Bama➡️Baxter Day 121&122 

121: 20 miles

This morning we all packed up and headed out of the shelter fairly early. When we left, we said goodbye to Boosted. He plans to do a short day today and go a lot slower to nurse his shin. So we might not see him again for a little while. Once he’s feeling better, we’ll take a zero day or something so that he can try and catch back up. But until then we’ll be hiking without him.

That was a pretty sad way to start off the morning for sure. It’s been really great hiking with Boosted and Roxy for the last couple of months. It feels like we’ve been hiking together for pretty much the whole trail.

When we set out, we wound up walking for about five miles before we stopped to break. There was a water cache by a road and otherwise it was a bit of a stretch between water sources. So we filled up there and then sat by the road to take a break. It was a lot less mosquito-y by the road.

We were there for a bit, and while we were all sitting, the water cache guy actually came by. He apparently checks on the cache every single day and then takes the bottles to fill them up. His nephew is hiking the AT this year and is somewhere south of us. This is just the guy’s way of helping out and feeling involved, which I thought was really nice.

Before we left the road, we heard someone else walking down the trail. And after a minute I knew that it was Boosted and Roxy! We called over to him and they came over. Then we decided to stay by the road for a while longer hanging out with Boosted.

We started playing games with the cars that passed by. All of us would do the wave when cars would go by, or we would all do some kind of a different synchronized wave. It was pretty damn hilarious and we were all having a blast. Laughing our asses off like crazy people, sitting alongside a road.

After a long while we decided to actually get back to walking. We said goodbye to Boosted once again and then headed out. Hopefully in a few days he’ll be feeling better and crushing miles once again!

From there we pushed out about five miles and came to a junction for a spur trail. We decided that was as good a place as any to take another break. This one was much quicker though because we had stayed for so long at the road where we saw Boosted. I ate something and did my stretching. Then after 20-30 minutes we continued along.

We walked for another five miles and then passed by yet another road. This road actually went down to Lake Tiorati Beach – Harriman State Park, which had vending machines. People mentioned on the Far Out app that there were soda, snack, and ice cream vending machines. So we couldn’t resist walking over to check it out. We took another break there and enjoyed some treats.

I got a chocolate chip ice cream cookie sandwich, a soda, and some chips. It was a really nice place to pop off for a break. Sadly though the lake was closed because of an algae bloom. It was a hot day so we were hoping to go for a swim. So that was a bit disappointing.

After staying at the recreation area for a while, we decided to continue along. The trail was fairly easy with just a few small ups and downs. Once we had gone another handful of miles, we arrived at the William Brien Memorial Shelter. Tailwind was already set up there hanging out. We decided to call it a day and stay inside the shelter as well. It was a really nice shelter with wooden bunks.

I got set up inside and then sat down to make some ramen noodles. Mumbles arrived after a while and joined us all in the shelter as well. Then we all spent the rest of the night shooting the shit and hanging out.

Day 122: 20 miles

This morning we all slept in for a little while at the shelter. Once we got up and began to pack up, Tailwind was already out and hiking. To start off the morning, the trail had a pretty good bit of ascent. It felt like an easier version of the roller coaster in Virginia. Every time we descended, we went right back uphill. Fortunately, the climbs were all nice and short. Each one was about a mile long or less.

A couple of times the guys were up ahead of me and they veered off the AT onto a spur trail. So I had to holler at them to get their attention before they went too far off trail. It was pretty hilarious, honestly.

Mid way through the day it began to absolutely dump rain out of nowhere. It seemed like it was going to pass by quickly but wound up coming down for a while. I never put my rain gear on, so I wound up getting completely soaked. But I knew that everything in my pack was dry, so that was all that mattered.

At one point the trail went right past a park and recreation area which apparently had vending machines. So while it was dumping rain on us, we stopped off at the vending machines for a treat. I felt like serious hiker trash buying an ice cream sandwich while it was pouring rain. The three of us squeezed under the small overhang of the building that the vending machines were in front of. It was just enough protection from the rain that we weren’t still getting soaked.

By the time that we were finishing up there, the rain began to lighten up. I didn’t want to stand around for too long because I was soaking wet. If I didn’t keep moving I knew that I would wind up getting pretty cold. So we kept on walking. Then after another handful of miles the trail went by yet another recreation area with more vending machines. There were loads of school kids hanging out at the Bear Mountain Recreation Area. Apparently the kids all got bussed in from the city so that they could enjoy the fresh air and nature. I thought that that was pretty cool.

While we were standing around using the vending machine, I heard a lady nearby holler to the kids, “Food is ready, everybody come on over!” So I jokingly asked the lady if there was any way that some AT hikers could get in on the lunch. She chatted us up and was asking about the trail and how far we’d come. Then she walked off and said that she would see what she could do.

A few minutes later she returned with some grilled chicken wraps! She just told us to eat them discreetly because she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to give them out. That was so ridiculously nice of her. I think that may have been my proudest Yogi moment yet on trail. Sometimes all you have to do is ask!

Once we headed out of the park, the trail wound up, weaving through the recreation area for a while longer. Then we crossed the street and the trail literally went right through a zoo! That was the coolest thing ever. We walked through the zoo, which had bird exhibits, bears, and a bunch of different reptiles. What a unique segment of the Appalachian trail.

Once we walked through the zoo, the trail connected to a road and crossed right over the Hudson River along a bridge. The views of the Hudson were amazing. We decided hang out on the bridge for a bit before continuing along. The epic views were just too cool to pass up on. We also had some fun trying to get cars to honk at us.

The weather wound up clearing up for a while after that. We walked for another six miles until the trail went right past the Appalachian Market, a 24-hour convenience store. All of us were planning to stop off and resupply there so that we didn’t have to carry a lot of food over the last day or so. The store had f’real ice cream machine, so I had milkshake. They also had a deli, so I ordered a steak and cheese sandwich and then did my resupplying.

All of us sat outside and enjoyed some lunch. Tailwind was already there when we arrived and he was planning to stop for the day at a place nearby that apparently had a pavilion. We really wanted to go further today, but the idea of staying dry under a pavilion was tempting. It’s supposed to rain a lot more later on today.

So after we finished eating, we decided to continue on to the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center. Apparently, the center allows hikers to tent in the grass or camp under the pavilion. When we arrived there it was just starting to rain, so the timing was great. We all got under the large pavilion for shelter. Tailwind and another hiker were already there hanging out. I got my cowboy camp setup situated and then we all hung out.

The rest of the day, it rained pretty heavily on and off. I was glad that we were under the pavilion, but when the wind blew hard a lot of moisture blew into the pavilion. We weren’t getting soaked, but we definitely weren’t staying super dry. As the evening went on, I wound up blogging a lot on my phone. Then once the sun set the mosquitos came out and it was brutal. It was too hot out to be inside my sleeping bag for protection. I tried to tolerate the bugs and avoid them as best I could. But it was so goddamn hot I wanted to be lying out of my bag completely.

Finally, around 10:00 p.m., I decided that I couldn’t take it anymore. I wound up getting up and pitching my tent in the grass. And as soon as I did so everyone else followed suit. It was driving us all mad to be lying there dying of heat and getting devoured by mosquitos.

Not 15 minutes after we all set up our tents, it began to pour down rain. It was honestly some of the heaviest rain that I’d ever encountered. There was also thunder and lightning nearby as well and it was damn loud. But I was finally comfortable inside my tent! I was able to lie on top of my sleeping bag, so I wasn’t too hot. Plus, I was safe from the mosquitos. I didn’t mind at all that it was pouring rain outside. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep after that to the sound of the rain.