...and, by Martz bus, New York, where they have a weird watercraft sculpture at Lincoln Center. Talk about culture shock. Talk about food. PASTRAMI!

In the working subway station at the New York Subway Museum.

NY Subway Museum.

Sunfish Lake. The first glacial lake of the trail. And the end of Pennsylvania Rocks (well, I'm in Jersey).

The Delaware from Kitatinny Ridge.

Even in the boonies in Jersey, it sort of looks like suburbia.

Catfish fire tower, in red and white.

The trail along Kitatinny Ridge. It was Jersey, and it was almost nice.

Someone at the Brinks Road Shelter had my same shoes, but brand new. Mine are from Blacksburg, Va.

Clouds over Jersey.

Looking along Kitatinny Ridge towards High Point.

Only in Jersey do they name the state high point "high point," and then proceed to build a phallic war memorial on it. Well, they did that in Massachusetts, too.

Lots of bogs in Jersey, but lots of bog bridges.

Jewelweed in the dew.

When the old bog bridge is rotten, or maybe just too low, they build a new bog bridge right on top of the old bog bridge.

The bog bridges in Jersey are endless as they wind through the swamp.

A field in Jersey.

Jewelweed. Relieves the pain of stinging nettle.

A pastoral farm scene. In Jersey?

The beginning of a mile-long boardwalk.

It's nice, but one wonders if they could just put the trail on nearby roads (it is Jersey, after all) and save all the trouble.

Looks like a bridge.

Pochuck Creek Suspension Bridge: Maximum 20 people, otherwise everyone might jump up and down too much and have too much fun.

It's blurry, but over those ridges, in the background, is a great view of all of Manhattan. The first ridge is green. The second ridge is green. The third ridge is green. But the fourth glistens in the sunlight.

Sunset over Jersey. On to NY.

And on towards the Lemon Squeezer.

It gets narrower as you go along. It doesn't just look that way.

Major trail junction. 793 miles to Katahdin, 1365 to Springer, but just 52 to Manhattan.

The thin foliage of Harriman State Park.

Red flowers in the rain.

Bear Mountain in the fog.

Watch out for hikers. We rule the world.

A cute little toll house and an impressive bridge.

A cute little toll house and an impressive bridge.

The Bear Mountain is pretty much the low point of the trail, 150 feet above the water. And, therefore, 150 feet above sea level.

The Hudson from the Bear Mountain Bridge.

A blaze along the Bear Mountain Bridge.

Slowly moving traffic.

Clouds and light over the Hudson from the Bear Mountain Bridge.

Cables frame the Hudson from the Bear Mountain Bridge.

Bear Mountain Bridge tower.

Looking back across the Bear Mountain Bridge, a train passes along the Hudson.

The trail.

Unnamed falls in New York, seen with Pokey.

Falls

Falls

Different angles.

Lake. Not a common sight further south, but very common further north.

Very orange mushrooms. They harvest these to paint traffic cones.

This is a very big oak tree. Not Dover or Keffer oak sized, but huge nonetheless.

Lights in the NY suburbs.

The enormous Dover Oak. So big you can see it on Google Maps. Seriously. Click here.

A standard-sized 2-by-6 inch blaze is dwarfed by the Dover Oak.

Appalachian Trail Station. The only other commuter rail station is in Harpers Ferry, but that serves mainly the town, not the Trail. Trains only stop on weekends, otherwise, it is three miles to Pawling or Wingdale. And 66 miles to Grand Central. And yes, people do use the train to go hiking from New York. Like this trip.