We slept at the Fire Tower last night. We decided to sleep all in a tight circle so we could keep a watchful eye out for any intruders. Nothing came but the Whipper Will. That bird was up at 4am singing like he was practicing for the Super Bowl Half-time Show. He had some other bird as a backup singer that went on cue. Whenever he stopped his twiddle-dee-dumb, and other birdie did his do-do dingle-dangle song. It was cute the first time around but after countless chords, I was ready to take them both out. Oh my gosh, how does one get sleep around here?

Needless to say, I was slow moving this morning. Around 7am, we finally left the confides of our Watch Tower. I took the lead, and we had a pretty easy morning. We still had tons of rocks, but it was an easy downhill. We hit the water source within a mile, filled up for the day and carried on. Whistles is a solo-hiker that we kept seeing the past couple of days. He wasn’t his jovial self, so after talking him off the ledge, we had him join us for the next few miles to the shelter.

We came around a bend, and there she stood. As still as can be. Ears twitching back and forth, and her fawn standing behind. Deers are so funny. They are super curios, yet always on guard. She looked at the four of us, and finally decided we were foe. She turned around with that big white tail of her’s standing straight up with the fawn right behind her. Gosh, I wish I could run like that, so graceful and beautiful.

We made it to Sunrise Mountain Pavillon which has tremendous views to Mount Pocono Ski Area and the surrounding mountains. The smoke is dissipating, and the AQ has improved 100%. Yesterday it was 260’s and today we could see blue skies with clouds. The AQ was down in the 140’s so things are looking up.

After a quick stop, we meandered down and up and down and up to Mashipakong Shelter. I know, crazy name but nice picnic table. The four of us stayed for an hour or so. I had a lovely lunch of tuna, seeded crackers and fruit roll-up. Braveheart heated up some soup, and C2T ate cheese sticks and bars. While Whistles had a jar of peanut butter he smeared on his burrito shell. Hiker food is not the healthiest but it is what it is. Calories, pure and simple.

After our lunch, we set our sights on the High Point State Park. It had water, flush toilets and a place to hang. The elevation profile didn’t look like much, but these ups are no joke. There’s no messing around, and prepare to head straight up the trail. No switchbacks and no mercy! It was rock climbing again but at least, it was short lived. I just would love one day of a nice smooth path. Is that really too much to ask for?

As we made it to High Point SP, Robin and Jim were closing shop. They had been feeding hungry hikers trail magic since 730am. But as soon as we came around the corner, they unpacked their car, and pulled all their provisions out. Braveheart learned about all the finest trail food like Moon Pies, Teddy Grahams, Kit-Kat Bars and so much more. What incredibly sweet people. Jim told C2T that he saves up all year so they can bless hikers with all these snacks, drinks, and food. It’s just incredible what kindness and generosity we receive on this trail.

After stuffing ourselves with more High Fructose Corn Syrup one person should ever consume, we headed out for our final laps. We climbed to the Highest Point in NJ, 1804’. That’s it. No 14,000’ passes here on the AT, just small mounds that take your breath away. There was an Observation Platform that provides an unobstructed view of the 220 foot tall obelisk. It was built in 1930 as a war memorial and observation tower.

We arrived at High Point Shelter late afternoon. There were several campers sleeping in their tents but the Shelter was wide open. We decided we’d sleep in there for the night, just the three of us. How nice. No pitching our tents and a guaranteed flat place to lay our heads for the night. Hallelujah, what a perfect ending to a great day.