Today was my first day without a friend from Vanderbilt by my side (besides the first few days which pure excitement carried me through), and I was honestly a little apprehensive about it when I got dropped off this morning. All sorts of questions from whether I want to join a tramily (close knit family of hikers) or not to whether I’m even doing remotely close to what I’m supposed to in this role swirled through my head.
Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to talk to Father when you’re walking through the woods and that’s what I did-and my how fast did He answer! I’ve been restless feeling that I haven’t been able to make deep connections with other hikers yet and I got to spend 5 miles talking to not one but two others today-what an encouragement when I left this morning afraid of being alone.
As for the views, here’s the ominous mist from the Culver Gap fire tower this morning that actually turned into a beautiful day.
I also hit High Point, the highest point in NJ, today where I picked up that magical bug net. I was all out of energy to take the side trail to the tower that was already closed for stair-climbing, but here’s a picture from the distance. 
Even though it means I’ll have a lot of miles to crank out tomorrow, I chose to stay at Mosey’s Place Hostel per Trigger’s recommendations tonight and am very happy with that decision. In addition to the last laundry/shower for at least a week, Mosey and the other hiker here, Cookie Monster, have been a joy to talk to and learn about. We have been feeding a baby bunny (not pictured) that Mosey took into her garage-he’s so cute! 