

Total Descent: 1,706.4 ft

Total Grade: 246.8 ft/mi

Steps: 41,084

Great start to the day with Dunkies – sour dough bacon, egg & cheese sandwiches, a half dozen donuts, and coffee!! Having a Dunkin Donuts attached to the hotel was genius on the part of someone, and we took full advantage.

We took our time enjoying our food and packing up our resupplied items before checking out of the hotel at 8:40 am. Then shortly thereafter, we happily crossed the border into New Jersey.

Despite having overcast skies and muddy trail conditions, we did spot interesting landmarks, colorful wildlife, and more beaver dams. It was also misty most of the morning.

Over the course of the day, Stevie was checking his phone, and mentioned that he was in contact with Chuck (Christina’s dad), who agreed to pick us up around 4:30 pm at a specified trailhead to take us to Wyckoff for a visit. That sounded amazing, however we needed to pick up the pace to not have him wait too long.

But by far, the best surprise of the day was meeting Teresa at the end of our 18 mile hike at the Blue Mountain Lakes Road trailhead. All day Stevie had tricked me into thinking Chuck was picking us up on his day off to drive us back to Wyckoff, NJ for a visit and a home-cooked meal. Instead, Teresa drove to NJ and booked a hotel for a few days to spend some time with us and to help with our hike. Stevie definitely got me! This was the BEST SURPRISE EVER!! Funny thing was, I had called her during the day while we were stopped at the tower. She actually answered the phone while she was stopped at a full-serve gas station in New Jersey (attendants pump your gas there). I had absolutely no idea that she was driving down to visit.

I literally thought I was seeing things when I saw Teresa standing down the trail with her phone held up and filming as we walked towards her. I remember saying “OMG” and “No Way” about 5 times, while being completely shocked and happy. The hysterical thing about that exchange was that we later discovered that she never turned the camera on, so no video, only memories!

We drove back to the Appalachian Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon Township. On the way, we had stopped by the Bear Brook Valley grounds where Stevie and Christina booked their wedding venue. At the hotel, we ordered dinner delivered from Silvio’s, got drinks at Otto’s Bar within the resort, and ate in their library room. Our bartender informed us that he had thru-hiked the AT back in 1997.

Overall it was a great day that included an amazing, well choreographed surprise!