Some photos from a trip to NJ on the AT.

[Woods Walker]

Just some photos from an outing a few weeks ago. Longer distances to shelters on this part of the trail.

Classic campfire. Once again I am letting the fire break up the wood.

Lots of water and swamp.

Overlooking a bird sanctuary. We hiked down to check it out.

Looking back at the hills which we needed to hike up again. I always hate that part.

New Mountain hardware sleeping bag. It wasn't needed but sure packed down small.

The filter was leaking a bit though the top. Maybe it was the silt, not sure but going to test it out before the next trip. I clean my filters and let them dry after every trip.

My 10x12 tarp was used but the rain held off until the last few miles on the return trip.

Some wild edibles and useful plants.

Black Walnuts. Not ready for prime time yet but getting there.

The Hickory nuts are also green. It looks to be a good year for both. These wild edibles are high in fats and calories. Probably the most valuable edible in fall.

Staghorn Sumac. There was a good thread on this but still haven’t tried my hand at Sumac lemonade. I think they maybe past season in my area.

Jewel weed. This can be crushed up and rubbed on the skin to combat poison ivy. Jewel weed also seems to work good for bug bites.

Princes pine. I don’t know of any use but think the stuff just looks cool.

Critters.

A garter snake found up a tree. This one looks ready to shed. I found another higher up but the photos came out blurry.

The deadly Northern Brown snake ready to attack. :yawn:

I risked my life handling this dangerous reptile.

The common water snake. They will musk up the hands of those foolish enough to mess around with them. Their bite seems to bleed more than expected. Of course like most snakes they want nothing to do with people and will make for the water.

A standard run of the mill toad.

Lots wood frogs this year.

Bear scat.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Andster2]

Looks like a nice trip. Lots of snakes. Every time I see a snake or bear scat, my senses seam to work much better. Thanks for posting your experience!

 

[Woods Walker]

There were even more snakes but they mostly got away before the camera could take a photo. I didn't see anything like the Timber ratters from my other trips. I was not all that far from this area a few weeks before and there was a bear attack which resulted in one of the shelters being closed as they baited the wounded animal back. It turns out the bear never attacked anyone and the hiker’s (kids I think) injures were self inflicted from the brush. I didn't know that part of the story as only heard about the wounded so-called man eating bear on the prowl in the area. That combined with the heavy rain kept me up for a few hours. In the end I think they killed the bear.

 

[TheGame]

I never see more then 2-3 snakes a year where I live. Thanks for sharing the pics :thumbup:

 

[Mistwalker]

Some really cool pics man, a lot of it is similar to my area. Thanks for sharing the outing!