A perfect day for the Sunfish Pond hike!

With a mystical fog draping the autumn landscape, fourteen HIKE for Mental Health hikers experienced some of the best that Sunfish Pond has to offer.

It was a perfect day and a fantastic group for the 10 mile hike as we all assembled at the trailhead near Mohican Outdoor Center in Blairstown, NJ, on Sunday morning.

First time hikers and multi-time thruhikers

The group ranged from veteran AT thruhikers to novice hikers on their first hike.

Once on the trail, all such distinctions were lost, and we all became just hikers, out for a walk in the woods.

More than $500 raised

Hikers journeyed from 3 different states and, with the help of their supporters, raised more than $500 for mental health research and trail preservation.

A reading from Southbound

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Susan Letcher hiked barefoot as she and her sister Lucy did on their well-known yo-yo of the Appalachian Trail twelve years ago.

And when we reached the clearing on the trail south of the pond, she consented to Tom’s request that she read the beautiful passage from their book Southbound describing the fall day when she and Lucy first encountered the pond on their walk from Maine to Georgia.

The two winners of a set of the Barefoot Sisters’ books, Southbound and Walking Home, were drawn, with Joe and Sandi taking the prizes and promptly getting them autographed by Susan. Ryan took home a copy of Zach Davis’s Appalachian Trials.

After the hike, we all gathered at the Village Market and Bakery in Delaware Water Gap for hot dogs and the best pie on the AT before going our separate ways.

A fantastic day with fantastic people. Many thanks to the hikers and their supporters, to Susan for her continuing support of HIKE for Mental Health, and to Donna and Martin for the photos.