~*~ “I Won’t Get You
Lost” ~*~
Date:
Hikers:
Mileage:
Elevation
Gain/Loss: HAHAHAHA In the
Friday
After
much speculation on whether or not she would be able to hike, MsKatieBear and
her broken toe picked me up at my house so we could head down to the
We had decided to camp that night near the
Carranza Memorial. Upon arrival, we discovered hoards and hoards of Boy Scouts,
giant canvas tents, and more food than anyone could possibly eat in a weekend.
We quickly found a spot as secluded as possible, set up my Marmot NYX tent, and
sat down to feast on our WaWa sandwiches and drinks. It was drizzling slightly
as we retired to the tent, giggling and talking about our big trip to
Saturday
We
arose to the sounds of Boy Scouts and the smell of bacon. We tore down camp and
headed out immediately to meet the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, wires got
crossed somewhere because we ended up at the wrong end of the park with nobody
familiar around. After a few phone calls, we were able to figure out where the
others were and after another hour, finally made it to the rest of the group.
Both MsKB and I felt bad about holding everyone up but they were all great
about it. At least, they were when we got there. I can just imagine what was
being said behind our backs. Hmph.
We
piled into Smokey’s car and set out for Carranza Memorial (hey…didn’t we just
come 
from there?) It began to seem that we
would never begin this hike at the rate we were going. Jersey Devil, for all
the time he’s spent in the
There
sure is a lot of sand in the 
met.
We
passed a group of Boy Scouts headed in the opposite direction as us and while
everyone else said “Good Morning” and “Hello”, Smokey inquired as to how far we
had to go until reaching Wisconsin. He didn’t stop to let it sink in, but I
wondered what they thought as we trotted on through the woods.
After
leaving Apple Hill, we made our way back to the Batona Trail, following blazes.
These blazes are painted just whatever color anyone feels like, I think. They
went from pink to blue to very light blue to pink again. No wonder people get
lost so stinking easily around here! Sadly, a road-walk was upon us. A long
one…like 2 miles. YUCK! JD and I strode along chatting with each other about
hiking and where we were. The cranberry bogs were really interesting to me, as
I had never seen one before. We noted all of the garbage on the side of the
road and saw the remains of a deer. When we finally reached the junction where
the trail heads back into the woods, we sat for a spell while the others caught
up. For a moment, the sky threatened to open up on us. We felt a few drops and
thought “uh oh” but were fortunate that it passed right on over. There would be
plenty of time for rain later that night.
There
were several points along the trail where blazes were painted onto trees that
had been burned in a fire. Just looking around at the dense forest was enough
to realize how devastating a forest fire could be there. I think the only
saving grace would be that most of the trails are old fire roads, so there must
always be an “easier” way into the depths of it should the need arise.
We
ended up reaching our cars fairly easily, though my feet were killing me from
the miles of sand and road walking. Nobody hesitated to take off their boots
and soon enough, we were all kicked back around the cars in relaxation mode.
Not having a spot on JD’s truck forced me to get into the back of MsKB’s
Saturn…which, for the record, is quite comfy when you have a pillow and stick
your feet out the other end. After a bit of a rest, we headed over to the
campground and found our site. MsKB, JD and I opted for tents while photog set
up his tarp and bivy and Smokey went to work on the Hennessy Hammock. Once camp
was set, we all went to work on our dinner. Three of us were
armed with MSR Pocket Rockets while
Smokey had what appeared to be a Whisperlite and photog had his alcohol stove
for its maiden voyage. I think MsKB and I were done eating our Enertia Meals
before poor photog ever got that alcohol stove going properly. Hey, we offered
to let him use ours but he’s a stubborn fella’!
A
few of us took a little walk around the campground in search of privies, wood
and whatever we could find to stay out of trouble. This included a giant
Tic-Tac-Toe board on the playground which MsKB and I immediately decided we
needed to play. I think it was a tie. There seemed to be a lot of people out
this weekend which was nice to see. Funny considering we only saw one couple
out hiking though. I suppose with all of the miles and miles of places to get
lost in the Pine Barrens, not running into people is common.
We
had a nice evening around the campfire, with wood that we stole from any
neighboring site we could find. HA! The rain eventually came but didn’t do much
to dampen our spirits (literally and figuratively). I had brought some Merlot
in a Nalgene while both Smokey and photog had opted for something harder. JD
and I ended up taking a quick drive to pick up some more Merlot, some beer and
pretzels (“These pretzels are making me thirsty!”) as nobody was quite ready
for sleep. I demonstrated my superb wine-bottle-opening-skills sans wine
opener. I don’t know what the problem was. I’m pretty sure we polished it all
off before we finally went to sleep. The neighbors provided many laughs (at
their expense, of course) when the rain came.
Sunday
MsKB
and I awoke too late and missed photog crawling out of his bivy in just his
boxers. Additionally, Smokey woke up all twisted in his Hammock like a cocoon.
The mesh was on the bottom, the opening on the top. Curses to missed photo ops!
I need to start getting up earlier and capturing these things on film!
We
made hot cocoa and breakfast. Smokey was kind enough to share his Enertia Blue
Mountain Bear Mush (cous cous with cinnamon and raisins) so we could try it.
First time I ever had an Enertia breakfast meal and it was yummy. We cleaned up
the campsite, packed up our stuff, said our good-byes and went on our merry
way. Just another fun-filled adventure in the Mad-Atlantic.
All
in all, the
What I Learned:
~
There goes the neighborhood! How many of them are in that van anyway?
~
Check for ticks. Repeatedly.
~
How to open wine without a corkscrew.
~
“These pretzels are making me thirsty!”
~
JD is officially “Prom Queen”.
~
Smokey is now Daddy to MsKB and I (you know that independent backpacker chick
thing)
~
Stealth firewood stealing pays off.
~
NEVER put down the camera and ALWAYS get up before everyone else.
~
All about cranberry bogs and “Pineys”
~
“Deliverance” could have been set in
NJ. Just replace “mountain men” with “Pineys”
~
JD needs a GPS.
~
Green Bug Bracelets really do work.
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