Beautiful morning of hiking in Highpoint State Park which includes... The highest point in New Jersey.
Unfortunately I missed the turn to go to the tower itself. I was pretty bummed about this when I figured it out a mile away and a few hundred feet down hill. Didn't have it in me to go back and climb it.
Wildlife today included large, redheaded wood peckers with a call like a screaming person. Weird to hear in the woods. Also saw multiple turkeys!
Both today and yesterday I caught ticks trying to turn me into a juice box. I got them early, feeling them before they could bite. I still check in the evenings. One of the nice things about tenting is plenty of privacy to check for ticks.
I've treated my clothes with permethrin and apply bug spray each day. That's a good start but I'm staying vigilant because Lyme Disease is no joke.
I've been playing with sock configuration on the new shoes. No matter what I do there's some sort of problem. It's possible the new shoes are just too small despite being long enough. Tomorrow we'll restart the different sock rotation with the inserts in and see what happens.
I went a little off trail to check out the "secret shelter". It's an unofficial shelter that is not part of the AT but ends up in a lot of trail guides. Inside it has black and white linoleum floor tiles.
Hot afternoon of hiking but made it in to Unionville, NY. My plan was to have dinner and head back onto the trail, but someone reported Norovirus symptoms at the next shelter and I don't really want to mess with that.
In other bad news the ice cream parlor in town was closed. Devastating.
Unionville is cool in that they let you tent camp at the park behind town hall. I setup there for the night and after a big meal at the local Wits End Tavern.
