Date: 2018-06-04
From: West Mountain Shelter

To: Canopus Lake
Miles today: 26.6
Weather: moderate rain

We woke up this morning and chatted about the cold night. It dropped low enough for it to be uncomfortable at one point in the night but nothing undoable. The storm had rolled in and all night it rained hard and the wind blew. Two Clicks looked at the radar and noticed it was expected to be past us by 7 or 8 am so we made it a "lazy" morning to wait out the rain. By 6:30 it had pretty much stopped as the fog lifted and the water only fell off the trees. After breakfast in bed-- a poptart and protein bar in my sleeping bag-- we got to packing and were still out by 7.We descended from West Mountain then climbed up to Bear Mountain, a very popular spot in NY for it's proximity to the city and it's view of the Hudson/city skyline. Luckily the rain held off and we just had to hike in some fog and colder temperatures. Even then, it was extremely comfortable hiking weather and we were still in tshirts and shorts unless we stopped moving for a bit. At the top of the mountain we took advantage of the vending machines and each got a Coke. Then, we descended to Bear Mountain State Park. We walked through the park then across RT 9 to the "zoo." This is a popular landmark on trail where the AT literally walks down the middle of this animal rehabilitation center. The animals here were all injured at one point and rehabilitated. We actually waited 15 minutes at the front gate for the zoo to open just to walk through. If you get there when it's closed there is a bypass trail but we wanted to do it and say we did! Once we cut through the zoo which is the lowest elevation on the entire AT around 124 ft, we crossed the Hudson River over the Bear Mountain Bridge. This was exciting and the past day or two have made me feel closer and closer to home. Heck, I'll be in MA by Friday. Oh, by the way, Two Clicks and I hit 1400 miles before the ascent up Bear Mountain. It's funny because NOBOs no longer write out every 100 miles with sticks. Instead I feel most of us are counting down what we have left and we are under 800 miles from Katahdin!After the Bear Mountain Bridge, we ascended two steeper mountains before walking a short Ridgeline. At the bottom of the ridge was the Appalachian trail market. It's basically a gas station but right on Trail that offers a deli, pizza and gas station snacks! Heaven! We had pushed hard the last few miles and made it here by noonish giving us enough time to eat and charge while sitting around as the sun came out. We had hiked halfway for the day and this was a good morale boost. Plus, my diet has been lacking lately so the chicken parm sandwich, donut, banana, Gatorade, coffee and slice of pizza I had filled me up. Plus I packed out two pieces of pizza for later!From here, Two Clicks and I split up and enjoyed the second half of the day. It was beautiful hiking weather and somewhat easier terrain than the last two days. About 5 miles from Heaven, I mean the gas station, I hit a road where some people were doing trail magic. They were Bruiser, Mumbles and Buffalo-- all hikers from the last few years that knew Shiver, the girl who I had hiked with back in VA, very well. Crazy coincidence! I ate a donut, some cookies and a Gatorade then pushed on. Thanks guys!Not far after seeing them, another man named Dave was Trailside. He was just sitting on a dirt road next to his car reading when I got there and asked a bunch of questions about the hike. He then offered me some chocolate and I took it and pushed ahead!The terrain was nice here and we passed an old foundation where General George Washington had set up some sort of treatment center during a small pox outbreak in the civil war. You really could feel the history in these woods and it was fun! I jammed to my country music (I know not everyone likes country but those that do will understand) and it made my hike go by a bit more enthusiastically. I haven't been listening to the iPod as much lately but when the time is right- it's right.We rolled into the area of Clarence Fahnestock State Park and camped close to the water of the pond. I ate my pizza quickly and did chores as it was a bit later in the evening then when we normally finish. It was a long but packed day and we managed to see and experience a lot in such a short time while pushing longer mileage. The hope is to push into Pawling, NY tomorrow and meet up with my parents for a night in a hotel and a restock of essentials! It'll be awesome to see them!