Date: 2009-08-08
From: Unionville

To: Vernon
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

Last night when I settled down to my town centre, town park, campsite I thought I¢d made a mistake. What was I doing camping in a town when I could be out camping in the woods. Never again I thought. And this morning? This morning waking up on the soft, spongy, flat grass, to a quiet morning after a quiet night I was thinking it couldn¢t have been better. I¢m not going to make a habit of it but variety is the spice of life and this had after all been a good night.Initially I¢d planned to wait for the Post Office to open, but now I just wanted to get going, to start moving along: not exactly as this small town slumbered, but maybe as it was emerging from slumber. At times like this you can see the attraction of the farmer¢s life or the postman¢s, but they may argue differently as their alarm goes of each morning.It was a great morning walk: bits in the open with views to admire; bits in the forest, quiet and hemmed in by the trees. There were ups, downs, rocks and wildflowers. There was a mile or two of road walking when, off to my left I could see a hot air balloon rising over the hills into the blue morning sky. The Trail then followed the perimeter of the Wallkill River Wetlands. It was flat and grassy and thankfully bug free, so I could enjoy the herons, swans and views over to the hills that I would soon be climbing.I took a break at Pochuck Mountain Shelter to eat, to read the register and count my lucky stars. This had been some of the best walking in a while and it was to get better before the day was out.The section to Vernon had a long spell on elevated duckboards with fantastic views in all directions ¢ the wildflowers, the hills, a near cloudless sky. It was starting to bake but I still took time to sop, to remove my shoes and to read. It was a tad hotter that I might have liked but I could live with that ¢ given the circumstances.A footbridge crossed Pochuck Creek and a relatively short stroll was all that lay between me and my planned town stop in Vernon. Unionville had just been a town I camped in, this would be a true town stop ¢ laundry, shower, resupply and sleeping indoors. Three of these activities I would find at the St Thomas Episcopal Church Hostel and so after the 2.4 mile road walk into town that is exactly where I headed.I think this used to be a popular and much appreciated stop but now most folks are stopping in Unionville. As a result I think it¢s fallen slightly out of fashion and that, along with the fact it was early in the day, and late in the north bound thru hiker season, was the reason I arrived to find the door open but the place empty and in relative darkness. I dumped my bag and headed through to where I remembered the toilet being. I fumbled for the light switch but no luck. I found a lever, it seemed strange, it didn¢t seem right but there was nothing else. I was in a different country maybe the building was old. I pulled it, it was stiff, I pulled it harder, I just about jumped out of my skin. It was only the bloody fire alarm. Wah! Wah! Wah! Strobe lighting going off. ¢Oh shit, no, no, no!!¢ I said. I tried to force the switch back with the heel of my hand. I pirouetted helplessly. I gave in to the inevitable. What a burke!Not knowing what to do or what I could do, I simply stood there waiting for someone to show up. How bad was this going to be? This was not in the script.After what seemed an eternity I was ¢glad¢ to see a guy turn up and not the fire brigade.I stood with my hands in the air, in the classic ¢don¢t shoot¢ pose (why I did that I don¢t exactly know). He asked if the fire was down here and I explained that the only thing down here was an idiot. He seemed a bit disgruntled and I couldn¢t blame him but five minutes later, once he had switched off the alarm, he could not have been more understanding. I felt really bad. ¢I¢m so, so sorry¢ I sad but George was now only looking at the positives. He had learnt where to isolate the alarm and no harm had been done. His attitude didn¢t make me feel less of an idiot but it did help me settle down, so was very much appreciated.The excitement over I settled down for the relaxing day that I had envisaged. Later I was joined by No Money ¢ a really nice south bounder. He was good company, we chatted and settled down to watch Saturday Night Live before switching off the lights (very carefully) and going to bed.