Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 101, Saturday, 6/25 – I hiked with Genie, Splitzy, Half Time, Birthday, and Frodo at various times throughout the day. The highlight of the hiking was all the boardwalks. There were miles of wooden boardwalk that took us through beautiful bogs and wetlands.

Not all the hiking was flat though, and I didn’t escape the heat. There were a few steep climbs and the temperatures were in the upper 80s. Luckily, I ran into three separate instances of trail magic where someone had left goodies on the side of the trail. The first cooler had gatorades, the second trail magic spot had sodas and snacks, and the third was a large jug of lemonade.

The boardwalk ended at Vernon NJ, and there was a farm stand right off trail. I stopped in with Frodo, and we got ice cream. I then walked over to the hot dog stand across the street and got a late lunch with Frodo, Birthday, and Half Time.

We hiked out of Vernon and hiked 24 miles total to Warwick Turnpike (mile 1365). From the road, Halftime, Birthday and I got a hitch into Warwick NY, and resupplied food at the grocery store. The grocery store had an Asian buffet that Birthday and I went for. I’m glad I was hungry, because it was subpar and expensive. At the grocery store, Birthday introduced Frodo to that Bean Boozled game, so I played a few rounds of eating nasty Jelly Belly candy.

After dinner we all walked next door to the Warwick Drive In. The drive in offers free admission, free radios (to listen to the movies), and free camping for thru hikers. I found a pair of trees and strung up my hammock.

The sunset from the drive in was unreal. It might have had the deepest red I’ve ever seen in a sunset. It was also one of those sunsets that seem to last forever.

The drive in was showing Elvis and Jurassic World. I wasn’t particularly invested into either movie, so I split my attention between the two, and dozed off.