Date: 2009-07-23
From: Orange Turnpike, NY

To: Bear Mountain, NY
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: haze

We left John and Susan's at 6:15am this morning. It was a good thing we left early because the day turned out to be slow and difficult. We were so thankful for their hospitality. It rained most of the night so it was quite a treat to be warm and dry. Plus, our tent and bags had a chance to dry out so we started the morning feeling like new hikers.We were on trail by 6:30 and straight up we went! No rain, but lots of drops falling from trees and we were in cloud cover till around 10:00am. Everything was very slick like yesterday. We had to take our time climbing the steep rocks.We entered Harriman Sate Park and thoroughly enjoyed it. The forrest was free from under brush and was coated with bright green grass, darkened by the large trees. We climbed up several steep areas that overlooked a lake. We went through the "Lemon Squeeze" and up a mountain face that required us to take off our backpacks to climb over the rocks safely. NY has been really challenging, more than we ever imagined, but we've really enjoyed the sights.We ran into Lucky Joe a little after 10:00am, he was picking blueberries and putting them into an empty PB jar. It was a good place for a rest so we took a seat and visited with him for a while. He went on ahead to catch Moe and we stuck around to air out our feet and read. Berry ran off to pick blueberries too, she put them in our Nalgene.During our break the sun popped out and made things more pleasant. Time had gotten away from us and it was past 11:00am so we decided to take an early lunch. One Step came by and couldn't resist the blueberries. We gave him a baggy and he was still picking by the time we packed up everything and started hiking.Since my pants are busted again (going to re-sew on zero day) I wore my army pt shorts today. The drawstring on the shorts and my hipbelt from my pack made the perfect combination for some heavy friction. By 3pm I had 4 inch horizontal blisters on each side of my hips - ouch! I hiked the rest of the day without my hipbelt being used.The afternoon and early evening were tough. Although the clouds are still around, the sun beamed most of the time. For some reason we just forgot to drink our electrolite replenishments. That might have been a mistake- by late afternoon we were spent!The trail got more difficult as our day drew to a close. We found a spot in the shade and layed on a rock trying to find energy to go another 2 miles up Bear Mtn. We could see Bear Mtn from the vista we were resting on at the same elavation. After a while we heard voices and got excited as Moe, Lucky Joe and Bones came strolling in. They too testified to the rollercoaster of a day we've all had. It was no longer just Berry and I. We all pulled together to climb Bear Mtn..turns out it wasn't as bad as some of the other climbs today. On top of the Mtn is a big lookout tower and awesome vistas. Visiters can drive right up the mountain and see the overlook. Highly recommended!We just said goodbye to Moe and Lucky Joe. We are eating at the moment and will find a spot to camp down trail. Berry and I made it! We are a stones throw away from Bear Mtn/Fort Mongomery NY. and looking forward to a solid nero-zero. Tomorrow as we walk into town the trail goes through a zoo.