Woke up to the expected rain. Waited for a break in weather and started packing up my tent. To my surprise Luscious was already packed up and gone!
I found him at the concession stand and we had breakfast under the awning.
It took us a while but we both found rideshare options back to our places on trail. We said goodbye for now and got to hiking.
Saw a more informative sign about the aerial spraying. I assume this is the same thing from a week ago.
Early on I found a Red Eft. Pretty cute little guy.
At some point in the morning I left New Jersey and entered New York. If there was a sign, I missed it.
This section had a little warning in the guidebook that I probably should have given more credence to.
The hiking was slow going. The smaller scrambles were fun but the longer runs of rocky ridges were not. They were slick with rain and required me to waddle like a penguin to avoid falling. I still fell a few times, luckily nothing too serious.
There was even a pure vertical section!
After about 10 miles of rocky chaos I finally reached Belvale and treated myself to an ice cream.
The afternoon had fewer slick rocks but more up and down climbs with a few scrambles. Fun hiking even though I was dragging a little after being up late last night with the movie.
Finally got to a camping spot and setup the tent just minutes before a small thunderstorm rolled in and soaked everything. After the storm spent itself I had a nice sunset with dinner.
