November 13, 2007
As a side trip I re-visited the Pochuck Creek crossing, an area where suburban development has left only the swamp land free for the Trail.
Back in 2001 when I was hiking this area, I looked out from the heights trail north, and spied this tall suspension bridge in the distance. But alas, there was no path to get to it - so the AT then was a road walk detour.
In 2002 the connecting boardwalks were finished by the hard-working trail builders, so now we can stroll over a mile of walkways through the marshes, crossing the bridge in the middle.
You can see this route clearly on Google Earth as well.
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It seems a popular route for local aerobic walkers, bird- and butterfly-watchers.
This is probably the last new addition to my AT miles for 2007 - I'm up to 1557 miles total - can't wait for spring 2008!
New Jersey's Pochuck Quagmire
Smoky Mountain Hiking
September 14, 2007
The trek began on a rainy day - Hurricane Humberto brought us a day of rain, gentle in the valleys but gusty up at Newfound Gap where we started the hike. We walked mostly in a white-out but for one moment we had this glimpse out into the mountains.
My advanced planning for feet management - "flashing and counter flashing" with gaiters and rain paints - kept my feet dry successfully. We had a group of 6 tourists and 2 guides, and stayed the first night at Icewater Spring Shelter along with several other hikers (reservations required at these shelters).
Trail Crew
July 28, 2007
After a week of working hard and learning about rock work, here are some of the crew standing on our new flight of steps on South Turner Mountain. Leaders Ali and Julie are in the front; Tecla, Britta, and I in the back.
