Day 82 -Greetings from New Jersey (June 29)

I crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey this morning. It was nice to leave Pennsylvania. No one was enthusiastic about PA. There were few views and lots of rocks. Other states also had lots of rocks, but there were good views in previous states.

New Jersey is a surprisingly beautiful state. Many of the mountain tops are open with rocks and shrubs. There are surprisingly few houses or roads to be seen from the mountain tops.

Its been very hot and buggy. There are lots biting flies and mosquitoes. I hear the buzzing of mosquitoes all around my tent. I'm very happy to have a bug free environment to sleep.

There are also sounds of thunder in the distance. There was a light rain much of the day.

I think I lost more weight the past week. Its been hot, and I have not been snacking as much. I've been spending a lot of money in towns eating. There have not been any fast food places in the last few towns. Those give you the most calories per dollar. I had to go to diners and pubs. I've also made it a habit to eat two pints of ice cream when ever I'm in town.

I walked about 25 miles today to get to the Brinks Road shelter. The only other person here is Couch King who is hiking from Harpers Ferry to Maine. I already passed everyone I met yesterday.

Its surprisingly easy to hike alone. Hiking alone was my greatest fear before I started the trail. I meet and talk to people along the way, but I rarely see the same people again. I occasionally meet people I really enjoy hiking with like Vachon who I was hiking with about a week ago. However, I enjoy talking and spending time with everyone on the trail.

There doesn't seem to be an internet connection here, but I have a mobile phone connection. I will post this when I can.