Date: 2004-06-18
From: Quarry Rd near Unionville, NY

To: Day 79: Wawawanda Shelter, NJ
Miles today: 18.6

On AT Day 79 Hot Chocolate and I got up at 5:00 a.m., ate a big fried eggs, corn beef hash and toast breakfast and then drove from our Black Bear campsite in Florida, NY to Unionville, NY in time for me to start hiking at the trailhead on Quarry Road in NJ by 7:30 a.m. The sky was punctuated with puffy clouds and cool temperatures in the morning, but by afternoon the temperature had gotten uncomfortably warm (mid to upper 80¢s) when the trail left tree cover.Before the first hour had passed I got a rude wake-up when I slipped off a tilted, algae-slickened bridge crossing a small creek just north of NJ 284. Luckily all I did was get my boots wet, but since I was wearing special circular cushioned bandages around the sore callus on my right big toe I was not pleased with this accident. Clearly it could have been much worse so I guess I should be thankful. Less than a half-mile away I came across a volunteer trail worker who was weed whacking the brush on the trail. After we said our hellos, he asked if I had fallen in the creek. I confessed that I had, whereupon he remarked that the bridge tilted about a week ago and that everyone was falling in. This was actually good news to me since now I realized I wasn¢t alone and thus not a complete ¢spaz¢ for slipping off the bridge. Truth is that as I enter my ¢golden years¢ I need an occasional reinforcement ¢ or excuse for my declining athletic abilities.Shortly thereafter the trail enters and then borders the beautiful Wallkill River National Wildlife Preserve. Clearly this must be a popular site for watching water birds, but this morning the only thing flying seemed to be mosquitoes. This characterization was reinforced about half way across these wetlands when I was passed by a long-legged NOBO AT through hiker named Darma who told me that he was speeding along to avoid being bitten.A mile or so later, I was passed by three other AT through hikers, a man (Burning Boots) a women and their dog. Even though we were all walking in wetlands, finding suitable drinking water was still a big challenge so when we came to a Blue Blaze trail to a spring, this group of through hikers stopped for a refill ¢ I kept on hiking and when they passed me again later they told me that I had made the correct choice as the spring was dry. These dire conditions were obviously well known since shortly thereafter we came to a trail magic cash of water jugs supplied by a local church. I stopped and drank about a quart.After passing the eight-mile point and the Pochuck Shelter (I did not stop) the trail crossed another large wetland using a well-maintained boardwalk with observation benches and a lovely footbridge across the Pochuck Creek. I ate lunch on the bridge. Shortly thereafter I was once again passed by both sets of through hikers, apparently all of them had stopped at the Pochuck Shelter.By now the temperature had risen to the mid 80¢s and it was uncomfortably hot walking on these exposed boardwalks, thus I was actually looking forward to climbing Wawayanda Mountain since I would once again be under tree cover. Just as I came to base of this 1000-foot climb this prediction was confirmed when I once again met the same SOBO NY/NJ Ridgerunner I saw a week earlier near the Gren Anderson Shelter. He told me that this time he was out hiking so he could check the condition of the Wawayanda and Pochuck Shelters. He also volunteered that although we were both now in eminent danger of heat stroke, but the temperatures would drop as I climbed the hill. I thanked him for his work and the welcomed news.After a day¢s hike of about 18.6 miles I got to the Wawayanda Shelter around 6:15 p.m., fully expecting it to be crowded with other through hikers, but no, I was alone ¢ except for the aggressively hungry mosquitoes. Since there were several relatively nice spots for tents and since I was not looking forward to an evening of blood donation, I quickly set up my tent and then prepared to go fetch six quarts of water from the spigot a half-mile away at the Wawayanda State Park headquarters. Just as I was preparing to leave on this water run, Swiss Miss showed up. I told her I was surprised to see her since I had expected her to be a day or so ahead of me after my most recent zero days, but she told me that she also had taken a break to recover. I pointed out that the shelter¢s bear box had been stocked with goodies (candy, drink mix, white gas fuel, etc.) by the pre-eminent trail angel, Desperado, and then I left to get the water. When I returned, Swiss Miss told me that my back was literally covered with mosquitoes, so I quickly bushed them off and put on a long-sleeved shirt and long-pants. As I was fixing dinner, Swiss Miss decided to leave me and the pesky bugs so she could put in some additional mileage. All alone again I was able to get to bed early, but the warm and humid conditions were not conducive to a comfortable nights sleep.