Date: 2014-06-07
From: High Point shelter

To: Fort Montgomery, NY
Miles today: 65.7
Weather: light rain

Day 87: Saturday, 7 June 2014 Fort Montgomery, NY (1397.7 miles)I¢m in Fort Montgomery, NY! It took night hiking, a 30, and a 16 this morning to get here before the Post Office closed in order to pick up my package. I packed up and got starting hiking at 4:45am this morning! I didn¢t want to have to zero tomorrow (Sunday) to wait for the Post Office to open on Monday.I LOVE the state of New York. One of the books said that ¢Rock climbers blazed this trail!¢ The trail through New Jersey and New York (so far) fluctuates between good and bad. The bad is SO bad that I¢ve got to laugh at it. I¢ve wandered off the trail here more than I ever have before on ANY trail. And it¢s not just going down one of those drainage gullies crossing the trail like you did early on. I¢m talking, not seeing a trail or the blazes for a good distance! Moxie¢s method of finding trail is to pick the worst way. And it usually works!As I was hanging out earlier, a guy came up and asked me if I¢d had lunch. He told me there¢s a great burger place. I thanked him for the information but said I was vegan. He then told me of another place in town that has good vegetarian/vegan food. Again I thanked him for the information. Well, a little while later, he came back with lunch for me! WOW! Talk about Trail Magic!This same guy talked to me about the history of the area, how our ¢history¢ books portray the British around the Revolutionary War and how the British ¢history¢ books portray us during that time! Both see the other as ¢the bad guy¢. [Hmmm. Not much has changed!]This guy hiked the AT in 1975! He told me that ¢Trail Names came about because the hikers didn¢t want to divulge too much about themselves, even their name, so were called by pseudonyms. That has changed! Hikers generally like talking about themselves, if asked and people are interested.The other night, Moxie asked me why I like hiking/backpacking so much. I tried to explain how it makes me feel ¢ I feel connected, refreshed, truly in this world. Then he recited a Robert Service poem. (Besides playing the guitar, Moxie also has some Robert Service memorized!) When he was done, I exclaimed, ¢That¢s IT!¢ The poem just embodied what I felt. (The Transcriber doesn¢t know what poem, but just reading the first few lines of A Rolling Stone makes me think it¢s this: There's sunshine in the heart of me, My blood sings in the breeze; The mountains are a part of me, I'm fellow to the trees.)Fort Montgomery looks like a pretty nice place. I want to check out the Trail Side Museum that¢s here.   Looks like lots of cool stuff to see. I might check out the Episcopal Church here and go to church tomorrow. Just depends on meeting up with some of the rest of the group. Gentle Spirit and West stayed at a hostel but I think I past them. Violet got off the trail to visit family. Not sure when she¢s coming back.I called Connor. (On Point from the Pacific Crest Trail. He had gotten off after Agua Dulce because of a stress fracture. He is home, in Olympia, recovering.) He told me to call often because he only has his brother Nolan to talk to! He¢s planning to return to the trail, when he can, at a point where he can meet up with the group he was hiking with. Mom, do you think you and Dad could help him get back to the trail? He thinks it would be in northern California. If you think you can, you might let him know soon ¢cause he¢s checking into places to meet up and methods of getting there. [I contacted On Point after Buffalo¢s conversation. He replied that the only towns he couldn¢t figure out transportation to are Sierra City and Belden. Well, we KNOW where Belden is, don¢t we Buffalo, Scones, and Doodles!][We¢re going to Dylan K.¢s Eagle Court of Honor tomorrow.] What? Dylan got his Eagle, ALREADY? WOW! (The family was in our troop for a little over a year, when Dylan first started in Scouts, but apparently Michael had made an impression on the young scout. Sounds like Michael¢s name has become a verb. Apparently, when Dylan advanced in rank and younger Scouts needed extra help, Dylan¢s Mom told him to ¢Michael¢ them! The Mum is a tad proud of her Buffalo, here!)[Anything you want to tell Dylan?] Dream Big and Live Free![Oh, and the mother of Ginger Beard Man PCT13 signed your Guest Book. They live in NY and would love to do something for you on the trail. She¢s been watching your progress! She said she¢d send her phone number. I emailed her, so let me check if there¢s anything from her. Yup, got her cell number.] Wow. That¢s neat. You guys did Trail Magic at Snoqualmie Pass last year, when he happened to be passing by, and now his folks are willing to do Trail Magic for me! It is SO neat, the interconnectedness of these trails and their communities! (We had ample pizza, soda, fruit, cookies and doggie kisses from our Chena! See Buffalo¢s PCT13 journal, August 29 pictures and August 31 for the Snoqualmie Pass journal entry.)Oh, and did I tell you about how we got to stay in a motel in Wind Gap? Well, I called from Wind Gap, PA. I had planned to do 25 miles but I got a late start and was moving kind of slow. I saw some of The Herd coming from the shelter. They had met up with some section hikers who gave Gentle Spirit some money! So we all stayed in a motel that night!I met up with Jules and Canary at the shelter the other night. [Now, who are they again?] They¢re the two girls at the James River Trail Magic, back at the KOA! [Oh, of course! Jules, as in energy! Cool! Gosh, if you see them again, mention to them about Aunt Barb¢s Trail Magic in Massachusetts!] I will!(As you can read, this was a long conversation! But we don¢t always get these long talks, so this was great. It was also great to be able to connect the AT with the PCT in a couple of ways. As both a hiker and a Trail Angel, I would encourage everyone to try BOTH! Hike, if you are able. You will undoubtedly have the opportunity to receive Trail Magic, but can also have opportunity to GIVE Trail Magic. But if you can¢t hike, or it¢s not your thing, Trail Magic brings you front and center with a most appreciative community! As I hiker, I received everything from a candy bar to rides and full meals! And let me tell you, that candy bar on the first day, going up the Approach Trail to Springer Mountain, was MORE than a kind gesture. That kind gesture told me that those people had faith in my ability to keep going, that very first day! FAHthur and I now see most of our vacations revolving around doing Trail Magic! Take some lawn chairs, a filled cooler or two, and a notebook to have the hikers sign. You¢ll be amazed at who you meet!)Thank you for keeping with these phone updates. I enjoy the "creative" writing exercise, creating something out of some scribbles on a paper!The Mum, and.....