On Wednesday May 30, I crossed from New Jersey into New York, which proved to be my favorite state do far.
The section started with some boulder hopping along a ridge line with great views.
At one point there was a ladder set up against a rock face that otherwise would have been hard to climb.
About an hour (3 miles) into New York, I came up behind a section hiker that had just started that morning. I asked him how far he was walking and was initially confused to hear him respond that he was walking to Duncannon, PA. My expression must have given away my thoughts, because he quickly asked for confirmation that he was walking south as he had planned. I responded that unfortunately he must have gotten turned around because he was in fact walking north! He told me that he’d started at the NJ/NY border earlier that morning, so he had walked a full day and netted three miles in the wrong direction.
A few miles later on my first day in NY I stopped at an ice cream shop and first met another thru-hiker named Socrates (who came out to the AT to think). We sat near a mother who was married in Kennebunkport, near where I grew up in Maine, with two young children who were very smart and talkative. The seven year old boy named all fourteen states that the AT passes through simply from memory of the states along the east coast! Apparently he has been using an app on the iPhone to study the states and their capitals, which he rattled off to me with ease.
That night I stayed at a shelter with Socrates, Daypack, and a section hiker named Working On It.
The next day was pretty eventful on and off the trail. Most important, my cousin Josh and his wife Jenna had their first son, Brody! I didn’t actually hear about this until the next day, but Brody’s birthday was May 31, and he’s a healthy, beautiful baby. Congrats Josh and Jenna!
That same day I hiked with Working On It for several miles and shared my dream of starting a treehouse bed and breakfast business. A graduate of a prestigious business school, he had a useful perspective on the benefit of an MBA to an aspiring entrepreneur, so I enjoyed picking his brain. I also learned indirectly from Working On It that the Steripen I had been given by One Step over a month before had not been working the entire time I’d had it. In essence, I’d been “treating” my water with 90 seconds of blinking visible light rather than UV light as I had thought. Ironically, I only learned this when I showed Working On It how to use his Steripen and realized that his glowed unlike mine! I am now back to using AquaMira.
The section that day contained a beautiful lake and a forest with little underbrush on rolling hills so the views were great! I also passed through a narrow ravine called the Lemon Squeezer. I had to take my pack off and hold it above my head to fig through.
Right after that is a difficult (but very short) climb up a large boulder that apparently deserved an alternate easy route around it.
I also saw a long black snake north of that section.
Later that day, Socrates stopped for a late dinner 4.3 miles before the shelter. We then hiked those last miles from 7 to 9 pm and saw 19 deer in those two hours!
Even after we made it to the shelter, the deer were still ever present. I didn’t sleep well that night because two or three deer were grazing just feet from the shelter and they are surprisingly loud eaters as they rip grass out of the ground.
The next morning, June 1, I witnessed my first rattlesnake!
I then saw 9 deer, including a sleeping buck, on the way up Bear Mountain. The trail up and down that mountain was so well maintained that I felt like I was walking through a park.
At the top was Perkins Memorial Tower, which has been a destination spot for tourists in cars for decades.
At the bottom of the mountain, Socrates and I enjoyed a delicious meal of burgers, fries, and apple pie, which was discounted because a squirrel had somehow made its way into the dining area. Our receipt literally had 10% off for “squirrel.”
Our bellies full, we passed through the trail side zoo, which contained several animals that we hadn’t yet seen on the AT.
After the zoo, the trail took us across the Hudson River via the Bear Mountain Bridge.
I resupplied at the world’s best and busiest gas station, right next to the trail. They had six full-time employees and were open 24/7. I passed on the sandwiches (to order) from the deli and instead opted for hot NY style pizza.
Finally, I spent the night just up the trail with several hikers in a shelter at a monastery. The hiker I was most surprised to see was Working On It, the section hiker I’d met a couple nights before, who averaged about 20 miles for most of his week on the trail, nearly unheard of for someone just getting in the trail. I didn’t see any monks at or near the shelter, but I heard the church bells ringing some familiar tunes the next morning.
The next couple days brought some good views. I especially like Nuclear Lake.
I also saw the largest oak tree on the AT, Dover Oak, which boasts a circumference of more than 20 feet. (Sorry Jacob and Adam; no videos of this one.)
Finally, before my last full day in NY, I stopped at a garden center just off the trail that offered free showers. I was thankful for hot running water, but with no shampoo, soap, or towel, I don’t think I ended up much cleaner than I started. I had to dry off with a dirty shirt, and I put dirty clothes back on after. By the time I walked the few miles through the mud and rain to the shelter, I am sure nobody could have guessed that I had showered in a week.
All in all, NY was pretty beautiful and full of fun memories.
Slower Than That Bear, But Faster Than You 