Day Dreaming and Vacation Planning

It all starts with a cup of tea and a book.  That's all I need - especially on a night like tonight, when there really isn't anything on TV.

I read this book, Southbound, by Lucy and Susan Letcher.  Was it a good book?  Well, yes.  I loved it.  Will YOU love it?  I don't really know the answer to that question.   It certainly isn't on my list of books to suggest for my book club.  It's for a pretty specific audience - people who are fascinated by the Appalachian Trail.  (People like me.)

 The Appalachian Trail goes right through New Jersey - from the Delaware Water Gap, north into New York State.  It's a beautiful wild area that's easily accessible from here. 

So I'm sitting here daydreaming about past hikes, and planning future ones. 

 There is a lot to learn about Backpacking, if you've never gone, but the trail is very well marked.  There is a lot of ups and downs, some steep areas and some very simple flat areas.

There is a lot of wildlife on the trail, too.  New Jersey has bears - I suppose you'd already hear that, haven't you?  Every once in a while, a bear will wander down from the mountains and ramble through Colonia or something, and freak everyone out.  This is probably where most of those bears come from.  So we put our food and "smellables" - even things like deoderant - into bear bags, and hoist them into a tree.  I guess it works.  I haven't seen any bears playing pinata with our snacks yet. 

And so - yeah - you'll need to be prepared.  Do your research before you just wander into the woods; it's not complicated, but it is important to have a clue about what you are doing.

The accommodations are whatever you decide to bring along.  You can buy some really comfy hammocks and sleep in the open air, or some amazingly light tents.  (I'm a tenter, myself.)

 The trail has some kind of magic -- and I don't just mean trail magic, which is kinda like good deeds done for people who thru hike.  I mean there is a magic in the wild places and creatures that you see as you walk along.

 So excuse me while I go plan my next walk in the woods...