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.