States Of Mind

Third day on the most challenging section of the Trail I have attempted so far. Done.

New Jersey - New York border on the Trail

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The light drizzle hardly seemed worth spending the day idling in a chilly shelter, so the seven hikers all set off with packs and bodies wrapped against the storm. A few more swampy boardwalks, a little more drizzle … fellow section hiker Naps tried to arrange a shuttle in to Warwick for a night off trail, but wound up hiking up after me and joining in my plan to go to ground in Fort Montgomery.

According to the map, this is Prospect Rock

Up there? You're kidding, right?

Yes, the Trail goes right by it

A moss covered stone

Yes, those are rebar steps driven into the rock

The trail in New York, we agreed, must have been designed by someone who drew a straight line along the map of the ridge leading north, and laying out the trail accordingly, directly over the piles of fossilized sea bed tossed up by the retreating glaciers … except that it was obvious that the path had been adjusted for a maximum of rock scrambling and a maximum number of high points crossed. Several times, we took the ascents over the wet, slippery rocks one at a time while the other waited ready to call for help if the climber slipped.

Tired, soaked, and sore, we reached the parking lot where the Ion was waiting about 3 pm. It was a happy sight after eight hours of hiking! We drove to the Bellview Creamery for emergency recovery assistance of the dairy variety, and then took the highway north to the Bear Mountain Bridge Inn in Fort Montgomery.

Naps checked into cottage #1, Ten Mile Snail checked in to cottage #4, and - since #2 and #3 were already taken - the inn owner turned on the “NO VACANCY” sign. It's a very small inn at the highway's edge, run by an older couple who are, they say,taking care of it for their son.

Tomorrow, Naps and I will resupply, do laundry, and recover while another storm wave passes by. Then, back to Bellview Creamery by shuttle and four days of hiking back to Fort Montgomery. Bounce, bounce … and on to Connecticut!