We had a couple of packages waiting for us at the Vernon NJ post office, so making sure we got there before the P.O. closed became our number one priority of the day. We only had 13+ miles to cover (plus a 2.4 mile hitch into town), so we felt comfortable leaving camp at 6:30 a.m. We were also hoping to cover the distance before today’s predicted record highs arrived.

We crossed several roads near Unionville NY and walked on a couple of miles of two-plank wide boardwalk sections over what is normally pretty boggy land. After following the New Jersey/New York state line, we ducked back into NJ, then made one final jaunt into NY before following the edge of the Wallkill Reserve back into New Jersey. The rocky climb up Pochunk Mountain caught us by surprise, but thankfully the trail down the north side was much easier. We ended the day’s walk by 2:00 p.m. after crossing the mile-long boardwalk and suspension bridge over Pochunk swamp.

We caught a ride (in only nine and a half minutes) with a woman who gets our vote as Vernon NJ booster of the year, giving us the full tour before waiting for us to pick up our post office packages and taking us to the hostel in the basement of the local Episcopal Church. We shared the adjoining space with an A.A. meeting until hiker midnight, but now the room is quiet and starting to cool. Just another typical day on the AT!