Date: 2011-08-02
From: William Brien Shelter

To: Fort Montgomery, NY
Miles today: 8.9

Day 131 8/2: My first night in a B&B!Yesterday, I took some awesome pictures of mushrooms, one of which Trudge says is a chantrelle. I think I've mentioned this before, but it seems that all my pictures are either fungus or well fungus. We haven't seen the NYC skyline like the guidebook says we should. Trudge's feet are really killing him, so it is slowing him way down. Not sure why this far into the trip they are giving him problems. His second pair of Wolverine Boots are falling apart already. Also, his feet may be getting wider so the boots aren't fitting properly. His first pair lasted about 3 months, and this pair only a month. Very rough terrain today. At one point, we were climbing West Mountain, but I thought we were already on Bear Mt. I had completely skipped a mountain in my mind, which seems a bit ridiculous since I am "slightly" obsessive about looking at the map. From West Mountain, we had fantabolous views of Bear Mt, the observatory, and Bear Mt. Bridge, a toll suspension bridge across the Hudson River.   It was completed in 1924 and held the record for longest suspension bridge in the world for 19 months. The Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philly then took over the ranking. Walking across I could feel my heart racing, my palms sweating, and my knees shaking. "Get ahold of yourself, Eureka." There was no reason to be this nervous.I practically ran up Bear Mountain. Before you begin to think that I am some super-athlete scaling all sorts of magnificient feats, I must tell you that the trail up Bear Mt is a gravel path with stone steps in places. I wanted to get up and down Bear Mt, so we could go to the Trailside Museums and Zoo (which the trail travelss through) before they closed in a couple of hours.The Trailside Museums and Zoo is located in Harriman/Bear Mt. State Park. The museum and zoo was started in 1920 as an extension of a Boy Scout camp nature museum in Harriman State Park at Lake Kanawauke. The zoo houses animals native to NY and has existed as an educational and recreation outlet for city dwellers for many years. I made it to the top of Bear Mt and up the observatory tower, before I saw Trudge meandering up the mountain. He was in a lot of pain. Those damn boots!   We decided not to rush to the museum. Zoos often depress me, so maybe that is a good thing. The animals always look so forlorn and out of sorts. Before we got back on the trail a few weeks ago in PA, I mailed a box to the Peekskill Post Office.   We have tried to avoid sending boxes to post offices, because of the inherent problems. What if we get there late on a Saturday or on Sunday? The other problem with Peekskill the lack of a cheap place to spend the night! Actually, the entire area seemed to cost and arm and leg, whether that was for food or lodging. This entire trail has been a lesson in compromise and flexibility in plans, which I suppose are great lifes skills to have. I had suggested that we could walk 7 1/2 more miles to Graymoor Spiritual Life Center, where you are allowed to camp in the ballfield pavilion for free. And then just hitch in and out of Peekskill tomorrow. Trudge didn't (no couldn't) walk much further. Thank goodness for thruhiker friends. I called Splitter to see if she wanted to split a room with us, but she was too far ahead. Instead, she told us we should stay at the Garrison House B&B in Fort Montgomery (only three more miles from where we were). A Bed and Breakfest, really? Turns out, they do a special hiker deal for only $50. This was incredible cheap compared to all the other places.We didn't get breakfast at the Garrison (originally built 1751), but we had the entire house to ourselves for the night. So cozy. If you are every in the area it is worth checking out.