I parked my Rav down the road and walked up to the Trail. 

I have this 15 mile section left going north to finish New Jersey. 

I was having no fun. 

The snow was consistently between 15 and 20 inches deep! Where the AT was hollowed out, it was even deeper at times! 
Here’s my trekking pole up to the handle. 

And my butt print where I fell!

It was less than a mile up but I nearly quit at least twice. It’s such a mental thing. I think we can almost always accomplish more than we think we can.  I forget and remember that everytime I’m out here. 

Pochuck Mountain Shelter!


Someone left a little Johnny Walker Red! I didn’t touch it, even though I wanted to see if it was pee. There was a Bible there as well, so maybe not!  🙂

I need to take the time to read through the registers. It’s such a kick when you find a friend!!! New Friends is the BEST part of all this. Sure, it’s a terrific accomplishment, all this hiking, but mostly it’s the people I’ve met and sometimes even haven’t met that make me smile. 

I wonder why the mirror? Who really cares to look at themselves out here? Better not to know.  It can only get worse. 

I signed the register,  and headed back down. It was much easier. My tracks helped, as did gravity. I could have almost run down if I had any energy left! 

I drove over to the Wawayanda State Park to check the Trail up to the Wawayanda Shelter on the AT. The snow was packed down by some weekend hikers! 

So, tomorrow I will hike up to the AT and see how far I can get NOBO. A snowmobile headed that way earlier. 

I’m hoping that packed center section stretches all the way to the NJ/NY state line. It’s about 4.5 miles. That’s really far in deep snow. At least there are no tough climbs.  

To the South is a big climb up what they call the “Stairway to Heaven!” At the top is the “Pinwheel Vista. ” I won’t be doing that until the snow is nearly gone. 

I can’t believe how long this end is taking! I will probably go down to Boiling Springs after this, and finish PA.  

I’m trying to complete from Virginia to New York before we leave for Cape Town on May 8th. 

If it weren’t for this snow…

Wawayanda S.P. Trail blazes. I have met some AMAZING park personnel. The Superintendent here was so very helpful and encouraging. Thank you!