I climbed the mountain in the morning and five miles in found Pegleg and Happy Baby at the first shelter! They had hiked out the night before and I would continue to run into them throughout the day, which is always nice to find familiar, friendly faces throughout the day.
I crossed the New Jersey/New York line and finished my fifth state on the trail! It felt good and inspired me to hike for awhile with that jubilation of triumph by physical and mental endurance. I saw the NYC skyline atop the highest point of NY on the AT, which was cool, and generally enjoyed the bouldering that NY has brought.
My injuries have been pretty decent, though my right left from my calf down is still bugging me and is annoyingly tight. The zero seems to have helped and today was the longest day for a span of eight days, so I'm glad I got that out of the way!
I also forgot to mention I stopped at an amazing creamery and got ice cream and a birch beer! The birch beer was amazing. I made a fatal mistake in passing up a good water source (on a cooler than it has been day, but still hot nonetheless), in lieu of another source coming up that turned out to be dried up. I made my way to the creamery and found Pegleg and Happy Baby and chatted with them and some civilians. I drank a lot of water too. I need to focus on my hydration more for sure.
We made camp tonight at Wildcat Shelter and after dinner and chores, Pegleg and Happy Baby made a fire. We were joined by another hiker and his dog Iris. Good times were had and good conversation along with some spirits provided by Pegleg. It's just after 10 o'clock now and I'm exhausted, so I'm out. I hope you all are doing well! Happy trails!
Day 14. August 1st, 2015. 14.3 miles. What a day. First, from the time I woke up at 7, I wasn't laying down and done everything for my day until almost 9pm. A fourteen hour day for only 14.3 miles is a long day. The terrain was rocky and up and down all day. I am completely exhausted, so excuse this for being short.
I hiked with Blue Moon and Harmony at various times today (section hikers), and got some trail magic in the form of a banana, an orange juice, and some donut holes around lunch time. My legs are smoked. Exhausted.
The elevation changes have begun and I am having serious doubts if I can't cover the mileage to get to Bennington by the time I have to come home. I can make Dalton, MA, but I really wanted to make Vermont. Time will tell it's tale.
This week I hiked 94.7 miles and have hit a total of 170.6 miles in two weeks. I still have 222.9 miles to go. Lots to do and lots to see! I can barely keep my eyes open, so I hope you all are doing great and happy trails!
Day 15. August 2nd, 2015. 15.5 miles. I woke up with the sun coming up the mountain. I ate breakfast with Sam I Am, Special Agent, and Papa JR in Fingerboard Shelter. I was on the trail by 7:30 and had a great day of hiking. The trail eased up, meet Goldilocks along the way and grabbed water at one of the very few sources in NY. Goldilocks, Special Agent, and Pegleg and Happy Baby (who I saw breaking down their tent along the way) and we all go water along the way.
I pushed on and saw the NYC skyline, Bear Mountain where I was heading to, and had a nice little hike to the top of Bear Mountain. I met a 1992 thru hiker named Tic Tac and his two children. The boy was 10 and the girl was 8. The boy was shy and the girl proclaimed her trail name to be Sprinkles. It was refreshing to meet a thru hiker from harder hiking times and seeing him teaching his kids the joys and pains of hiking.
Special Agent pulled up and we drank Powerades from a vending machine. There were people everywhere on Bear Mountain. It is a popular spot for NYC folks to get some outdoors time. Pegleg and Happy Baby meet up with me and went down the mountain to a recreation area filled with people BBQing chicken and the smell was almost intoxicating. We found some Philadelphia water ice and I bought a round for Pegleg, Happy Baby, and me and we walked to the Bear Mountain Bridge.
Pegleg and Happy Baby
We got picked up by one of my 2013 thru hiker buddies Dreamcatcher. It was great to have my trail family coming in to see me and help me and my friends out. We dropped Pegleg and Happy Baby at a motel and went to Dreamcatcher's house in Beacon, NY.
We caught up, grabbed some beers, ate nachos and burgers, and headed back to his house. It was great to reminisce and catch up. I met his girlfriend and I got to see his dog Jack Cougar who he found along the trail and saved. I really enjoyed today. I felt good, got to hike with some great people, and I got to catch up with an old friend. The next five days will be good days to Kent, CT before I have to turn it up to get to Bennington. I hope you all are doing well and Happy Trails!
Day 16. August 3rd, 2015. 6.4 miles. I woke up early and grabbed a bite to eat at a local corner store in Beacon. Dreamcatcher slept in and I enjoyed some lazy time on a couch. Dreamcatcher drove me back to the bridge and we said good bye. It was great to see him and I wish I had more time to hang out with Dreamcatcher and Jack. Time with old friends always seems to go too quickly.
I hiked across the bridge starting around 1PM and had a couple of climbs. The hike was mostly clear of rocks and I ambled into Graymoor Spiritual Center. It is a place of worship and where friars live. Calm.and peaceful and they offer a free place to stay, a solar shower, and bathrooms. A god send on the trail, no pun intended.
Pegleg, Chuckles, Happy Baby, Sam I Am, Bear, Ghengis, Pineapple, Papa JR, and a whole host of others are here. It's good that I found a group of good people that I run into daily. I am used to hiking with people and this chunk of trail I have hiked alone almost exclusively except for Rocky. I miss Rocky and our hiking together, but I am sure I will see him on his return from Bermuda.
I feel good. My legs feel good, I feel in better spirits, and I have almost found my groove in the hiking world. I have four days of easier hiking to Kent, CT to help my legs rest a little and recover from pushing too hard early on. After Kent, I will have to do big mile days. I built it into my schedule, hoping it would be easier on my legs. I still have hope for Bennington, but if I only make Dalton, that will still be a huge chunk of the trail either way. I hope you all are happy and full of food (I am starting to get the hiker hunger). Happy trails!
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