Date: 2005-06-05
From: Bear Mountain NY - Hessian Lake

To: Graymoor Road
Miles today: 7.1

Today starts my last ¢missing piece¢ before the final Gorham-to-Katahdin push: a 46-mile hike from Bear Mountain to Rt. 22 in New York. Wanting to complete the AT this year and having hiked 375 miles thus far in 2005 in NC/TN, VA, and MA, I wanted to finish NY before the onset of hot summer weather. Planning to cover this segment two weeks ago, I postponed it because of a solid week of rain. Now, I¢m bumping into summer but here goes!Left home at 7AM and arrived at Jim¢s house by 11:10. After he and Bobbie and I visited and had lunch, he drove me to Bear Mountain via Harriman Park/Seven Lakes Drive. The Bear Mountain Inn lot was full so he discharged me in front of the closed-for-renovation inn despite protesting security guards. I was on the Trail - starting in back of the Inn along the Hessian Lake shoreline - by 1:32.I deliberately took my time in the Bear Mountain vicinity because it brought back memories from my childhood days of growing up in NJ and hiking in Harriman Park. More than once I hiked up Bear Mountain as part of organized hikes of the Green Mountain Club¢s New York Section. I also remember going to the zoo as a child and seeing the bears, beavers, and other animals.And being a Sunday, there were many people around picnicking, riding paddle boats in the lake, partaking of the pool, and yes, strolling through the zoo. In my full backpacking armor, I felt quite conspicuous among the ¢cotton people¢ as I found the blazes and began the hike. Entering the zoo, I paused by the bear exhibit; as all thruhikers know, this is the literal lowest point on the AT, with a sign pointing this fact out. While taking a photo of the sign, a cute young woman (30ish) approached me and asked if I was thruhiking. Hearing I was a section hiker, she asked me about my hikes this year. She was fascinated about the Trail and wanted to know everything - what was my favorite hike, was the most difficult, hiking in different seasons. Her sister came by also but wasn¢t quite as mesmerized about the AT! But then her brother also appeared, equally interested about my hiking and the AT. After giving them my card and talking for about half an hour, I reluctantly broke away. As I mounted my pack, she handed me my camera and water bottle, saying to me: ¢you¢re such an interesting person!¢ Wow! I told her: ¢I¢m an accountant - no one¢s ever told me that before.¢ Good for a laugh (and true).Leaving the zoo and approaching the historic Bear Mountain Bridge, I started across the right side before realizing the Trail proceeded on the left. Crossing over, I encountered about 20 day hikers. I took my time crossing the bridge admiring the views of the Hudson and the surrounding hills. There was a time when pedestrians paid a 10 cent toll to cross but no more.This is my sixth backpack hike this year and the first in which I haven¢t packed cold weather gear. Good decision - the day is hotter than I would have liked. Jim had said the forecast called for a high of 90. And shortly after beginning the ascent on the east side, I¢m sweating. A few steep stretches, some loose rocks, but all-in-all, not a bad stretch especially for the start on a hot day. It helps that I¢m only planning 7 miles so no pressure. I met several day hikers. The forest had a similar open airy atmosphere to Harriman Park and wildflowers were blooming. However, views of the Hudson were limited or non-existent thanks to the full foliage. Less than a month ago, I was hiking in early spring-like conditions with trees barely budding (at high elevations of NC & TN). Now I feel like I¢m smack in the middle of summer although of course the solstice is still 2 weeks away.After the first road crossing, I met a day hiker who told me a NOBO thruhiker was slightly ahead of me and I¢d likely catch up because he was an older guy with a heavy pack. He told me his name was Number 11, so named because he was the 11th hiker to register at Amicalola this year. Number 11 - I met him in April on my 4 day SW Virginia hike from Craig Creek Valley to Pearisburg. I told the day hiker such and added: ¢I don¢t remember him being that old¢ ¢Well, maybe it¢s because of the gray hair. I can¢t tell anymore¢ said the day hiker who appeared to be in his 70s himself. He added: ¢I¢m 75 and I thought he was in his 60s.¢ ¢I¢m 57,¢ I replied and I thought Number 11 was younger than me.¢ ¢Well, you have darker hair.¢Reaching Rt. 9 sooner than expected, I noted only half a mile remained until my destination. I¢m at Graymoor Road by 5:15 which was good time since I had spent so much time talking to people. Trudging along the well-marked blue blazes to the field, I heard the roar of people. Picnickers? No, soccer. Two Latino teams were playing in a formal setting with uniforms and referees. At the pavilion, women were preparing meals, the smell of which accelerated my hunger. They offered me water. I was waiting for them to offer food but I didn¢t hint too much!And I found Number 11. I didn¢t truly recognize him but since I had heard he was there, I acted like I did. ¢You¢re Number 11, right? We met two months ago in Virginia¢ Of course he didn¢t instantly recognize me but after a while, he began to recollect our brief meeting. I didn¢t tell him about the day hiker¢s description of him as ¢old¢ which was ludicrous. Despite all the people, there were plenty of picnic tables where we hung around. Number 11 had bought a meal from the folks in the pavilion. I considered that, but this is only my first day of a brief hike so I¢ll lighten my pack by cooking my own meal. He took a shower while I fixed my dinner. We judged from the sky that rain was unlikely tonight and both set up our tents since the pavilion, beside being occupied, featured a hard concrete floor. And by early evening, mosquitos were making their presence known. Yes, it¢s definitely summer-season hiking.Once one soccer game was complete, two more teams took the field and played. Must be a Sunday league. All around, the players¢ families were watching with little children running around and walking up to us showing interest in our equipment. Near when we were retiring for the evening, some guys started a pick-up game too close to our tents for comfort. ¢Hey guys - watch out for the tent! The ball only hit it once or twice. By 8:30, the soccer people were gone and we had the field to ourselves.