Ask anyone what they think about when they think about New Jersey, I bet no one says bears or mountains. Turns out they have more bears per square mile than anywhere else on the trail, and the mountains here are gorgeous.Saw 2 small bears today, both took off up a tree after seeing me, I wanted a picture but I'm sure mama bear was close by so I pushed on with somewhat of a hurried pace. A lot of ridge walking with amazing views. Today was short my mail drop didn't make it so I only pushed 3 miles to Nj 206 to catch a ride into Newton ( on the other side of Branchville) for subway! After 2 subs and a full charge for the phone, I began my walk back to the trail, no real intents on where to stay. After a somewhat disturbing hitch from a guy looking for a good time, I came upon a fire and rescue station. I decided to knock and see how far off I was from the post office and the mountain. Score! The 2 people here are in their late 2O's and both work as volunteers along with the rest of their county fire. They let me pitch my tent in the backyard, got to take a hot shower, watched a few movies,and ate some ice cream. Bella scored some treats and a ball before passing out in the grass. The guy Kyle is going to take me back to the trail tomorrow morning and drop me a little further north so as not to lose pace. Over all a great night. Talked to Syl today, looking forward to the mystery box mail drop! Also matt thanks a ton for helping out with a mail drop, it really says and means a lot. I'll be out of Jersey by Friday and into New York and Connecticut in the next 2 weeks. Its been 21 days, 379 miles in 3 weeks!

-fresh
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