Month: August 2022

8/24/2022 –

Wawayanda Shelter (828.8)(19.5)

The site by the pond turned out to be a pleasant place to sleep. I heard one animal passing by, something small.

I went through my full morning routine. Pack up. Eat breakfast. Camel up (load up on water). Lather on insect repellent. Morning constitutional. Left camp about 7:30 AM.

Had originally hoped to make up miles today. Unfortunately, New York is living up to its rated-8 difficulty rating. Lots of rocks which are sometimes very tricky to negotiate safely. That slows the pace to 1 mile an hour. [Maine is rated 10, New Hampshire 9.]

I am dwelling on, and still mourning the separation on the trail between me and my traveling companions. I want a 20- or 30- or 40-year-old body back—in or near the prime of life. I want my Alpine body that I had in Colorado, that could more than keep up with any of my climbing companions. I could run marathons. But I’ve got my 65-year-old body. And I knew going into this, that would the challenge. Could I do the AT in a 65-year -old body? Could I do it SOBO?

I am mourning reality. That my 65 year-old body falls behind younger bodies. I’m mourning goodbyes to friends and potential friends who I cannot keep pace with. And perhaps, I am mourning a goodbye to my younger self.

Stopped at the Top Dog hot dog stand. Had two foot-long‘s with cheese, bag of potato chips, and a Coke. Then walked over to the Bellvale Farm Creamery. Had my first banana split in decades, three scoops of ice cream, nuts, whip cream, and three cherries. After polishing those off, I thought, “that was a tasty snack. Now what?“

A woman holding a double-scoop cone saw me preparing my pack. She approached and asked, “Is there a hiking trail nearby?”

“Yes there is,” I replied. “The Appalachian Trail is just over that way,” I pointed.

“Out in those woods? The Appalachian Trail?”

“Yes.”

“Where does it go?”

“If you walked from here to the trail and turned left, you could walk to Maine. If you turned right, you could walk to Georgia. I’ve come from Maine.”

“Wow! Did you sleep in the woods?”

“Yes. It feels pretty comfortable after a while.”

“Are you going all the way to Georgia?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Well, enjoy your your hike.” She scurried off and repeated everything I told her to her husband. Her husband seemed much more interested in finishing his ice cream than hearing about a hiking trail.

New York ended with some rocky terrain. About 3 miles from the New Jersey—New York border, I passed a NOBO with a sour expression on his face. His passing comment was, “ I’ve only walked a handful of miles in this state. I already hate New York.“

There were three things I didn’t like about New York but I doubt he was referring to those (too few white blazes, shelters that lacked privies, and?). I believe he was referring to the trail that undulated up and down rock along a ridge for miles. It did get old. First, rock is hard on the feet. Secondly, we were exposed to the sun which makes the hiking hot. And finally, the ups and downs, and sometimes tricky terrain, made the going slow. I didn’t want to tell the Snowbell dad he had a lot more about to come. I chuckled, then simply said, “I hope it improves for you.”

Crossed the New York – New Jersey border today. Goodbye New York. Hello New Jersey.

Saw a group of 10 wild turkeys on the trail. Unfortunately, they scurried into the forest before I could video them.

A long hiking day. I’m proud to have done over 19 miles. Arrived at the shelter about 7:45pm, at dusk. Gnarly, Lever, and Gnarly’s mom were there also.

8/23/2022 –

Stealth camped beside Little Dam Lake (809.3)(12.3)

A damp night in the tent last night. We all got various stages of wet from yesterday’s rain. my pants, underwear, and shirt were either sweat wet or rain wet or both. I decided to try the old Colorado trick of going to bed wearing my wet clothing. When the trick works, by morning clothes are dry. Didn’t work here in the more humid Northeast. My clothes were just a little less wet.

I’ve made it nearly 800 miles with one shirt, one pair of underwear, and one pair of shorts. But our days had have been mostly dry. Last night convinced me to at least try carrying a dedicated dry sleep shirt, sleep pants, and a second pair of underwear.

Today’s planned journey is a challenge. The goal is 19 miles. The reason is that you must either go long or quite short to reach a designated camp.

I know that consecutive long days will wear this older body down. The youngsters can recover far quicker, and do longer miles. Biodiesel was saying that, while he has done some 25 mile days, they get old. All you do is hike all day. There’s no personal time at camp. We need to go at a sustainable pace, both mentally and physically. For me, I think in this area at least, that range is between 14 and 20 miles with the high-end being a rare exception. Hopefully as the terrain gets smoother, if it ever does, the mileage can expand a bit. If not that’s OK.

Woke having to poop urgently. So at 5:40 AM, still dark, I got out of the tent and dug a cat hole. the Rocky New York soil makes digging a cat hole difficult. A bit irked that NY doesn’t build privies beside many shelters. There will be a lot of poorly dug cat holes, with all the undesirable side effects, until they do.

Felt dehydrated until we found water 2 miles beyond the shelter. Cameled up a liter, then loaded the bottle and bladder with water.

Stopped at the lake which was 4 miles from the shelter. Because I was dehydrated this morning, I didn’t poop everything out, so I had to go again. Plus I had to set up a Mail drop with Lissa. Various other tasks took some time as well. It was an essential to stop, but it made completing the 19 mile goal for today very difficult.

New York has become more rocky, and therefore miles come more slowly.

Passed the 800 mile mark today.

Reached the Lemon squeezer. Just before the Lemon squeezer, the trail divided into a blue blaze titled “the easy way“ and the AT. From the SOBO side the Lemon Squeezer appeared to be a Cliff. I couldn’t see enough in order to know where to place my hands and feet to descend. So I descended the blue blaze.

Walked back to the bottom of the lemon squeezer. From the NOBO side, the route was easy. I ascended NOBO. Since no one was with me, and the descent still looked dicey SOBO, I decided not to descend SOBO.

The New York rocks, and not eating enough, left me feeling very fatigued early in the afternoon. I realized I wasn’t going to make the 19 miles. Verydisappointing, since I’d fall behind the new group I’d been traveling with. More than disappointing, I grieved. I wanted to spend one more night with Biodiesel, Photo Op, and Big Cat, but couldn’t. I wanted to keep hanging with some people who I want to get to know better, who had started to become traveling companions. Ducky and Gravy from Canada. Recent engineering graduates. Homework from North Carolina. EC, teacher in the Durham area. And Dunk, age 58, new retiree, and former Cyber Security Director at his firm. Not only did I want to get to know them better, there’s the companionship at the shelter. And typically, plans are made better together than individually. You have lots of eyes able to read FarOut comments and skimming through the AWOL guide. We can discuss what’s ahead and raise ideas that others weren’t aware of. A restroom shortly off trail. A deli. A movie theater drive-in in Warwick that’s free, not only for the camping but the movie itself. There are lots of benefits to traveling with others. They can help lift your spirits if you’re down. And right now, they are.

I hated pulling up short but had no choice. I realized I can’t do that kind of mileage unless I’m eating and drinking enough every day.

I camped in an undesignated area about 12 miles out. That allowed me to eat a real dinner, unlike last night. The campsite was near a pond. There was water.

My dehydration yesterday and partly today took a toll. Every move last night felt as though I might cramp. Even today in bed, I got a hand cramp. The bowels don’t clear the way they should. So lack of water and food has a snowball effect on health and mileage. I’m feeling it. I need, somehow, to get back on track.