No.44 Mullica River Wilderness

Jaime and I backpacked along the Mullica River in Wharton State Forest.  We camped about 5 miles in at the primitive campsite on the river.  We had a great time!  We hiked in on a Sunday.  Back in December I hiked part of this trail with my Aunt Lisa on Hike 9 and at that time of year we didn’t see a single soul.  But on a hot Sunday at the end of August, the trail felt more like the Garden State Parkway than an quiet Pinelands sand-road!  We had to step off the trail at least a dozen times to allow all the 4×4 vehicles to pass.  A mile or so into the hike the trail turns onto a foot path and leaves all the traffic and noise behind.  About 2 hours after checking in at the park office we arrive at our campsite.  We were hot from the hike, so the inner tubes that Jaime carried in her pack made for an excellent adventure down the river!  We stripped down to our drawers and sports bras and hoofed another mile up river, hopped on our tubes and floated back down to our site.  Such a fun and relaxing way to cool off.  We set up our hammocks and got a fire going and settled down to knit, eat dinner and watch the stars.  The night was beautiful and clear, and the owls and foxes and whippoorwills made some wild and lovely music late into the evening.  The next morning we explored around camp a bit, knitted some more and lounged about.  Some canoe campers came up the river with their sweet dog Phoebe to spend a night at the camp.  The hike back was much hotter than the hike in and we were so thankful for the air conditioned car ride home.  Jaime is moving to Rhode Island and I really am so happy we were able to fit this trip in before her move.  Jaime is a wonderful friend, she is so supportive and encouraging and I will miss her so much!