Day 100
We woke up this morning ready for a longer day, nearly 19 miles. We hadn’t done a day that long in a while! We immediately crossed a road and climbed up shortly to a ridgeline where we’d be walking for pretty much the entire morning. Testament was with Nokey and me and the three of us hung pretty close together most of the day. We climbed over three humps that were balds - it reminded me a lot of the hiking down south. When we got to the junction with Brink Road Shelter, the skies turned dark and it got windy. It started sprinkling, so I put on my pack cover. If you aren’t aware, putting on your pack cover is a sure way to get it to stop raining. Sure enough, it stopped! Nokey was hiking with Trekking Pole now and the two of them had taken off, so Testament and I were hiking together down into Branchville. Nokey and Trekking Pole got there first and went into Joe to Go. When we got there, the guy turned off the lights and locked the door. We headed to Gyp’s Tavern down the street for some greasy food and a cold drink. We followed all the ‘hiker rules’ on the numerous signs. We were treated very poorly and the bartender kept yelling how it wasn’t a campground and we can’t just drink water there. We were about to order food and Nokey, Testament, Cheeba, and Trekking Pole were about to get another round of beers. We decided they didn’t deserve any of our money, so we left. We went and sat in the woods at the base of Sunrise Mountain when some section hikers came by who were also at the Tavern. They said the bartender came over to their table and poured out their drinks. Never stop in Branchville, NJ! Anyway, after sitting for an hour and taking the break we wanted at the bar, we headed up the hill to the Culver Firetower and then on to the Gren Anderson shelter. We were happy to find a good spring there as water has been hard to come by lately. Hoping NJ can redeem itself tomorrow! We’ve seen so much wildlife (so many deer and rabbits!) and I’m looking forward to friendlier people tomorrow! The photo is Testament and Nokey taking a break during the morning.