Day 127: Voice of Reason
Saturday, July 13th
West Mountain Shelter
10.7 miles today
1402.7 miles total
Everything was wet this morning from the rain last night and it was still spitting when I woke up at 8. It took us 3 hours to get up and out of there and we couldn’t decide on where we’d try to go. The hotels in town are egregiously overpriced but there’s nowhere else to camp unless we cut the day short or do another really long day and get in late again.
Still tried from yesterday the chaffing getting bad again and my shoes wearing down and rubbing on my heels wasn’t making it any easier to take a step let alone walk multiple miles. But we did.
The Forrests here in NY are kind of like the city, the trees are big, the rocks are big and there’s not a lot of shrubs so you can see pretty far and the Forrest feels bigger like the tall buildings in the city make you feel small. They also make the climbs feel like you’re scaling huge mountains but we’re not even breaking past 2k feet until the end of Connecticut in 100 miles.
We got to a detour and had a but of a dilemma. The AT was rerouted to a bridge over the highway but that route didn’t go by the shelter, if you wanted to go to the shelter it would be 1.3 miles off the trail one way and there wasn’t as much water on that stretch. However the Old AT went closer to the shelter and had more water so if we were going to go to the shelter I was just going to take the Old AT path to get there because it was the same mileage and the only reason they rerouted was so people didn’t have to cross the highway. The guys though were set on hiking the official route and not the old path so we had to decide if they were gonna make the trek down to the shelter or would we just keep going and pay for an expensive hotel. We decided shelter it was so we split up.
I don’t have any regrets, the water sources were great and the view of NYC is spectacular. I did have to carry 4liters of water up 700 feet but it was worth it. The guys ended up staying at the parking lot down by the highway. I met this guy named voice of reason up here and he told me how he got lost coming up this way and was totally off trail and by the graves of god found this guy who know where he was and how to get back up here.
I had some interesting conversations with him while I hung my stuff out to dry and made dinner then watched the sunset and the city light up. I even saw some fireworks town in the town. Even though this guy is carrying 55 pounds of gear he has the most positive outlook on life and while I’ve been thinking everything since Northern Virginia has sucked he’s been enjoying it all and has even hiked PA and NJ several times. It’s really reminded me to appreciate the beauty.
I’m lucky to be here, to do this, to still be here and still be doing this. I can’t take it for granted, no matter the pain. I have 794.7 left and it’s gonna be over in a blink of an eye. I’m gonna wish I was back here, talking to people, climbing over rocks, smacking my face covers in bugs, sweating so much, smelling so bad, drinking from brown streams and walking around in my underwear. I won’t get to do this for the first time again. “And this too shall pass”
Day 128: A Walk in the..Zoo?
Sunday, July 14th
Graymoor Spiritual Life Center
13 miles total
1415.7 miles total
Slept great, there was a nice little breeze I got cold at 2am and had to pull out my quilt. Woke up around 6 to pack up and I got out of there just before 7. I find it a lot easier to just get up and go and do whatever when it’s just me. I only ate my pop tarts this morning though because I ran out of toilet paper yesterday.. I also ate a handful of wild blueberries because when life gives you blue berries, you eat them.
The miles went by quick but the sun was just beaming today so I admired the views but didn’t stay too long. I met back up with the guys at the top of the next mountain, bear mountain, there was a nice bench up there on the rock face. It was like 9 and we were all soaked to the bone in sweat some more than others but we had to keep going.
We got to the very top of the mountain as climbed up the little tower to see the 360 views and read about the history of the mountain and the tourism. Lots of bicyclists coming up and down the mountain and buying overpriced sodas and leaving them everywhere. Lots of tourists out today all up and down the mountain, mostly at the bottom by the lake grilling food that I would kill for but none of them care about us and I don’t feel like begging.
We hung out at the bear mountain inn for a few hours to charge everything up and just cool off. Voice was there as a couple other hikers and I didn’t want to be rude but I was just getting a little overwhelmed by the questions and chit chat. I ate a quick lunch some tuna and the rest of my chips and sour patch kids then we tried to go to the pool. It was PACKED. So that was a no go. We kept walking along the trail which takes you right through the bear mountain zoo, small little place with mostly local rehabilitated wildlife. We kinda hung there for a while around a water fountain debating our plans.
We’d taken a couple long breaks and it was already 2, getting hotter but slightly less humid. Joe couldn’t keep hiking though he felt the symptoms even though he’d done everything possible to prevent the heat exhaustion. I don’t want to leave him behind but I couldn’t afford even splitting a $160 hotel room. So we kept hiking a few miles up a few big mountains to get to this church that had a ball field you can camp at, cold showers, a water spigot and a porta potty. I don’t feel any shame because there’s NOWHERE else we can camp at. I also found some rope for my bear bag that’s lighter and longer so that’s a win.
Day 129: Telephone of the Wind
Monday, July 15th
Canopus Lake Beach Shelter
13.8 miles today
1429.5 miles total
A couple weeks ago I was scrolling through instagram before bed probably somewhere in PA. I saw some posts from our hiker friends who were then a couple hundred miles ahead about this telephone. I looked into it and it’s this telephone where you can “call” the people you’ve lost to have one last conversation with them. I felt for those who were grieving then and found out it was in some state park in New York but I didn’t think much else of it.
Fast forward a week later I’m in New Jersey and I find out a good friend of mine has days left to live. I’ve heard about people experiencing those kinds of things on trail and being away for six months I knew it was possible something might happen, but I didn’t expect this. All I could do was think about it out here. There’s nothing else to do when you’re hiking but to process and think. I got updates and I checked my phone every chance I could, worried I miss any news. Luckily he could go home to be surrounded by the people who loved him most. it was hard to watch those events unfold on my screen knowing he was thousands of miles away, my friends who were also grieving several miles away, nobody to hug or shoulder to cry on. I sent one last message hoping someone would read it to him, probably not.
Four days later he’s gone and I’m in New York. Surrounded by people who will never understand where other problems and decisions are taking precedence but I can’t even fathom the reality of what’s happened. I go to bed, finally alone it sinks in, I cry.
The next day, today, sucks. Everything sucks. The bugs eating me alive worse than ever, the heat index is nearly 100, I smell like the worst smell you can think of, I’m low on food, I’m sweating so much my shoes are soaked, I can feel my socks ripping, shoes falling apart and I just don’t want to be here. I get to a parking lot and I look at the map and see the name of the park, I recognize the name. The next few miles I know I’m going to run into this phone and the feelings are overwhelming. Eventually I just focused on the hike, my feet soaked again after I put on a dry pair of socks because the grass was wet from a rainstorm that passed.
It was there when I least expected and I couldn’t hold it together anymore, I’m glad I was by myself for this. I read the postage next to the rotary phone:
Telephone of the Wind
Though I've lost you, I can hear your voice in the silent echoes of your absence.
You speak to me through rustling leaves, whistling wind and bowing branches.
Though I've lost you, I feel you here in this shrine of trees in nature's sanctuary.
This Telephone of the Wind is for all who grieve. You are welcome to find solace here.
Please use it to connect with those you have lost. To feel the comfort of their memory.
May you hear their voices in the wind.
May you be at peace with your losses.
(Words and installation by Millet Israeli, an NYC and Putnam-based grief therapist).
Day 130: Good, feeling good
Tuesday, July 16th
Corrado Pizzaria & Gelateria
10.1 miles today
1439.6 miles today
A few things I didn’t mention in yesterday’s entry: we caught up with Ada/catchup and took ice cold showers in the bathhouse before going back to the shelter to find a spot to camp. It was so hot and I was tired so I just put my hammock up quick without my rain fly. I checked the radar and it looked like the rain would pass north without hitting us.
I woke up at 12am to thunder and rain, I fumbled out my hammock, couldn’t get my rain fly up before everything was soaked and It started to pour harder so I grabbed everything I could and ran into the shelter soaked. I just laid down on the floor for a few minutes. The day couldn’t have ended any worse. I was mentally, physically, emotionally drained and then this.. its like i was being pushed to my limits. I was shivering. Shook the water off my quilt, inflated my pad and tried to sleep. The rain hammered the metal roof then slowed to scattered taps and somehow I fell asleep.
I woke up to the sun drying me and my stuff. I hung the rest out to dry and did my chores. We filled up on water and at 10:30 I got a burger and ate it in 30 seconds or less (I figured I could use the calories and the chicken was more expensive). I got up and going by 11:40. Today was another hot day, projected to be the hottest of the year, heat index well over 100. So I hiked quickly knowing I could beat the hottest part (4-5pm). When I crossed big streams I took my pack off and put my arms in long enough to cool my body down then I kept going. I finished in less than 4 hours. Paramore and blink-182 helped me get the day. Yesterday could’ve been one of the worst days but today I felt great. I forgot the impact music can have on your mood, whenever I have a rough day or even a good day I turn to music. I haven’t listened to anything since southern PA because I like to just focus on the hike and enjoy what’s around me but every now and then it’s nice.
I got to the deli and got a nice wedge sandwich and a tea and hung out there with Ada and the guy George we met at the spiritual center who’s hiking a 400 mile section before he has to teach. It looked like it was going to rain and we brought our packs inside and then it didn’t rain. We could’ve kept going today but when you can just sleep behind the deli/pizzaria you do.
Day 131: 23 years
Wednesday, July 17th
Station inn
14.8 miles today
1454.4 miles total
Sometimes I regret having a hammock because lately it’s been hard to find a spot to hang without a ton of poison ivy everywhere or it’s just too overgrown under the trees to setup. But on these hot days and nights it’s been easier to cool off in a hammock when I can find a spot. Sleeping behind the deli wasn’t bad but at 4am the person driving the garbage truck was struggling and woke us all up. I woke up at 6 and saw the guys already packed up so I packed up quick and met them inside and they sung happy birthday. I treated myself to a breakfast bagel, then crushed 15 miles like it was nothing. I’m so glad we started at 8 because by 11 I could feel the heat.
Today we passed by 2 large oak trees sitting directly on the trail. One was the largest on the whole trail, a white oak, Quercus alba, 22’ round trunk and over 110’ tall, the Dover oak was a sight to see and I gave it a hug. I waited for Joe to come by so he could take my picture under it.
At this point it was getting warmer just after noon and with one more hill to climb through uncovered fields we were done for the day. We had to flag down the local bus to take us to the grocery store (btw my first time at a hannafords) where the guys had a surprise for me. They asked me what I wanted for dinner, if we had a kitchen.. I didn’t know where we were going but I figured it wasn’t the back of another deli or local park. I had no idea what I wanted but they suggest lobster and cod and I wasn’t going to say no to that. I was going to buy a Boston crème cake but they wouldn’t let me pay for it. They bought all the food for tonight and we also resupplied for approximately 4 days to get to Great Barrington, MA. I still had no idea where we were going but I could see the big storm rolling in. We got a local taxi for $8 and he took us to a local Inn that the guys booked just for us. I was so ready to camp behind another deli and just have a couple drinks and hangout but this was just beyond kind, I was so surprised and happy, it’s been such a tough time these last few weeks. But we had to hurry up and grab all the grocery bags and backpacks because it was about to rain and the room was up on the 3rd floor.
It’s basically a little apartment right in the middle of town, it was very nice. We watched a couple of my favorite movies, Twister and Speed Racer. While we made and ate dinner, the pot was small so we had to cook one lobster at a time but Spencer did a good job with the cod bake and we had salads and bread too. I’m lucky to have them around.
Day 132: NEW ENGLAND
Thursday, July 18th
Ten Mile River Campsite
9.8 miles today
1464.2 miles total
I slept like a baby and only woke up to the train a couple times. We did the typical packing up just before checkout routine and then I just hung out on a porch while the guys went and shipped some post cards and stuff. Then we called the same taxi service and waited 45 minutes for them to show up and then they charged us $15 this time which was annoying because it was basically the same distance as last time.
The first couple miles were through some more pastures of thick grass and you could feel the plants transpire in the afternoon heat. We got into the woods and the miles were flying by, I’ve been listening to the blink setlist to get ready for the concert next week. We stopped at a shelter for a snack and quick break then a couple miles later we crossed the boarder to Connecticut! We’re finally in New England and it feels great. Already Connecticut is so much better than New York in terms of the hiking and camping. The campsites actually have water, a privy and a bear box again. I’ll get the white noise of the river tonight too. We rinsed the sweat off of us and got a little upper body workout in before heading to bed. I’m excited for New England and all the states to come, I think this is what I was most looking forward to, especially New Hampshire and Maine. We’re almost exactly 2/3rds of the way in with only 733 miles until Mt. Katahdin.
Day 133: A Stop in Kent
Friday, July 19th
Stony Brook Campsite
16.6 miles today
1480.8 miles total
Wow it got cold last night, down to 57 I think. It hasn’t been that cold since that one night PA after Duncannon. I woke up first and had everything packed up so I ate breakfast by the river and didn’t realize how forgot to set his alarm so he woke up late. I left around 8 to get a head start and tried to race George and finder to Kent since they were taking the flat 5 mile gravel road that was shorter and I was taking the 7.5 mile climb over the mountain. I had a good pace going but I saw a really good stream and couldn’t resist taking a break there. I got down to the road crossing and saw oskar and Emily (osha) sitting on the bench! They got off for a few days but must’ve been just behind us the last couple days and are slack packing since they’d hiked this section a bunch being from Connecticut. They gave me a half of their BLT and then watched me get the quickest hitch yet after Emily offered to do it for me but I said I could handle it. I got super lucky this lady just happened to be driving by in a rental and was a past thru hiker in 21’ thank you Susan!
I wandered around the small town of Kent waiting for the guys to catch a ride. I exchanged my first pair of socks for new ones I think they were the pair you helped me pay for in Sitka. I was going to buy them but i remembered the darn tough brand has a lifetime warranty so i got brand new ones for free but they only have these silly purple ones with yellow banded lines. I watched Spencer try on a bunch of shoes and settle on some merrels after complaining about his brooks for the last couple hundred miles. I went to check out the local Davis iga grocery store but was blown away by the prices it was like I was back in Alaska, I’m so glad we resupplied in New York. When I saw George again he said he spent $80 on resupply there for a few days of food.
I caught Joe at the restaurant devouring a burger and pizza but he gave me a crust <3
Then we tried to catch a ride back to trail and had no luck so we ended up walking the .3 back to trail. It was an instant uphill climb then a few little peaks at the top then one of the steepest down hill climbs yet. It would get you vertigo looking down those steps it just shoots down several hundred feet in less than a mile and i tried to lean back as far as I could going down. At the bottom there was “hiker parking” where a few people were sitting in Adirondack chairs left there for hikers. After that it was a chill gravel and later dirt path along the river for a few miles to the shelter and tent spots.
This one has a privy that Susan warned me about, it’s a very..open concept. Our little group squeezed into this tent spot but again it’s nice to have water, a privy and little bear box again. There hasn’t been a lot of views in this state but I enjoy the hiking and it’s so nice to have these amenities again, Its the little things that make me happy.
🥲🥲🥲i cry with you . RIP Chuck ✨💕🤗