The Batona Trail

My original attempt at the Batona Trail, a 50 mile trail through the Pine Barrens here in New Jersey, was in the summer of 2009.  I hadn't brought a tent that year, and the mosquitoes and not giving myself enough time to complete it forced me to turn back early.

My next attempt came with my then girlfriend Kathleen in 2010, but we cut the hike short at mile 32 when she started to suffer from heat exhaustion and blisters.

I am pleased to say that on my third attempt, I finally finished the trail.

At the end of the trail

Lugging the matching, obnoxiously orange, exterior frame packs that my parents bought in the seventies, Stevie and I started out on a gorgeous April morning last Thursday.  Hiking in April meant we wouldn't have to deal with the heat or ticks that one encounters in the summer.

We took in two fire towers, crossed lonely backwoods roads, followed the pink blazes, and even stopped for a few beers at a piney bar.

Unfortunately Stevie also started to suffer from blisters, and we ended up setting up our tent in the middle of nowhere 16 miles in rather than making it to the first campsite.  In the morning, we walked back to one of the fire towers where Stevie's friend was able to drive in and pick her up, and I continued on the trail on my own.

Spent the night again in the middle of nowhere rather than a designated campsite:

Good morning from the Pine Barrens

And this afternoon I finally finished the trail I first attempted so long ago.

I love the Pine Barrens, I really do, but after three days in the woods without showering, sleeping on the ground in 30 degree temps, and walking 50 miles with a full pack, I was more than ready to get back to Collingswood.