Today we leave New Jersey

Five days and we have walked through New Jersey and entered New York. Seems a bit weird that it went so quickly - less than 100 miles. What impressions do we take with us? Firstly - the bears in NJ. There are lots and they ain't scared of hikers. Eight hikers meeting at the Steakhouse in Branchville, just off the trail, all have a bear story to tell. Macguyver tells her story of making a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, looking up to find a bear swipe the sandwich. We see one large bear which takes our tally to 11 for the trip.

The rocks are not as bad as Pennsylvania but they are still memorable, especially as we had relaxed into thinking that we had escaped the rocks, only to find the ridge from hell on the NewYork/NewJersey border.

One of the main memories will be the 'mayor's house', a place to stay for hikers in the little town of Unionsville which is only half a mile from the trail. We walked into town, and the general store gave us the directions - take the street behind the pub and then the first left and the second house on the left. It felt a bit strange to us wandering down the street hoping that we find the right house. Sure enough as we arrive at the second house, there is a white blaze on the lamp post out the front and somebody sees us and waves us in. Twenty hikers stay that night - 8 in a bunk room, and the rest camped on the back lawn. For a donation of $10, Butch and Bill cook us dinner and breakfast. Bill is 81 years old and runs the kitchen - he serves 20 hikers with a cheese omelette, fried potatoes, two chippalata sausages and a muffin, with jam. No fuss, he just keeps cooking and we keep eating.

We are now walking around 17 miles a day - sometimes up to 20 if the country is easy, and we have caught up to new hikers that we haven't met before - Sourdough, a naturalist from Alaska, Masterchief, a retired soldier, Sweet Tea, an older woman from Alabama, and Macguyver, a psychologist. A few times in the last week we have crossed paths with two awesome young women hiking the trail - I think of them as 'warrior princesses' - Stucco and Scatters. They are smart, strong, carry big packs and walk fast.  We keep catching them, because they take time off to visit friends in towns along the way, while Digby and I just trundle on.