Date: 2015-07-21
From: furnace Brook, NY

To: stealth site on a mountain past beaver pond
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Argh. Woke up a lot last night thanks to my UTI. We looked up treatment and doxycycline is used to treat it, which I have. My doctor gave it to me in case of Lyme disease before I left. So relief is just a couple of days away! Couldn't get the screaming animal out of my head last night, or the growl of whatever predator killed it.We planned on a big day today, but you know, the best laid plans....The trail started rocky and included lots of big Rock climbs. Fortunately, the day started overcast and cool. It took us until noon just to knock out 5 miles. We climbed something called the Eastern Pinnacles- very high, all rock, very steep. I had to keep putting my poles on the next rock up. Sometimes poles are more of a hindrance than a help. All of the kids that stopped at 8 miles yesterday passed us around here and they were planning a 24 mile day to make up for the short day yesterday. A bear walked through their campsite last night.The trail continued on rocks and climbs and our progress was very slow and tedious. But not boring. At about 5 miles in, a southbound guy named Shark told us about a hot dog stand only one tenth of a mile from the road crossing. We walked and looked, and sure enough- hot dogs were our lunch. A small kiosk in the middle of nowhere. I like New YorkI had to stop and pee every 5 minutes, and if you have ever hd a UTI you know how painful they are. C.Shell gave me more of the stuff that makes it feel better. I was pretty miserable most of the day and did not hike with much energy. Early in this hike, I used a quote -Pain is mandatory, suffering is optional. My husband texted to see how i was doing and I texted back a litany of woes. He asked "is this the optional suffering part?" I love that man.We had some relief with smooth trail for a while, but it didn't last. Steep rock steps went straight up at Fitzgerald Falls. We were relieved to see water there though- every other stream was dried up. We made it to a road crossing just past Mombasha High Point- hoping for the stream to be flowing because the sun was now out and burning hot and we were running low on water. The stream was dry but a section hiker named Aesop pulled up in his car with many gallons of cold spring water. He had just done a section of trail and said there was no water for at least 10 miles ahead. We filled up and were very grateful. Water is the best trail magic. He told us about a great campsite next to a beaver dam but it was only 2 miles ahead, and we were only 11.8 into the hike. "No can do!" I barked - we need to go further! and D.No and c.Shell laughed at me. I don't know where that came from.We hiked on and soon came to a ridiculous climb at Buchanan Mountain. It was thundering just before and the skies opened- soaking us in seconds. We did the scary rock climb in the rain, very slowly. When we got to the top the rain stopped. We were treated to a rainbow and sunshine. We decided to eat dinner there, and I enjoyed a Katwalk barley/beans/ mushroom creation. Have I mentioned how delicious her gourmet dehydrated meals are? So good!After dinner we started hiking down and it started raining again. It was steep down, slippery, and the trail was flooded with a torrent of water. I said that campsite Aesop mentioned might be pretty good. No can do! Was the response from the comedians I hike with. The campsite was pretty, but it was still raining and we were already soaked so we hiked on. We passed the beaver dam, part of a larger lake, and we were all pretty grumpy by this time. I pointed it out to D.No and he said he would really like to see a beaver. Without seeing a beaver he said, it's just a bunch of @@@@ing sticks. That made me laugh again, and we kept hiking. Just over this hill- a few times- and we finally found a campsite. On a ridge, with a sunset, very beautiful. We have a planned zero on Thursday, we all need a rest, but unless we can do a big day tomorrow- it is going to be a hiking day. My bro got us a rewards room so at least we will try to make it a Nero.