My Trails

7/27/12 – 1442 miles
I walked alone today. There are still a lot of hikers trekking north but we are getting spread out. Now and then you will meet a Southbounder and exchange information on the trail ahead. But most of the time the woods are quiet and secluded. I find myself singing songs to pass the time.

The air was so humid today that it seemed even the rocks were sweating. I was careful to watch my step on the slippery surface of dirt and roots. My clothes were drenched with sweat, sometimes getting in my eyes and burning, and always attracting every insect to come and feast on my blood. Deet is useless to deter them. The aroma of a hiker is too powerful.

Tonight I am camped between Highway 19 and the MTA train station at a landscape garden center, friendly to hikers, offering a place to take showers and use of there bathroom. I arrived at 4:45 and Kleenex made it a few minutes later. We were just in time to take quick showers because they would be closing at five. Unfortunately, there was no hot water, but I managed to rinse the sweat with an icy dance for two minutes.

A nice lady who is employed at the garden center offered Kleenex and I a ride to a deli a half mile up the road so we jumped in her car and made the trip for food. The deli made a good sandwich and afterward we both had ice cream.

The trip back to camp was a short walk. It is illegal to hitchhike in NY – the State Police will ticket you – so we thought it best to walk. .5 is small compared to 20.

7/26/12 – 1423 miles
I awoke very early and decided to pack my tent before the rain came. It was a good decision. Just as I swung my pack to my shoulders, it started to rain, creating a mess for all the late sleepers.

The terrain today was easy. Except for a rainy, slippery start, most of the trail treated us with kindness. It’s about time NY gave us a break and let us walk on the level for a change. We had plans for a twenty mile day, putting us into RPH Shelter for the night. There seems to be thunderstorms coming through every evening for the next few days and the safety and comfort of a shelter is important in our plans.

My foot was a little sore for the first few miles and several hikers, including Kleenex, passed me by. I figured it was time to take a mega-dose of Vitamin I, not only to kill some pain but reduce swelling. Ibuprofen is awesome. I hiked the rest of the day with very little discomfort. Kleenex says I should take a day off to rest but I think I can keep going.

Shortly after reaching the shelter and fixing dinner, the storm moved in. The lightning was vicious and the rain fell in buckets, making us glad we weren’t still on the trail. A couple of young guys came in out of the storm and told of a harrowing dash across an exposed ridgeline.

Tomorrow we plan on making a stop either at Telephone Pioneers Shelter or the AT Railroad Station. There is a landscape center at the RR Station that lets you camp. It would be fun to take the train into NYC from there.

7/25/12 – 1404 miles
It was a nice easy day. Kleenex has a cold, I have a sprained ankle, we were kind of beat up from the last few days, so we decided to meet at Graymoor Spiritual Life Center only 6 miles up the trail.

The motel owner gave us a ride back to the trail at 9am, earlier than we wanted to leave but good that we didn’t have to walk. The trail enters the Trailside Museum and Zoo where the bear cage is the lowest point on the AT at 124 feet ASL. Visitors have to pay but thruhikers are allowed in free.

Then it was a long walk across the Hudson on the Bear Mountain Bridge and, other than a couple of climbs, fairly easy walking to the monastery. The friars let hikers stay at a shelter at their ball field. They used to give thruhikers a meal but stopped that practice a while ago.

We arrived about 2pm and sat around for a while resting. I wanted to explore the building on the hill after pulling up a map on my phone and discovering there was a gift shop listed. So I talked Kleenex into walking up with me and checking it out. We spent a while browsing the gift shop and looking at photos displayed down a hallway depicting the history of the monastery. What got my attention was the soda machine at the end of the hall.

Several hikers are here tonight and a few of them are southbounders. It’s neat to start meeting SOBO’s now and trading information on the trail ahead. They tell us we are coming to the most beautiful and challenging parts. Nobody said it was easy.

7/24/12 – 1398 miles
New York State has been kicking my but. It’s almost like the trail planners decided that even though the mountains were nothing like they are in the South, they would route us through the most difficult and treacherous boulder fields they could find. We are doing 14 or 15 miles each day and feel exhausted with that.

It’s kind of neat that I’ve walked home, so to speak. Even though the trail is a long way from Western NY, it still seems familiar. The trees are recognizable and the landscape is like I remember. Even the humidity brings back memories of scorching days working in the woods.

I’ve been hiking off and on with Robo, Tink and Kleenex. I met Kleenex coming out of Vernon, NY and we hiked a couple of days together, crossing Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain. Tonight we are in the town of Ft. Montgomery to resupply for our push into Connecticut. Tomorrow we will stay at the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center, another unique stop on the AT.

7/20/12 – 1332 miles
It rained off and on during the night so I stayed bundled in my tent longer than usual this morning. The rain let up long enough to pack most everything without getting wet, but my tent was soaked and all I could do was stuff it in its sack and carry the extra water. Usually, when it stops raining and the sun comes out, I will throw the rainfly over a bush and let it dry. Unfortunately, the sun never came out and it turned into an all day rain.

After several days of scorching heat the temperature has dropped into the sixties, add to that constant rain and wind and we were cold as ice today. There were several shelters spaced close together this morning and I stopped at each one to get in out of the rain and make a hot drink. The trail soon became like a river and my shoes gave up the will to stay dry. And the slippery rocks cut down my speed to a crawl. I crossed one small stream and slipped on the muddy bank, pitched over, and ended up on my side in the water. I wasn’t hurt just muddy and wet.

At about 3:00 pm, I came to the High Point State Park visitor center and stepped inside to get out of the rain. The park employees really like thruhikers. They let us sit around by the heater and scatter our stuff all over the floor. They even gave each of us a soda. By the time we finally left the visitors center it was too late and we were too worn out to go very far.

We made it two more miles, only 11 for the day, to a place called High Point Shelter.