Delis – Days 41 thru 45

Day 41 – Wildcat Shelter to William Brien Memorial Shelter

Watching the woods light up from lightning while in the shelter last night was very enjoyable, especially since there was no wet gear this morning.

Water Boy showed up for breakfast, he had tented very close by. It was nice to know all was well with him.

This morning is cool and misty, it looks to be a beautiful day. For awhile we walked along a creek with a decent sized waterfall.

We discovered that NY has rocks too. They are much bigger than those in PA. Climbing them is like solving a puzzle and is pretty fun. It is also very time consuming. Today’s nearly twenty miles were hard and took just as long as yesterday’s nearly 24 miles.

Both yesterday and today we got a bit of extra mileage. Deep in discussion about something, likely flavor of ramen for dinner, we missed a turn each day. Yesterday we found ourselves in a backwoods junkyard, today next to a beautiful lake.

Two instances of trail magic, our first, occured today. This morning we were greeted with a stash of water and cookies. This afternoon Fred shared Gatorade, banana bread, and some interesting FDR history. Fred’s uncle was a doctor that attended to FDR late in his third term as President.

We pulled into the shelter shortly after 7. There was a gorgeous sunset that made up for the lack of amenities at the shelter. No water, no privy, no bear box.

I wolfed down my ramen, tuna, and crunchy peanut butter concoction. You would not believe haw delicious it tastes after a hard day.

The whip-o-wills have found us again. There are several right outside the tent. Hopefully they will find their mates and quiet down soon.

We saw Water Boy several time today. Somehow he was able to slip into a Walmart somewhere and still be in front of us. We caught him briefly when he was filtering water. He is fast on the rocks, must be nice to be in your 20s out here.

Day 42 – William Brien Memorial Shelter to Graymore Spiritual Center

Another beautiful morning. Mist filled the air and it was cool. I didn’t need any extra layers, it was very comfortable hiking.

Today is a big day. Views of New York City, a zoo to walk thru, crossing the Hudson River and hitting 700 miles. All on the last day of week 6.

The mist in the air was really a cloud which obscured all views, especially those of the city. We could have waited until the clouds burnt off, but it was so nice and cool and hiking in cool weather is much better than hot.

A couple hours into the hike and we encountered our first trail closure. Flooding last year closed part of Bear Mountain State Park and it appears to still be closed. Some comments in FarOut indicate it is no problem to make it through, others say the longer road walk is not worth it. We do the right thing.

We arrived at Bear Mountain Inn just in time for lunch. I had the crispy chicken sandwich, Merriweather a grilled cheese. After afew rehydration drinks, muffins, and cups of coffee we were off.

After leaving the inn, we walked thru the zoo and across the Hudson River. We had heard that the trail goes right through a zoo. The only animal we saw in the zoo was a bear, but there was a lot of interesting information about the local flora and fauna posted throughout.

Walking across the Hudson has been my favorite road walk. The bridge is impressive, 100 year old this year. Equally impressive is the view up and down the river.

 

With a big lunch in our belly, the plan was to hit the Appalachian Market right before stopping to camp at the Graymore Spiritual Center. First we had to climb out of the gap created by the river.

The hike today has been a lot of fun and not quite as challenging as the last two days. Having two good meals, prepared by others, probably helped a bit.

Today was really hot, there were white salt stains all over my shirt and pants and I felt gross. It has been a few days since my last shower. When we arrived at our campsite I was pleasantly surprised that there was a cold shower there. I washed my clothes and my body.

At the Graymore we met Woody. He has lived all over the place before moving a mile or so from here. He shared some of the history of the area and the Spiritual Center. A group of friars and nuns run the place but their numbers are dwindling. They have provided a space for hikes to camp for the past 50 years.

Day 43 – Graymore Spiritual Center to RPH Shelter

On Merriweather’s last privy visit last night she spotted a sketchy looking vehicle, no license plate, with two people in it. We are by ourselves at this beautiful place and the presence of a sketchy vehicle is concerning, especially since the gates are closed at dusk. The Friar showed up as we were discussing what to do and escorted the car off the property.

Today has been fantastic. No delis, zoos, or magnificent views. Cool temperatures, blue skies, and amazing geography. I think NY is my favorite so far. Big boulders, fun (not scary) rock climbs, and Spring appears to really be here.

I was very hungry all day. Perhaps my body got too use to way too much easy food yesterday. Good thing we are resupplying in a couple days. The question is where.

Yesterday I noticed that a very important part of our tent was failing. I called Big Agnes and they can ship a field repair kit to me. It should arrive in 5 to 10 days. Where will I be in 5 to 10 days? Could be anywhere. Let’s pick Dalton MA, the post office looks convenient to the trail.

When we arrived at RPH Shelter, we were greeted by Chief. I met him at the Lookout Hostel several days ago. We really enjoyed the company for dinner.

Day 44 – RPH Shelter to Telephone Pioneers Shelter

After we got in the tent last night another hiker showed up. For a bit we thought it was two hikers, but today we learned that Cloud Kicker did a resupply with DoorDash who was the second person.

Today is the last day before our resupply. Packs are light, let’s hike the fewest miles over super easy terrain. After resupply our packs will be 50% heavier and we can tackle bigger miles over tougher terrain.

We were up before 5 and on the trail about 6. There is a deli/sandwich shop 5.5 miles down the trail and the rumor is that the breakfast sandwiches are huge. The rumor is true.

I was surprised that Merriweather got the sandwich with two eggs, sausage, bacon, and potatoes. I got the same. Chief got us a ride back to the trail in the back of a pickup truck.

More big boulders today, I absolutely love the geography in this part of the country. Lots of vernal ponds. At Nuclear lake there were some people fishing, I was curious about the name, they said there used to be a nuclear lab nearby and warned us about swimming.

We met Cloud Kicker mid afternoon, I think we woke him up from a nap. He started from Springer 3 weeks before we started in Roanoke. He has hiked 710.8 more miles than us. Amazing. 

We got to the shelter pretty early and met Yellow Arrow. Yellow Arrow is from Spain and doesn’t speak much English. Merriweather practiced her Spanish with him.

Chief showed up shortly after we finished eating. He is a lot of fun to talk to and we were glad to see him.

We are only hiking 3 miles tomorrow, then we get to stay in a swanky B&B that Merriweather arranged.

Day 45 – Telephone Pioneers Shelter to Pawling NY (Rt 22) Station Inn

There was some snoring in the shelter last night, at times rough, mostly rhythmic enough to lull me back to sleep. On one awakening I needed to go to the bathroom, you guessed it, it was pouring rain. An hour or so later the rain had stopped and I took the opportunity.

We walked with Chief most of the short three miles. Friendships happen quickly on the trail, saying “see you later” at route 22 was like saying goodbye to a dear lifelong friend. We were off to Tony’s Deli for another big breakfast sandwich, Chief was going to the next town over for some Indian food.

While at Tony’s a hiker couple was walking nearby and Merriweather flagged them over. Birdie said that we look familiar, especially Merry Weather. I asked where they were from, they live close by. We told them we live in Roanoke, VA, she said “you write for the Trek, I’ve been following you.” My ego went off the charts.

I am still not completely comfortable with asking strangers for rides, neither is Merriweather, so we walked the additional miles into town. We went straight to the laundromat to wash our clothes. Samantha, who works at a nearby salon, let us change out of our hiking clothes into our rain gear at her place.

We were able to check in to Station Inn at 11, get a shower, and headed over to Sunflour Bakery for lunch. The food was great but the portions small, thru hikers be warned.

I am changing up my meals a bit, adding some oatmeal for breakfast and switching from wraps to bars for lunch. It is supposed to rain a ton this week and I don’t want to have to make my lunch in the rain. The oatmeal will hopefully make up for the lack in variety.

We had dinner at Village Pizza which was pretty good. We saw Ready in town earlier and spoke to him about getting together, but we are exhausted and just want to eat and sleep. He did call later, got our number from Chief; I’m sure we will see much more of him over the next few days.

At home we typically speak to our children on Sunday evenings and we had the chance to do so today. It was very nice to get caught up on their lives. Cell service is pretty good out here and we could have spoken to them more frequently, today’s calls were a very nice treat.