Date: 2003-06-27
From: Ft Montgomery NY Zero Day

To: NY 301 Canopus Lake Fahnestock SP 
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: clear sky

Day 106 Avg Mls/Day 13.3Weather: Hot, but not as bad as yesterday. High temp around 87. Cool front coming tonight. Should be better hiking weather for the next week.Today's Nature: Seeing more deer and toads and the usual small creatures. Also seeing at least one snake a day.Falls Today 0 Total 4There is a section hiker, Leap Frog, in the next room at the Bear Mtn Bridge Motel. He drives to the Trail everyday; gets shuttled to his starting point; hikes to his parked vehicle and returns to the motel for the night. He goes out early so I asked if he would drop me off at the Bear Mtn Bridge over the Hudson River (where I came off the Trail). He did, and I was hiking by 6 a.m...probably the earliest so far. Of course, I had to get up at 4:15. I wanted to go out early while it was somewhat cool as it was still going to be hot today.I always enjoy hiking over the big rivers like the Delaware and today the Hudson. Walking over them gives you the time to appreciate their shear magnitude...the millions of gallons flowing beneath you.Before I started the climb I put on some deet and cat nip oil. Yeah, I heard about the cat nip oil from other hikers on the internet. It has a strong odor that apparantly insects dislike. I put it on the brim of my ball cap and nothing else on my face. Been using deet on my arms, legs and back of my neck. Does okay most of the day until the sweat dilutes it and I get a few mosquitoes trying to bite.After the climb of 500' the Trail "rolled" up and down the rest of the day. Climbs weren't too bad but I was sweating more than ever. I tried to take it easy and ended up averaging less than 2 mph. At about 10, I reached the Graymoor Friary. Hikers are permitted to sleep at the manastery's ballfield picnic shelter which has water, a cold shower and a privy. In July and August, the first 14 hikers there at 5:30 p.m. get an AYCE dinner. Like I said before, timing is everything.I stopped for water and saw no one else. In fact, I did not pass one hiker on the Trail today. I did stop and chat with T.J. and Josh who were resting at the side of the Trail with their Siberian Husky pup, Caddy, around 12:30; but passed no one walking the Trail.I drank a lot of water today and the sources were good. Besides the monastery, there was a water faucet available to hikers on the back of a building at Dennytown Road. When I crossed Canopus Hill Road there was a cooler chained to a tree along side the Trail. When I looked inside it appeared there were nothing but empties. Ah, but there was one full can of Pepsi! It wasn't ice cold, but cool enough to taste good going down.About 2 in the afternoon I started to wear down. I knew there was a State Park that let thru-hikers camp free for one night...but it is a mile off the Trail. I arrived at NY route 301 before 3. After 15 minutes and about as many cars without a hitch, I started walking East to the Clarence Fahnestock SP. At about .3 mile I met a retired type guy, Harold, putting his fishing gear back in his car. He gave me a ride the rest of the way down the road to the park.The first thing I did was pitch the tent and set up camp. Then I walked over to the beach/concession area for dinner. Yep, another night that I don't have to cook. Got a cheeseburger, fries, couple of cold drinks and an ice cream sandwich. Wasn't bad, but the ff were a little old.Don't know if I mentioned it yesterday, but Hotfoot gave me a ton of leftover snacks and gatorade he didn't want to take home. I tried to eat some of it up when I took a break earlier, but ended up with a much heavier food bag. One of the items was an 8 ounce can of cheese whiz that I just couldn't bring myself to throw away.After eating, I came back and took a nice hot shower and rinsed out my t-shirt. The shower felt so good as I was really sweaty and grungy today.I've got a nice tent site with a picnic table close to the showers and restroom. The ranger came by and they do not, in fact, charge thru-hikers for one night's stay.If the cool front comes through without rain, it will almost be as good as a motel room...well almost.Tomorrow, there is an intersection about 12 miles out with a deli. You know what that means...another day I may not have to cook. It may sound like the Trail is going by a lot of business districts. Actually it doesn't. It is surrounded by forrest, rocks and a little water. It is great how this Trial stretches over 2000 miles through forests and mountains. There are a few Trail towns and some intersections with services, but these are few and far between, especially in GA thru VA. There will be long stretches in the Whites and Maine without services.Thought for the Day: Nice to see some return on my NY sales tax dollars.