Mashipacong Shelter 1330.8

In the morning we've tackled the Rattlesnake Mountain. Nothing there but a nice view and some rocks. Overall New Jersey has been pretty rocky so far. Luckily it doesn't bother us very much unlike others :)
For lunchtime we shot for a gap about 12 miles after our campsite. That was quite ambitious but we arrived there at about 1. While figuring out where to eat we noticed Gyp's Tavern and decided that it was a good time for a beer. And the food menu wasn't too expensive so we also went for that. We ended up sitting next to the lake, enjoying the ice cold beer, chatting with the locals and getting drawn into the vortex of the internet. Just as we finally made it to head out, Jon arrived at the Tavern.

Probably about half an hour later we were back in the trail. Fortunately we got interrupted again by trail magic from "Backup" and her husband who were doing a bit of hiking. She started thru hiking this year and did a section from Georgia until after the Smokies. They are from the area and she wanted to catch up with some people she met on the trail. They had the back of their car filled with delicious hiker stuff, bananas, Gatorade and even some beer. We talked a bit about the trail and people we both knew. About 5 minutes later we got even more trail magic by an elderly man with the trail name "Snores". He had some soda and a mosquito repellent for us.
Refreshed and happy we went to climb the next mountain together with Jon who caught up to us. On top is another fire watch tower and a picnic table. There we met again our trail angels and took our time talking and drinking beer together. We've really enjoyed their company and conversations.

Back on the trail we managed to make another 6 miles to get to the next Shelter because there is rain and thunderstorms forecasted.Read more