Day 101: Refueling at Tony’s Deli

Another early morning today, Shooter and I had plans to put in some big miles and break the cycle of arriving at camp by dusk. I slept well last night even though there were all those Japanese camel crickets crawling around the shelter.

Starting miles

I was riding the trail this morning a little after 6am and started the day with a decent climb to warm up in the cool morning air. While it was in the upper 50s, the humidity is still brutally high and it didn’t take long for me to start sweating profusely. After that first climb I walked along a ridge with a couple of good views of the surrounding area. I then went down a few miles to a road junction and then back up to a ridge. This process was repeated several times throughout the morning, but overall it was relatively uneventful. The trails were quite nice and the climbs and descents for the most part were never long.

Late in the morning I caught up with Shooter at a water source where I refilled my water for the final push and had a quick lunch. I covered 12 miles during the day and eight more until I reached the crossroads that took you to Tony’s Deli, our main objective today. After lunch I set off again and had some pretty moderate terrain ahead of me.

Most of the next two hours were flat or slightly incline, which suited me just fine. I hiked along the shores of Nuclear Lake before making a steep descent a few miles later to Dover Oak, the largest oak tree on the entire Appalachian Trail.

Very big!

From there it is only a couple of kilometers to the road junction, mainly through fields and pastures.

Tony’s Deli

I finally made it to the crossroads and coincidentally this is where the Appalachian Trail train stops for New York City on certain days.

It’s a really nice thing to be able to do, although it wasn’t something I was interested in doing, nor do I think I was here on the right day of the week anyway. After a 0.7 mile walk, I arrived at Tony’s Deli. The deli here is very hiker-friendly and allows for on-site camping, as well as the opportunity to fill water bottles, charge electronics, and hang out. Not to mention the refill options and their famous deli sandwiches! I received a couple of cold drinks upon arrival, as well as an American Club sandwich that was the size of my face! My apologies once again. I remember taking pictures of the food only after I had eaten it. I was here for a couple of hours with Shooter and Blueberry Turtle, taking a long break after doing 20 miles during the day. While we were there we spoke to one of the cooks, Mark, and it was a real buzz! When we again asked for additional food, he asked us if we trusted him to make us a sandwich, to which we responded affirmatively. And he made us a fantastic sandwich that we shared.

back to that

Unfortunately, after a couple of hours, Shooter and I got separated from Blueberry Turtle, as he was camping there tonight and we had our eyes on Wiley Shelter, an additional 6 miles away. So Shooter and I, after 3 hours at the deli, hit the road again.

The afternoon walk was very peaceful and the 6 miles flew by. It started with a moderate climb through some fields before heading back into the woods. After the first two kilometers, the rest of the hike was fairly flat or downhill, which allowed us to maintain a good speed.

Which was good, since I was trying not to walk at night again. Anyway, I entered the shelter just after dark. I thought about staying in the shelter, but the mosquitoes were out in full force. Also, this shelter had more Japanese camel crickets than I saw at the previous shelter. So it’s a tent!

Day 101 Stats:

25.7 miles + 1.4 bonus miles to Deli = 27.1 miles

4,738′ ascent, 4,364′ descent

RPH Shelter to Wiley Shelter

9DSLC…

Stove use times: 14

Snakes seen on the trail: 23

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