Thursday, May 5th

Blue Mountain Lakes Road (1314.8 mi) to Deckertown Turnpike, Iris Trail (1334.5 mi)

Hiking Miles: 19.7

Total Ascent: 2,780.5 ft

Total Descent: 2,842.5 ft

Total Grade: 285.3 ft/mi

Steps: 40,283

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Today was a slack pack day. We originally hoped to hike 25 miles and reach High Point (the highest elevation in New Jersey), however we only managed to do 20. It was a warm day and it was great to hike in short sleeves for a change.

As we approached a tower, we met a northbound day hiker who was a bit of a “pain”. Perhaps that made up for the shoulder pain I didn’t have to deal with thanks to the light pack I was carrying today. The poor guy was obviously in search of company and he wouldn’t stop talking even after we told him we were pressed for time to meet a deadline. He just kept talking and talking, and he even sped up to catch us after we had stopped for a snack break. Needless to say, we pressed on again and this time finally lost him.

We opted to stop at 3:40 pm and have Teresa pick us up at the nearest trail head so that we could go back to the hotel, shower, change, then drive to the Moschetto’s in Wycoff, NJ for dinner. Teresa did a thorough resupply shopping for us at Walmart while we were on trail. She found a Pediolyte powder that actually tasted like Gatorade when mixed with water. With a full resupply, we were definitely covered for the next week when Teresa would once again return to pick us up (in New York somewhere) for our 10-day break.

We arrived at the Moschetto’s around 5:30 pm. It was great to see Carla, Chuck, Ciana and a “drugged” Peppino (they had given him a mild sedative because he barks and gets protective around strangers). Carla and Chuck had prepared an amazing dinner for us that I will list however, I wouldn’t be surprised if I missed something because they cooked to satisfy true “hiker hunger”. Here goes: pasta with meat sauce, bread, London Broil, sausage, potatoes, green beans, cheese, salami & olives (green & black), empanadas and salad. For dessert – chocolate, grapes, anything bundt cakes (lemon & velvet), cookies, coffee, bourbon, and a liquor that tasted like Bailey’s Irish Cream.

We also video chatted with Christina who was up in Minnesota – it was a great night!