Right about here I was thinking to myself,  “What am I doing?” 

The plan was to come to our cabin at Pecks Pond, spend the night so I can get an early start, and knock off a few of the 20 miles I have left to finish NJ. 

Well I was up at 4am. Looked outside. The wind was blowing and the snow falling. Already 2 inches on the ground. The radio said 5 inches was on the way. 

My brain keeps saying that it’s really cold. Really windy. The hill you have to climb will be hell in 5 inches of snow. 

I decided to go back to bed and read for an hour, have another cup of green tea, coffee is out, and then decide what to do. 

I decide to give it a try. It worked out perfectly! 

Right out of the chute! A slippery stream crossing. Then a short up to open fields! 

Then off through the woods.  

The AT joined this Liberty Loop around the Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge. 

Then NJ’s pretty famous “Boardwalk” Section. About a mile of board path through a swampy wooded area.  Must take tons of work to maintain this! 

They were snowy but not too slippery. Thank the gods. I didn’t need wet boots. 

Out across a field and I nto the woods. 

Then a bit of road walking. 

Cool old chimney. 

Pochuck Mountain in the distance. 

It was really beautiful out there today. About 30 degrees. Warm compared to last week. I stopped and removed a layer, ate a bagel and turned around. 

And back to the car. 

My new Rav 4! 

On my way back to Pecks, the sky opened up. 

An unexpected blue showed itself. 

So, I’ll come back to the foot of Pochuck Mountain, climb a half mile past the shelter,  and try and find a place to camp, 10 miles or so in. Then just 5 miles to the NY border and I’m finished NJ! 

Tonight it will be around 10 up there and the temps will stay below freezing until Tuesday, when a bigger snow arrives! 

Not sure when I can finish. This weather is killing me. I don’t want to spend any more money on cold weather gear for a while and from now on, 20 degrees at night will be my limit. 

So we’ll see. 

WIL: 10 miles is plenty in the snow, even with a day pack.