Day 2

Day 2: Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

I was convinced before falling asleep that we would not be bothered by morning light. Our campsite was on the eastern end of Sawmill Lake and with the trees and a steep hill behind us I figured that would shade us for at least a little while. Thus it came as quite a shock to be up at 5:40 in the morning due to too much light. I stumbled out of the tent, wandered to the car, plugged in the Field and Stream Coffee Maker into a lighter socket, and waited and waited and waited. Five minutes pass and I see drips of dark sludge descend into the coffee pot. Not encouraged, I break out the brand new Stansport propane stove, screw in a propane tank, and had boiling water in 2 minutes. I checked the coffee maker and there was a layer of “coffee” at the bottom of the carafe, so I took the coffee filter, poured the boiling water through it, and had a wonderful cup to start the day. By now Tara had emerged, bleary eyed due to a poor nights sleep that she blames on the bears in her dreams. We dine on bananas, blueberries and granola bars, pack up the campsite, load the car, and head out to explore the highest point in NJ.
We make it 100 yards beyond the restrooms where we washed out the coffee mugs and the coffee maker when what to our wondering eyes do we see, but a black bear pulling a bag of food from one of the hiker’s bear boxes. Either the bear figured out how to open the box or some homo sapien did not close it properly, regardless the bear dragged the bag into the woods and plopped down in a grassy opening to bask in the sun as it enjoyed breakfast. Realizing that a) bears are cute, with round, almost Mickey Mouse-like ears and b) they could give a hoot about us in the car, completely demystified the idea that all bears are of the grizzly-in-attack-mode variety for Tara. The 2nd thing we realized is that we needed to have the camera ready at all times and not packed in a bag in the back of the car.
We stopped at the Ranger Station to inform them of the bear and continued on to the scenic route that took us to a viewing platform and then the highest point in NJ, which is marked by a 220 foot obelisk. From these vantage points we could see three states, NJ, NY and Pennsylvania. The entire time in High Point State Park we had to consciously remind ourselves that we were actually in New Jersey. It really was a wonderful way to start the trip. As we were walking back from the view we saw all the way across the parking lot (at least 150 yards away) another, much larger black bear poking around, so we quickened our pace and got in the car.
From the obelisk we went down to Lake Marcia and found that the bathhouses were open and empty. We both showered, which is only notable in that this was the 1st time Tara has showered in a “public” facility. She even claims to have enjoyed it. Cleaned and happy, we leave High Point State Park and New Jersey at 10:30 on the way to Worlds End State Park (WESP) in Pennsylvania. Map
Following a quick stop at another Wal-Mart for a percolator and in a Burger King parking lot for PB&Js we arrive at WESP at 2:30 and had the campsite put up by 3:30. Pleased with our faster pace, we decide to go on a 3.5-mile hike around the park. The hike started out on a dirt road, but promptly entered the forest and we quickly realized that each of us have a different definition for hiking. After going uphill the 1st mile for an hour, we decided to turn back toward camp before we hit the part of the trail that is marked “Steep” on the map.

(Bill's idea of a hike)

(Tara's idea of a hike)

We started the fire and cooked a successful dinner of chicken breasts with a peach jelly glaze and peas. We ended the evening with S’mores, and kept an amused eye on the chipmunks that came to lick up our chocolate and marshmallow droppings. Tara kept a wary eye on our college-aged neighbors until they brought us more wood that they split when they noticed we were out. The night passed coldly, very, very coldly.