A Trail Mix

Day 111

We woke up finally, though reluctantly, ready to leave NYC. We said goodbye to Luke and took the metro downtown with all our gear. On the metro-car a disgruntled old woman grumbled to Nepsis that her pack could kill someone. We caught our commuter train back to Garrison where we found a cafe to have lunch.  We started the long three-mile road out of he town. As we got to the edge of the town Nepsis turned to me and asked if we should hitchhike since this was the last place a car could pull over. Just after she asked a car pulled over and the female driver asked if we wanted a ride back to the Trail. We accepted, happy to not walk that three-mile stretch of road again. We bought a few more resupply items at the gas station next to the Trail and our feet finally took that great path again, our feet happy with the break and in new shoes. We passed by the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center for the fourth and final time and on to new Trail, pretty easy, but feeling a bit difficult with such a long break. Near the end of our hike we saw a paper sign on the Trail near a road indicating there was trail magic at campsite 11 at the nearby state park. We hiked until early evening when it suddenly turned dark and a quick storm broke out above us. We took a side trail in the wetness to a beach on a lake in Clarence Fahnestock State Park. It took us awhile to find the campsites across a road where they had a few spots reserved for thruhikers to stay for free. After setting up our tent we went over to campsite 11 where Joe struggled out of his hammock to give us some soda and sandwiches for dinner and to invite us for breakfast. He was a very kind older Puerto Rican who joked that we had forgot to do our dishes when we left. Back at the tent we fell asleep as a big storm broke out during the night.

Miles hiked today: 13.8 Total AT miles completed: 1419.9 Total AT miles left to hike: 765.4

Day 112

We woke up and walked over to campsite 11 where Joe grilled us delicious eggs and hotdog sandwiches and brewed us camp coffee. After thanking him and packing up our wet tent we headed back to the beach and waited until the little store there opened at 9:30 am to buy icecream sandwiches before getting back on the Trail. The terrain was easy and we reached the RPH Shelter for lunch and to dry out our clothes and shoes. The shelter was a really nice and clean little cabin with a porch, picnic table, and plenty of lawn chairs. We decided there to get a room for the night and called Pine Grove Motel in Poughquag to book a room. We hiked on through easy terrain with just a few little ups and downs. My shoes felt a tiny bit small which didn't bother me too much until going downhill. They were the same size as my last shoes, but I guess my feet grew even bigger with all the hiking. We were getting pretty tired by the end of our hiking day and felt it'd be pretty late by the time we walked the three miles down the road to the motel. We hoped for a miracle and got one for when we got to the road we met two older ladies sitting on the guardrail. They explained that they had slackpacked the day and were staying the night at a trail angel's house and thought he'd be nice enough to give us a ride to the motel. They texted him and he agreed and in a few minutes we were in the back of his car. He had us plug in our phone number I'm his phone so he could text us in the morning and give us a ride back to the Trail as he was giving the ladies a ride back. He dropped us off and we checked into our cheap room before walking down the road to find something to eat. After a bit we found the Rambler's Rest, a very nice Irish restaurant where we ate too much after drinking soda after soda before our food arrived. Back at the motel we rested a bit before going to sleep. The trail angel texted to say he'd be by to pick us up around eight.

Miles hiked today: 17.3 Total AT miles completed: 1437.2 Total AT miles left to hike: 748.1

Day 113

We woke up with just enough time to pack up and try to walk down the road toward the Trail to a gas station to see if they had any denatured alcohol for our stove since we were out. We were just about there when our ride showed up so we dashed inside and when we couldn't find any, got in the car for the ride back to the Trail. Again, the terrain was very easy with just a few small ups and downs. My feet were getting a little more used to the shoes, but still a little uncomfortable. I didn't think my feet would take as graciously to the shoes on the bigger mountains to come in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. At the end of the first down of the day we found the largest oak tree on the Trail, estimated to be over 300 years old. There was a sign indicating trail magic at a pink house just a bit east of the Trail. They offered water and there was a tub left by a local girl scouts troop with some snacks. Back on the Trail, we continued on to NY 22 where we bought cold drinks from a garden center and ate lunch at a table out back they had for thruhikers. We usually keep our Tracfone off for days at a time, but turned it on so Nepsis could work out some details with her dad about her brother's coming out to hike with us for a bit in a few days. We received a text from the trail angel who had just given us the rides, offering to pick us up at six and bring us back to his house for dinner, laundry, showers, and a bed. Recalling the time we declined such an offer in Pearisburg, VA and immediately regretted it, we eagerly agreed and asked if he could pick us up another ten miles down the Trail from where we were. He texted back to say he could and we started hiking again, a skip in our step. We hiked quickly back up a short ways in the mountains and on pretty even ground. At some point the trail angel texted again saying he could pick us up whenever and since we were going so fast we wrote back to say we could be there at 4:30. In a few miles we passed the state line into Connecticut and hiked even faster up the small Ten Mile Hill. We came back down and walked along a river for a bit before crossing over on a bridge and coming out of the woods to our destination, Bulls Bridge Road, a minute or two before 4:30. Our trail angel, Mark, was there to greet us with cold sodas. We started driving the forty-five minutes back to his house, stopping at a few gas stations along the way to try to find the denatured alcohol that we couldn't find that morning. Our last try was at an auto parts store near his house, but they didn't have the right kind. We left defeated, but then casually mentioned most hardware stores carried it and he spun his car around and drove us to the local hardware store that did, indeed, have it. Back at his very nice house we met his wife and he showed us to one of his two guest rooms. He said he'd of offered us a room yesterday, but they were already full. The guest rooms each had a computer, one had a small TV, and one had a bathroom attached. He handed us a laundry basket and we picked out clothes from a shelf in our guest room that he had for thruhikers. He took our laundry while we showered. We emerged for dinner and delicious homemade beer, sitting at the kitchen bar with Mark. He had thruhiked a couple years prior, but was injured before completing it. Since then he has been kindly finding thruhikers and giving them a nice place to stay for a night or two. A bit later this year he plans to finish his hike to Katahdin. After having our fill and talking a bit we went to the guest room to watch some mindless television for a bit while I found and purchased some shoes a half size bigger than the ones I had just gotten, sending them to Nepsis' family so they could bring them to us when they came in a couple of days. Soon, we retreated to the comfy bed for sleep.

Miles hiked today: 18.6 Total AT miles completed: 1455.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 729.5

Day 114

We woke up and emerged from our room to find coffee, tea, and blueberry pancakes made by Mark. After eating and packing up our clean clothes, Mark drove us back to the road he had picked us up at. He gave us a couple sodas to go and we were off. In just over a mile we passed the two-thirds mark of being done with the entire Trail. There were a lot of little ups and downs the first several miles and we the Trail ventured back into New York at one point for a couple of miles before coming back out into Connecticut again. At last we followed a gravel road for a bit on flat ground which led to hiking along a river for several miles before going up Silver Hill. We stopped for dinner at a campsite along the way up that had some picnic tables under a large pavilion. While eating, we noticed in the corner of the rafters a nest with three baby birds sticking their heads out and chirping wildly. Another bird was perched in a nearby tree with something in its beak. We moved our dinner to the picnic table furthest away and soon the bird swooped down to the nest and fed the baby birds who went absolutely nuts. They were very cute to watch. After dinner we climbed over the hill and back down to Guinea Brook where a sign told us we could either ford the brook or take a bypass route totaling a mile. We took off our shoes, put on our crocs, put our shoes in our packs and went for it! It was fun and not too scary. The brook wasn't too high or fast. We finished off the evening with a couple more miles of hiking to Caesar Brook Campsite where we pitched our tent and spent the night.

Miles hiked today: 21.1 Total AT miles completed: 1476.9 Total AT miles left to hike: 708.4

Day 115

We woke up, broke down our tent, and began our hike of small ups and downs for a few miles, including a small section where we had to squeeze through a crack in a large boulder, before heading down to level ground and across a bridge over the Housatonic River. The Trail took us to the small town of Falls Village where we ventured off the Trail a little bit to go to the Toymaker's Cafe. It was a small business that is only open four days a week for breakfast and lunch. They didn't accept credit cards so I had to run a few, long country blocks to the nearest bank to use their ATM. Back at the cafe we got a wonderful lunch and sodas and decided to buy some pastries and cookies instead of going into the next town for a small resupply to cover the next day. Back on the Trail and just out of the town we stopped by the Great Falls for a few minutes before making the gradual climb up Mt. Prospect and found a large rock on top dubbed the Giant's Thumb. After a rest we hiked across the ridge several miles quite quickly until we arrived at the road crossing to Salisbury. Even though we no longer needed to resupply, we decided to go get dinner since we made it there so quickly. It was a half of a mile into the center of town and we found it to be incredibly touristy. People gawked at us as we bought some fancy cheese and bread at one bakery and a lemon cheesecake at the next and sat at some outdoor tables to enjoy our feast. After we stuffed ourselves, we walked back to the Trail and up to Brassie Brook Shelter just past the 1500 mile mark to spend the night. Nepsis experimented with mosquito control by detaching our inner tent from the outer and placing our sleeping system inside the tent in the shelter without the poles. The mesh door was at our heads and she used our packs to try to prop the mesh up a bit, but it still sagged onto our faces during the night. The mosquitoes could not access us, so it may be considered a success, with minor faults of discomfort. Our wearied bodies fell asleep easily anyway.


Miles hiked today: 23.4 Total AT miles completed: 1500.3 Total AT miles left to hike: 685

Day 116  

We woke up early, ate our pastries, and hiked quickly the few miles up Bear Mountain. On the way back down we exited Connecticut and entered Massachusetts. We then went across a ridge with excellent views up Mt. Race. We descended that peak to make a steep ascent to Mt. Everett. On our way back down we met several day-hikers and stopped at a parking lot and picnic area to have lunch. There were several gallons of water left as trail magic. We descended the rest of the way to the bottom and hiked quickly  through several miles of marshy land, across many small footbridges. In the middle we passed a road with a granite marker indicating where a skirmish during Shay's Rebellion took place. A bit after passing this we crossed through a wet, wooded area particularly infested with swarms of mosquitoes. There were so many, in fact, that Nepsis went a little crazy and sprinted forward in an effort to ditch them when her foot caught a root and she flew through the air, landing hard on her face and cutting her knee pretty bad. After she brushed herself off, we made it to US 7 where we started to hitchhike toward Great Barrington. Almost immediately, a car pulled over. The driver was a woman we had just met hiking down Mt. Everett. She drove us into the touristy city center, to 20 Railroad St, a bar. We arrived just in time to watch the third place match for the World Cup and enjoy a beer. After the match we got some ice cream and sat at a coffee shop for awhile before going to Subway for dinner and finally Dunkin Donuts to wait for Nepsis' dad and brother who were going to pick us up. It took them a few hours more than they had previously stated, but they finally arrived and we packed into their car to be whisked away to a hotel near Albany, about an hour away. The hotel was so far away because her dad had reward points to spend on this particular hotel. We showered and went to sleep in a comfy bed, safe from all mosquitoes.

Miles hiked today: 16.8 Total AT miles completed: 1517.1 Total AT miles left to hike: 668.2      

The Big Apple

Day 106

We woke up early to be able to catch a mass service the monks had advertised with a flyer posted on the pavilion. Joined by a thruhiker named Spirit Hawk of Love, we walked around until we found the right building. After the service we hiked to the nearby gas station to grab breakfast and began the three miles down a road to a town with a train station. Our guide book specifically stated it was illegal to hitchhike in New York so Nepsis didn't feel comfortable doing so. There weren't very many vehicles on this road anyway as we made our way. There wasn't much of a shoulder to walk on and toward the end of our walk to town we had to press ourselves against a stone wall as cars zoomed around corners. Once we made it to the station we only had to wait about fifteen minutes for the comuter train we were taking in to New York City to show up. The train was pretty full because there was a Yankees game, which a lot of the passengers were going to. As we sped closer and closer to NYC, more and more people crammed in and people had to stand in the aisles because all the seats were taken. The ride lasted an hour and fifteen minutes and we disembarked in a frenzy of people at Grand Central Station. We found a way out and started walking to my friend's place of work only a few long blocks away. Of course we were unknowingly heading in the exact opposite direction, weaving our way around all the other brisk walkers for a few blocks before realizing our mistake. We walked a few blocks past marquees and garbage and a lot of people, past Times Square where Spiderman told me he liked my beard, to a building known as the New York Times where my friend works. He came down to meet us for lunch at a burger place brimming with the working elite. After lunch Luke gave us the key to his apartment and directions on the metro to his place in Brooklyn. The metro was a bit easier to navigate here than in DC and in about half an hour we were in Brooklyn. The metro stop was very near where he lived and we climbed up to the third floor and had to shove the door open to get inside. We took our loads off and cleaned ourselves up. We then decided to just rest and watch several episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. We also found a new pair of shoes for Nepsis on Ebay at an amazing discounted price and the seller also lived in Brooklyn so we could just arrange to meet to get the shoes. Luke's wife, Andrea, returned home and we chatted a bit while she packed for her evening flight to the Midwest to celebrate the holiday with her family. Luke returned home from work and soon after Andrea left in a cab for the airport. For dinner, Luke took us to a fancy ramen restaurant nearby. Back in their apartment we hung out with Luke watching The Lego Movie until Andrea came home because her flight was canceled due to stormy weather. Soon, we went to sleep on a thin mattress they pulled out of their closet with real pillows: better accomadations than we expected from the typical cramped Brooklyn apartment.

Day 107

We woke up pretty early since we were used to it and watched Luke get ready and leave for work. Then we left to walk to the nearby Trader Joe's in order to buy ingredients for chocolate croissants that Nepsis wanted to make. Back at their apartment Nepsis started the process of making the croissants with a little help from Andrea and I. Since it was such a long process with long periods of needing to let the dough rise, Andrea took us out to see other parts of Brooklyn. We walked north past many cool-looking shops and restaurants, past Brownstones to Dumbo, a cool part of Brooklyn by the bridges to Manhattan. We hung out at One Girl Cookies where we ate small, but delicious gourmet cookies and a bookstore across the street that had a lot of books I'd like to read. For lunch we went to a small Mediterranean restaurant that had the best Mediterranean food I've ever tasted. Andrea left in the late afternoon to catch another flight, and we watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia again. Andrea's flight was canceled again so she came back and when Luke came back home and we were joined by my college buddy who is studying in NYC, we went out for dinner. Just before leaving, the man who sold us Nepsis' shoes arrived and gave them to us. As we were walking to the restaurant it began to downpour and we ran from restaurant to restaurant until we found without a long wait time. After eating the great fine-dining Mexican food we went back to the apartment where Luke introduced us to a really funny show called Nathan for You. Once it was quite late, we all went to sleep, including Jacob for a sleepover.

Day 108

We slept in and ate breakfast in, including the amazing croissants Nepsis made. We walked over to a nearby German restaurant and sat at the bar to watch Germany beat France in the World Cup. After the match, Jacob left to do some schoolwork while the rest of us just rested back at the apartment before going to watch the Brazil v. Columbia match at a wings joint. After that match we walked over to Stinky's, and bought some fancy cheese to enjoy back at the apartment, while watching more Nathan for You. When the time was right we walked over to the Brooklyn Bridge Park to watch the Fourth of July fireworks display over the Hudson. When we got to the entrance the police were trying to stop people from entering, saying there were too many people there already. No one was listening to them so they pretty much gave up. Once we got to the park we stood on some picnic tables at the back of the large and growing crowd to watch the fireworks. After the show we slowly walked back to the apartment amid the swarms of New Yorkers and just hung out until going to sleep.

Day 109

In the morning Andrea was finally able to get a flight to the Midwest so we said goodbye to her for the actual last time. Luke, Nepsis, and I then took the metro to the Doughnut Plant where I got a square coconut cream donut and a creme brulee donut, both of which were delicious. Jacob joined us and we sat in the shop awhile before Jacob had to leave to do some more schoolwork and the rest of us went to walk the High Line, an old raised rail track that had been converted into a thin, long garden and walkway. It is a great way to view some of New York City. Along the way we tried to go to some art galleries, but they were all closed. When we got downtown, Luke gave us an exclusive tour of the New York Times building and after grabbed a couple slices of New York style pizza. We then took a bus to the Whitney Museum of American Art where I got all of us in for free admission with my military ID. The entire museum was showcasing the art of Jeff Koons and it was real interesting to see his art and how it developed through his lifetime. Jacob joined us after visiting the museum to walk around a bit in Central Park and we saw the statue of Balto and the Strawberry Fields, sitting at the Imagine Circle for awhile, watching the tourists come and go. After, we took the metro to Jacob's apartment where he gave me the shoes I ordered and had sent to him, went on his roof, and to another ramen restaurant for dinner. Luke, Nepsis and I went back to his apartment and went to sleep after a big day in the city.

Day 110

We woke up pretty late even though we were going to go back to the Trail today. Luke, Nepsis, and I went to Trader Joe's for some resupply items and back to the apartment. Luke and I walked across the street to a laundromat to start our laundry and when we got back to the apartment Nepsis and I decided to stay another day so I could blog some more. Besides blogging, we went to a good coffee shop and another great bookstore where I accidentally left our IDs when I was paying for a postcard. We went back to get our laundry and discovered our IDs were gone. I called the bookstore and they confirmed they had our IDs. We went to get lunch at an awesome sandwich place and went back to the bookstore to get our IDs. The rest of the day I just blogged until I got too tired of it and spent the rest of the evening watching Nathan for You before going to sleep. It was great to rest in New York City, spend time with great friends, and experience some of the stuff the city has to offer.   
     

Bruised Morale

Day 101

Before we left the shelter in the morning Nepsis found some ribbon hanging on a nail in the shelter and used it to tie around my broken shoe. It really helped me not to trip as we hiked the mild terrain. After a few miles we could see in the distance a monument that looked like the Washington Monument. After awhile we climbed a small wooden tower with some good views of the monument. After we climbed down, we decided to take a side trail down to a beach where there were concessions. They were a bit late to open and way overpriced, but a nice treat. There were loads of people at the beach and as we were leaving a man talked to us for a bit and gave us a couple of sodas. We got back to the Trail and continued on the flat path for several miles before turning left on Loft Rd to go to the small town of Unionville. There was a small store where we resupplied before walking across the street to a pizza joint for some rest and pizza. After we'd had enough of the pizza and the Spanish soap opera on TV, we got back on the Trail for another several miles of easy hiking and up one small hill at the end to Pochuck Mountain Shelter where we spent the night.

Miles hiked today: 19.6 Total AT miles completed: 1346.4 Total AT miles left to hike: 838.9

Day 102

We woke up and were on our way, across the mountain and down to a swamp where a boardwalk over a half-mile long was built to safely allow our passage. After the swamp, we stopped by Heaven Hill Farm where we bought a blueberry pie and ate most of it, sharing a slice with A german thruhiker named Simba. After the pie, we hiked up Wawayanda Mountain and across a ridge for a few miles. It started to get very rocky as we made our way over the cliffs until we reached a point where a sign was painted in the middle of a rock we were walking across, indicating the border into New York. After a bit more cliff-walking my right shoe began flapping again. The ribbon had worn down and snapped off. At that moment we found a shoelace on the ground and Nepsis tied that around my shoe, but that only lasted a few minutes before it untied itself and fell off without me noticing it until I started tripping on my shoe again. We had to walk across more rocks and at one point we even had to climb a ladder they installed in order to get over a particularly large rock. After a few more miles the rocks faded behind us and we were in the woods where we could hear music being pumped out below us from speedboats cruising around Greenwood Lake just to our east. At last, we reached NY 17A where we turned left to go to a Hot Dog Stand that wasn't too far away. It was closed, but just beyond that was Bellvale Farms which was a homemade ice cream parlor in the mountains with views of the surrounding area and obviously popular with tourists in the summer. The place was packed and streams of people kept arriving in their polo shirts and tank tops. We sat at a picnic table enjoying some ice cream and homemade bottled sodas, both pooped from the day. With the lack of sleep from last night, my flapping shoe, and the bottoms of Nepsis' feet beginning to hurt, a stay in a hotel sounded real good to us. Unfortunately, it was Saturday and we were definitely in a touristy area. There were four hotels/motels in the area and I called each of them. One was booked, one was extremely expensive, one couldn't have a room ready for us until nine o'clock at night because they were all out for the evening, and the last I couldn't understand a word he said to me. This was almost too much for Nepsis to bear since she had high hopes for a comforting night so we stayed at the picnic table for a long while, sulking. Many couples and families came over to talk to us, legends of the Trail that we are, and each time Nepsis changed her disposition immediately and cheerfully answered their questions while also conveying our tales of woe in not finding a place to stay the night. She had high hopes, but no one bit. One family did snap a group photo with us though. After a chocolate milkshake and giving up on our hope, we pulled on our packs and hiked the last couple of miles to Wildcat Shelter. It was this night that we fully realized the major horror that comes with summer: the unrelenting hordes of mosquitos. A couple of section hikers gave us two citronella candles,  but these seemed to only make matters worse. We fell asleep after awhile despite the pesks hovering above us.  

Miles hiked today: 23.6 Total AT miles completed: 1370 Total AT miles left to hike: 815.3

Day 103

We began the day with a few small ups and downs to a pond where a lot of day-hikers were milling about, including a few large groups of Asians, some in full sweatsuits and gloves. And it was super hot.  I could not imagine. Joined by Simba, we came to the Lemon Squeezer which was a small path between two large rocks we had to squeeze ourselves through. After this obstacle, we had to take off our packs and throw them up on a ledge, while we held on to a tree and had to swing ourselves up. From here we crossed jagged terrain across Fingerboard Mountain and several miles further to Black Mountain. From here we could just make out the tall skyscrapers in New York City fading into the distance about thirty-five miles away. Our spirits still weren't the highest, especially considering Nepsis' feet still hurt, but we pressed on nonetheless. When we got to the Palisades Parkway we felt like just a cold soda from the vending machine at the visitor center almost a half mile away would be well worth the detour. When we arrived, we found the visitor center wasn't one like we were used to, but a small building that was closed and locked. The vending machines were inside. Disappointed, we walked back to the Trail and down the path to a footbridge across the Beechy Bottom Brook. We could see a few hikers had set up just beyond the brook and as we crossed the footbridge we heard a familiar voice yell down at us, "Hesychast! Nepsis!" It was North Star! We were very excited to see him and we sat catching up as he gave us some of his plentiful food to eat for dinner. He had spent a few days in New York City, which allowed for us to catch up to him. After laughing a lot and deciding to hike a short day tomorrow and stay at a hotel because Nepsis discovered bruises on the bottoms of both her feet, we set up our tent and went to sleep, our spirits lifted by seeing an old friend again.

Miles hiked today: 21.8 Total AT miles completed: 1392 Total AT miles left to hike: 793.3

Day 104

We woke up earlier than North Star and started the day by hiking up West Mountain. We went very slowly because Nepsis' feet were killing her and she had to hike by trying to place her weight on the sides of her feet to relieve some pressure from the bruises in the middle of her feet. Of course the sides of her feet began to hurt shortly after this method since the sides of her feet were not used to the pressure either. We walked across the ridge, down and back up stone steps Nepsis was delighted to see to Bear Mountain where there was a tower and several tourists despite the fact that it was still pretty early. We visited the vending machines and had to wait for  workers to fill them before enjoying two cold drinks each. After the rest, we continued slowly down the mountain that was also a well maintained wide path with stone steps. We passed several groups of tourists on the way up, including a large group of Orthodox Jew schoolboys who stared at us. At the bottom we walked around Hessian Lake, stopping by a kiosk to buy a couple of soft pretzels to enjoy as the Trail led us to a small zoo. At the entrance we bought ice cream bars from a vending machine and went through the zoo, stopping in a small building to see some of the local reptiles and at a statue of Walt Whitman. They also had a single black bear lying in his small exhibit. The situation was a little sad and we took the Trail out of the zoo and instead of taking the AT across the bridge, we took a side trail to Fort Montgomery. When we reached the historic Revolutionary War fort, we were disappointed to find there were only a few rocks left of it. We were expecting something much different. At this point North Star caught up with us and we walked the rest of the way down the road to a Holiday Inn Express where we got a room together, despite the fact that it only had a single king size bed. North Star set up his sleeping pad on the floor. After showers and lunch at Barnstormer BBQ we went back to the room to relax and watch the Germany v. Algeria match with some beer North Star bought. In the evening, North Star ordered pizzas and walked a long way to pick them up and bring them back for us. We figured Nepsis' feet were probably bruising because the bottoms of her shoes had just worn down too much from hiking. For the rest of the evening we just relaxed in the room and all fell asleep pretty early from exhaustion.              

Miles hiked today: 7.7 Total AT miles completed: 1399.7 Total AT miles left to hike: 785.6

Day 105

We woke up in no hurry to leave our nice hotel room. We enjoyed a nice continental breakfast where I consumed five tasty cinnamon rolls and went for a swim in the indoor pool with North Star. After the swim and showers we stayed in the room as late as we possibly could before checking out. Just outside the hotel, as we passed a gas station, a man offered to give us a ride back to the Trail. We gladly accepted and he drove down a different road, telling us this would lead us back to the Trail as well. We thought he must of known what he was doing until we passed the visitor center we had gone to a couple days earlier and told him he was going in the opposite direction. He found his way back and dropped us off at the bridge, still probably sooner than if we had walked. North Star pushed ahead as we filled up our water bottles at the zoo since we forgot to at the hotel. We crossed the long and windy Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River and along a road for a bit before heading up a steep, but short mountain. We hiked the few miles across the ridge and down the mountain to a gas station where we met back up with North Star. Just over a half mile beyond this we entered the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center where the monks allowed hikers to camp in a large field with a pavilion, port-a-potties, outdoor shower, trash cans and picnic tables. After setting up our tent and meeting Soho, a German section hiker, and Simon, a New Zealander out hiking for a week, the five of us decided to walk just under a mile down a road to a sports bar that was listed in the guide with no further information. We didn't expect much, but it was a really nice place and we watched the USA v. Belgium match on a large screen accompanied with great beer and food. After the match we walked back to the gas station and back to the field where we stayed up late talking and drinking beer. North Star had a little too much and stumbled back to his hammock as Nepsis and I went to sleep in our tent. We decided to hike such a short day because there was a nearby train station we could hike to tomorrow to take us into New York City where we could visit friends, celebrate the 4th of July, and where Nepsis could rest her feet for a couple of days and buy a new pair of shoes. 

Miles hiked today: 6.4 Total AT miles completed: 1406.1 Total AT miles left to hike: 779.2