PA and its rocks are history, but a few last words before we move on to New Jersey. Palmerton was a great town and will be remembered in part for it being rather retro. We ate dinner and breakfast at a '50s diner; across the street were 4 pay phones on which yo could make a local call for one thin dime; and at the service station where we got a ride back to the trail, the attendant was pumping gas, cleaning the windshield and asking if he could check your oil!

Back on the trail we immediately hit a fun boulder climb followed by some beautifully grassy trail with views.

Then came the rocks and no need to tell about them! The last 20 miles of PA included about 12-14 of rocks of one sort or another underfoot and so I now know why AT hikers dislike PA. We stayed the night at a church hostel at Delaware Water Gap and walked across the Delaware River into NJ next morning.

New Jersey has a bit of everything..a few rocks, woods walking as usual, but also good views and riparian areas. Sunfish Pond is a National Natural Landmark and a glacially created lake.

There are a few fire towers with good views.

 




















And a stop at Hightop State Park, the home of the highest spot in NJ at 1803 ft.



Our favorite NJ stop so far might be Unionville which is actually in New York. We are walking along the border and so while the trail is in Jersey, nearby towns are often in New York. Unionville had one of the best sub sandwiches I've ever eaten and it must have weighed close to a pound.

The folks at the country store told us we could pitch in the park across the street and so next morning there was coffee and the absolute biggest apple fritters ever for the exhorbant price of $1.59! 

A short 9 miles later put us in Vernon, NJ, where we are tonight at an Episcopal Church hostel. There's a very old cemetery next to it with veterans of the War of 1812 to WWI. And it's fairly well kept up.

A couple more days of NJ and then will cross the Hudson into NY. 
Weather: Rain is becoming a distant memory. :-)