New York State of Mind

Hiking through New York it's hard to think of yourself being in the wilderness when you're able to spot the New York City skyline from some of the high points. At the campgrounds it's clear that people from the city value coming out here to get away, spread out, and enjoy a little country air.

6/12 Arden Valley to Bear Mountain - 18.2 miles

A good hiking weather day today although it's supposed to get into the 90's in the afternoon so we're planning on getting an early start. Angelika dropped me off at the trailhead but opts out of hiking in since right off the bat there's a steep climb up out of the valley.

Passing by Island Pond there's an interesting looking stone sluiceway that directs the water under a bridge. There are so many rocks in this area it's no surprise that a lot of the construction is done with stone.

Next up is the "Lemon Squeeze". The trail goes through a jumble of large rocks and through a very narrow space between a couple that give it its name.

Shortly thereafter is a sign with mileages including to Mount Katahdin. It's not quite accurate (there's still over 800 miles to go from here) but it seems OK to start thinking about how much is left to go. Before now, that number would just seem to daunting so better to focus on how far I've come. 

The trail is much smoother and less steep today than yesterday. This is much more comfortable terrain for hiking.

I pass by William Brien Shelter and meet through hiker Sid chatting with a backpacker out for the weekend. She says she saw a bear a couple of hours ago on the trail. I've been backpacking for 45 years and have never actually seen a bear while hiking. I suppose that's a good thing.

I stop for lunch at a viewpoint on Black Mountain. 

After lunch I pass by the unofficial commemoration for the 1400 mile point on the trail. That leave 797.4 left to go from here. The miles keep ticking away. 

From here I cross over the Palisades Parkway on a bridge and then head up West Mountain. From the top I can see Bear Mountain which is my destination for today.

Heading up Bear Mountain is fairly easy compared to the kind of climbing I was doing yesterday. There's stone stairs on the steep sections that make the footing and climbing so much more enjoyable. As I get close to the top there are views back toward Black Mountain and southeast down the Hudson River.

There's a tower at the top where you can sometimes see the New York skyline, but it's closed by the time I arrive. Angelika got there just before the tower closed, but it was too hazy today to see New York. No loss.

6/13 Bear Mountain to Dennytown, NY  - 17.1 miles

It's a good hiking weather day today, and we're heading off the trail at the end of the day to attend a family event in the Boston area. I want to get an early start again to leave room for a lot of driving this afternoon.

Angelika decides not to join me this morning for what looks like a steep descent down Bear Mountain. The trail is extremely well maintained here with lots of stone steps and crushed gravel on the flat sections which makes for excellent footing. Starting out there are some nice views of the Hudson River and the Bear Mountain bridge below. I'll be getting a closer look soon since that's my path over the river. 

At the bottom of the mountain is the Bear Mountain Inn and Bear Mountain State Park. The park has a nice large picnic area around a lake with paddle boats for rent. It looks like a nice place to hang out and relax.

This morning it's occupied primarily by turkey vultures. There's about a dozen hanging out at the picnic tables looking for scraps.

From here the trail officially goes through a small zoo which is part of the state park, but it's too early and it's closed so I have to take a small detour around it to get to the Bear Mountain bridge. Along the way we reach the lowest point of the AT at around 124 feet above sea level.

On the south end the bridge is anchored on a summit named Anthony's Nose. It is believed to be named after a minister in the area from around the 1600's who had an exceptionally large snout. Nobody is sure though.

Crossing the bridge you get a good view down the Hudson. This is an impressively wide river.

From the north end you get a view back towards Bear Mountain which is where I started the day.

The road crossing at US 9 has a well stocked convience store next to the trail. I'm happy to stop in for a cold gatorade and some peanut butter crackers. There are tables outside and I meet through hikers Alpha Gal and Metro here who I haven't seen for a couple weeks. I also meet through hiker Wizard of Ghee who I haven't met before. We chat for a while and I learn he's planning to move the  Albuquerque when he finishes the trail. Maybe we'll see each other again in New Mexico. There's also an older couple there having their lunch. The woman has never heard of the Appalachian Trail and thinks I'm joking when I tell her we're hiking from Georgia to Maine. Her husband assures her this is something people actually do and points to the map on the wall of the store. She doesn't seem convinced. She asks, "What do you do when it rains?". Get wet is the answer.

Crossing the Hudson is the highlight for the day. The rest of the hike is a lot of ups and downs with mixed smooth and rocky footing. Angelika hikes in to meet me and I find her chatting with Sid's husband who's waiting for her a few miles short of where I'm planning on finishing today. We're getting to know more of the people who hike with support and spend time sharing information about where to camp and other logistics which aren't always obvious.

Back at the Dennytown trailhead Alpha Gap and Metro are setting up camp and we're piling into the van to head over to Angelika's cousin's place in Rhode Island to visit and spend the night.

6/14, 6/15 Zero Days

Friday night and Saturday morning are spent visiting Angelika's cousin Iris and her husband Al in Rhode Island. I also take advantage of the fact that their daughter is a nurse and she's willing to take my stitches out from almost two weeks ago. It stings a little, but no harm done.

Saturday we head to our hotel in Needham, MA and then Uber over to Angelika's brother's place in Roslindale to celebrate his daughter's engagement. A lot of her family is here and we catch up on everything that's happened since last year. There is, of course, a lot of food and drink and a grand time is had by all.

We had a very restful night at the hotel before heading back to Dennytown to resume our travels on Monday.

6/16 Dennytown, NY to Stormville, NY - 15.8 miles

The day starts out overcast and chilly, but there is no rain in the forecast so not bad conditions for hiking today. Angelika joins me hiking in for the first couple miles. There are short ups and downs with a few steep sections, so she turns back before her knees start acting up.

A few more miles in there's a view of Canopus Lake near where our campsite was last night. It's a bit chilly today, so I'm not surprised I don't see anyone down at the beach.

A little further and there's a painted 9/11 memorial on the top of Shenandoah Mountain.

I stop for lunch at RPH Shelter and am joined by Hangman, Crocodile, and a young woman I haven't met before. I haven't seen them for weeks, but since I took a couple of days off they managed to catch up today. 

The rest of the hike is rather uneventful until I meet Angelika at the trailhead in Stormville. I'm a little stiff and sore today after not hiking for a couple of days. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be a bit more limber. 

6/17 Stormville, NY to AT Railroad Station - 14.8 miles

It started raining last night and carried on through the morning. The forecast is looking pretty bleak so I'm expecting to get pretty wet today.

There wasn't much notable on the trail today. The most interesting highlight was walking along the shore of Nuclear Lake. This would have been a nice place to stop for lunch if not for the steady rain. A trail angel left a cooler with snacks and drinks just before the lake so I ended up not wanting to eat the lunch I brought in any case. There are so many generous people on the trail.

The only other hikers I saw today were an older couple and their daughter who were section hiking. They had done a through hike in the past with their daughter, but she didn't complete the whole trail because of school obligations. Now they're going back and filling her gaps together.

Angelika picked me up at the Appalachian Trail railroad station. We stopped for dinner on the way back to the campground so we didn't have to cook in the rain. 

No pictures today mostly because of the weather. 

6/18 AT Railroad Station to Kent, CT - 18.8 miles

We woke up to rain again this morning. The forecast says its going to slow down by the time I get on the trail, but its going to be hot and humid all day. I'm going to be soaked today one way or the other.

Big events for today were leaving New York to cross into Connecticut, and passing the 2/3 mileage mark at mile 1464.9. I'm still managing to stay a bit ahead of schedule and ahead of the bubble by at least a couple of weeks.

The trail was fairly gentle to start. I stopped for lunch at Ten Mile River Shelter which I had all to myself. This is a really nice spot in a meadow just up the hill from Ten Mile River.

After crossing Ten Mile River the trail climbs Schaghticoke Mountain followed by some steep and rocky ups and downs getting to the valley in Kent. The trail was steep, rocky, wet, and slippery so the last few miles were very slow going. It's always extra hard to have challenging terrain to deal with at the end of the day.

Angelika was waiting for me at the road crossing and it was just a short drive to the campsite at Macedonia Brook State Park. I'm soaked to the skin mostly from sweat and the humidity in the air.  

6/19 Kent, CT to Pine Swamp Shelter - 17.2 miles

It's going to be another hot sticky day today. It's even more humid than yesterday. I feel like I'm walking through a steam bath. The weather is making my 17 miles extra hard today.

Once again there's a lot of ups and downs starting out with the rocks being super slippery from the dampness. There's a nice view from Caleb's Peak.

After a crazy steep slippery descent, I get a break walking along the Housatonic River for several miles. The trail is pretty flat and smooth on this section and walking along the river cools things off a bit. 

I stop for lunch along the river just before the trail turns away and uphill for some more climbing. The day is getting hotter and although I dried off a bit walking along the river it doesn't take long before I'm totally sodden with sweat again. This is one of the tougher days on the journey so far.

I'm running on fumes getting to the shelter. One more climb and a scramble through a huge cracked boulder and I'm finally there. It took me ten and a half hours to do 17 miles today. I'm not breaking any speed records.

I'm the only resident at the shelter tonight, which is fine by me. I cook my dinner and eat even though I'm not feeling very hungry. I know I need to calories to get me through tomorrow. There's thunderstorms in the forecast for tonight so I'm glad I'm hunkered down in the shelter for the night.