Wylie shelter to Kent, CT

We got up this morning and were on the trail by around 8. I feel like Ginna got a pretty good taste of lots of different types of trail today. Good trail, tough trail, rocks, climbing up, climbing down, good views, and at the very end....  a little trail magic in the form of a cooler at the road we were stopping at.

We crossed out of NY and into CT. A few times actually as we straddled the border.

We got into Kent and quickly showered and went to watch the Germany/Algeria soccer game with some of the crew.

Got a package from home loaded with goodies!! Yum!

After dinner, 50/50, Murphy, Mambo, Ginna and I sat outside and talked and laughed. Great end to the day.

So many really good people here. If you want to meet really interesting, smart, funny, kind, caring, active, good people... go hike. The trails are loaded with them. 

Tomorrow... Ginna heads back to the Big D and we hike on to.... the USA/Belgium soccer game in Cornwall Bridge, CT. 

Ps- Referencing back to the end of yesterday's post.... we did our laundry without incident today. 

Ginna!!

Thanks Teddy for totally pampering me while in NYC! Wine, food, bath and.... I was able to wash my sleeping bag! Can't even begin to explain how excited I was about that! Tried to get a pic of Teddy, but she would t allow it and threatened a lawsuit :) so had to settle for a collage of photos of her from her apartment and a head shot of her beloved Jasper.

Loaded up about noon to head back to the train.

Met up with Ginna at Grand Central for the trip back out to the trail for a few days of hiking. We have literally 'been friends since 0'. We have all the dirt on each other...IF there were any dirt to be had. :)

Such a strange thing to be in the hustle and bustle of the city and then end up back out in the woods in a few short hours. Loved the trip in to the city, but I'll take the woods any day.

We were walking by about 4 and hiked six miles to Wiley Shelter. Pretty quiet here tonight as far as people go, but there is some sort of owl that sounds like an escapee from Jurassic Park.

 Up and out early tomorrow for the trek into Connecticut, where we're going to meet up with the rest of the gang I've been hiking with for a night on the town. (Maybe even try to stay up past 10! Could be crazy:) There is a laundromat in Kent and it clearly states in our book that hikers are NOT welcome. Hmmm.. I'm thinking it might be laundry day....

NY52 to NYC

Crazy day!! Started the day in the woods with a big beaver dam.

And the largest tree on the AT- the Dover Oak..

Hiked 15 miles to the Appalachian Trail train station (aka- bench in the middle of nowhere...

Jumped on the train...

And headed in to NYC. After being in the woods for a few months, when I got off the train and saw all the throngs of people, it felt like Grand Central Station. Waaaait a minute!! It WAS Grand Central Station!

(That I was for my kids because they LOVE my sense of humor :)

I was going to take a cab to Teddy's, but decided I wanted the whole extreme culture shock experience, so I walked to her apartment. Through Times Square, past the Empire State Building ....

So fun to see Teddy! Drank some wine, went out for Indian food(which I had had a serious craving for), and ended the day soaking in a bathtub. Ahhhh. 

Got a few photo texts from the gang at home. Nice to know they are thinking about me. This one was especially touching :)

Dennytown road to NY 52

So, last night was not the most restful. Apparently the campsite by Dennytown road is a big party spot for the local high school kids who just graduated. They started rolling in about 10:30 and things finally settled down around 2ish.

Hiked about 17 miles through some pretty nice trail and came to a deli at a road.crossing. The plan was to continue on for another 4 miles, but 50/50 got a message from a hiker who lived nearby and had been following his trail journal. He offered us all a shower, laundry and bed at his house, which we jumped at!!

Mark and his wife, Pat, generously welcomed us in to their home and we spent the evening on their porch like normal people, chatting, drinking a few beers and eating entire pints of ice cream. Which has become frighteningly normal out here. Going to be a tough transition back to real life! :)

Graymoor to Dennytown Road

Slow start to the day. The game wasn't until noon, so we all woke up later and dilly dallied for a few hours. It was strange because we usually pack up and start moving. 

Temps are getting higher=more sweating=even smellier gear. My pack is..... not smelling good. Kept it in my tent last night because it was raining and it smelled like cows. We bought febreeze today and pretty much doused everything with it. It helped a little. Now it smells like cows that have been sprayed with febreeze, but it's better than straight cow.

Walked down to a great sports bar and had lunch :)

and watched the game. Not the best game ever... but atleast we're still playing. Thank you Portugal. 

Photo outside the sports bar....

Photo inside the sports bar....

And now the planning begins for Tuesdays game!

Hiked out at about 2:30 and we were quickly reminded why we start out early in the morning. The air was thick! Terrain and trail were pretty nice, so we got in some decent miles and set up camp.

No TV out here but just heard Wiggins and Embid went #1 and #3 in the draft. Rock Chalk!!

Bedtime. Bigger miles tomorrow but there is a state park en route so will probably have to stop for a swim and just hike in to the evening. 

Brien Shelter to Graymoor Spiritual Center

Still hiking with Murphy, 50/50 and Mambo. We have a lot of fun and laugh a lot. We are really close to NYC.

Hiked through Bear Mountain Park. We stopped for a great lunch at the Bear Mountain Inn. A beautiful old lodge, with a nice dining room AND they were very hiker friendly, despite our dirt and scent, but we chose to sit outside to eat.

I had an amazing Ceasar salad with grilled chicken breast. It is funny how we obsess about food out here. I've had a serious craving for grape soda(probably haven't had one since I was 10) and another for a Cobb salad. With homemade ranch dressing. Not the bottled stuff.  Is that really asking too much :) 

There is also a small zoo in the park, and the lowest point on the AT is at the bear enclosure there. No photos of this because it made me too sad to see those bears in a small cement enclosure. 

Made a quick trip into Fort Montgomery to pick up a package from my trail mentor, Tom Tanner. Tom thru-hiked the trail in 2007 (Aka Evil Eye) and has been great about sending me tips on upcoming places to stay, eat and see. Thanks Tom!!!!  (Elmer's Sunnybank Inn is still my favorite!)g

Hiked out of Fort Montgomery and across the Hudson Bridge.

We are camping tonight at the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center on the ball field. The monastery allows hikers to camp here and there is a shower (it's cold but felt great after a long, sweaty day.) 

We are moving in a big "soccer bubble" right now. Probably 25 hikers here. Heading in to a sports bar in Peekskill for the game at noon tomorrow and then we'll all hike out. 

It's interesting how differently everyone experiences this trek. There is a group planning on doing an extended slack pack to try and blast through several of these states with shorter mileage. Again, it's a 'hike your own hike' situation, but for me, this journey is about seeing the places, meeting the people, and experiencing the trail, not just putting in the miles.

Go USA!!!!

Fitzgerald Falls to Brien Shelter

Tired legs today!!!! The first eight or so miles out of camp were up and down rock climbs. Lots of scrambling. Fun but exhausting!! Not sure you can tell from this pic how steep some of the descent was...

After crossing NY 17, the trail was walkable again! Came to a rock formation called 'the lemon squeezer'. I didn't have to take my pack off to squeeze through but I did about get stuck in there!!

Did about 18 miles today. Relatively uneventful, but we did pass this sign...

Every once in a while it hits me how far we've come. Seems a little crazy! (Insert smart a** comments here)

Greenwood Lake to Fitzgerald Falls

Tough to leave Greenwood Lake today... so we took our sweet time. Went to breakfast at the local diner with a bunch of hikers and we all sat and plotted our next stop for the Thursday soccer game. No great options, so we are having to do lower mileage to make it work. Oh darn :). After last weeks push, I'm thrilled!

Spent a little time lounging by the lake before hiking out early afternoon.

Stopped at the Bellville Creamery right before hitting the trail for a very low mileage day! Left town with a $5.00 footlong stashed in my pack for dinner.

Low mileage but a little rock climbing involved. That is Mambo waiting at the top to make sure Murphy and I made it ok. He's a southern guy, so always there to help if we need it.

Came to a perfect, open spot for tenting tonight. Everyone is in slow-mo because of the soccer game plan, so there are probably 10 or 12 people camping here tonight. Very unusual! Even the hard charging young 'uns are taking their time. Camped right next to a fall. Great water for drinking and cleaning up in.

This is going to be a fun week. As most  weeks out here are... but even 'funner'. :)

Saturday I am taking the train in to NYC (can you believe there's a train that runs directly out to the trail?! Very handy) and am going to visit my friend, Teddy. Then, on Sunday, take the train back out to the trail and meet up with my friend-since-0, Ginna, for a few days of hiking. Good stuff.

Tent site to Greenwood Lake NY

One last big push day to get to Greenwood Lake for the soccer game. Started the day hiking through lots of swamp land in NJ. We all discussed how pleasantly surprised we were with the beauty of NJ! I think they get a bad rap!

But I do feel like we ran through New Jersey!

Not sure if you can make it out, but from atop this mountain, you can just make out a little of the Manhattan skyline.

Crossed from NJ in to NY once and for all

There is a pretty cool section of trail as you cross in to New York called the Cascades. You climb up and down and up and down on these huge boulders for a few miles. Lots of scrambling. It was fun.... for awhile.... until we were pretty tired. Then we heard there was a place called the Creamery at the bottom of the trail, so while we were sitting on top of a boulder, we googled their menu. That gave us a little boost for the next few miles to the road. Belleville Creamery- where they make all their own ice cream!! It did not disappoint.

Got into Greenwood Lake where Murphy, Tigger, Rosie and I shared a room. We all showered and got to Murphy's bar( no relation) just in time for the game. Big showing of hikers and several kept streaming in during the game.

Mayonnaise Pockets and Texting

Pippin, DFI and Very Merry

Gargamel, Tigger, Rosie, Dr. Zoom and Lyons.

50/50, Murphy and Mambo.

These two are from Germany. Uh oh! Game on next Thursday!

Pyro and Gargamel

We are trying to figure out where to be for the next game without killing ourselves to get there!! 

Hiking out of Greenwood Lake tomorrow.... eventually. After a tough week, we are pulling back a little this week and planning on taking it a little easier!

Random tent site to.... You guessed it. Another random site.

Since we got in to camp late last night, no one was allowed to start packing up until 7:00. It was awesome. Hiked about 4 miles to High Point State Park where we were able to grab a shower and some food. FINALLY got the funnel cake I've been craving! Seems a little ridiculous to shower and then go hike another 7 hours, but we take 'em when we can get 'em. Ran into a ton of other hikers at the state park and it looks like everyone is heading for Greenwood Lake tomorrow for the USA soccer game. We are putting in big miles to get there so hope it's a good game. 

We hiked by this monument at the highest point in NJ in the morning.

Then, towards the end of the day, we hiked up to an overlook. You can see the monument in the distance. It makes me realize that we really are making progress north.

Today there was a lot of really great trail! Some of it was through some swampy land so we were walking on boardwalks.

The gnats are SUPER annoying and flies like to dive bomb our ears, so we all purchased bug nets to help save our sanity.

Clearly, vanity is gone out here. 

20 miles today. Tomorrow we are hoping for an early start. 18 miles to Greenwood Lake and hope to have time for a shower before game time!

June 21st is traditionally naked hiker day. Of course, I did ..... NOT participate. Thankfully no one around me did either. Could have made for an awkward June 22nd :)

Sign we came across towards the end of the day...

p.s. You are probably tired of hearing about my feet, but can I just say that they are ecstatic to be back in trail runners. When my feet are happy, I'm happy.

Tent site to yet another tent site

OIt got chilly last night! I got the best nights sleep I've had in weeks. Tough to get out of my sleeping bag this morning. 50/50 was up and moving early, but Murphy and I were a little behind. Walked a few miles and came to a blueberry patch, so stopped and had a breakfast of a protein bar and fresh blueberries.

We did 12 quick miles and came to Culver gap. There were a few walkable options for real food. The first is run by a guy who is notoriously crabby, and this sign was on the door.

We opted for #2, where hikers were allowed to eat, but asked to sit on the back deck and not inside. Geez. Do they think we stink or something?

Anyway, we WANTED to sit on the deck, because the restaurant backed up to Kittatinny Lake, so we dangled our feet in the lake, and had a good lunch. 

Relaxed for a little bit and then we got back on the trail for another 11 miles. 

New Jersey continues to be a surprisingly beautiful place. Who'd a thunk it?! :)

We got into camp late so we threw up our tents, scarfed down a snack, hung up our food bags and are heading to bed. Not moving early tomorrow!

Delaware Water Gap to ... New Jersey!!

The church hostel last night was packed and a little stuffy so several of us decided to tent out on the lawn since there was nary a chance of rain. But Pennsylvania had a few more tricks up her sleeve. Not only did it rain most of the night, there was a skunk that milled around our tents until morning when we saw him meander in to the woods.

Checked out of PA early this morning.

Hello New Jersey!!

I don't think of New Jersey when I think of scenic views and beautiful forests... but that's what we are walking through. There are also more bears per square mile here than any other state. 

It was a little drizzly most of the morning. Walking through rocks on wet days vs. dry days is completely different. On dry days, I aim for the big flat rocks because it's a semi-even surface to step on. On wet days, those same flat rocks turn in to slippery slides, so I shoot for the dirt patches in between.

Found some blueberries that are just ripening up so stopped for a little snack there.

Past the 1300 mile mark ...

And stopped for a great lunch at the Mohican Outdoor Center. 

Summer is flying by much too quickly. Still loving every minute of this insanity.