Date: 2009-07-10
From: Bear Mountain Inn

To: 1 mi. before Dennytown Rd
Miles today: 13.9

Gene came to pick me up, as promised, and wanted to take me back to Andy¢s restaurant for one last meal there. This time, I restrained myself and ordered only one breakfast- a western omelet with toast. Gene gave me his extra toast, as well. Then, he took me to the post office where I mailed back my old shoes and carabiners to Erik. We drove back to the Bear Mtn. Inn and walked into the park, where he would wait for another thru-hiker to help, while I went on my way to the zoo. First, I wanted to use the restroom, but Gene kept signaling to me that I was going in the wrong direction. I didn¢t know how to tell them that I was just going to the restroom from that far away, so I decided I¢d just go later. It took me a little while to reach the zoo because of all the signs explaining the history of the park, and the fact that the lake was so beautiful. But finally, I did arrive and was greeted by the attendant who was excited to have me there, and who had thru-hiked the trail, himself, in the 60¢s. I imagined his experience differed greatly from mine, but he didn¢t seem to want to talk about himself. He told me he was waiting for a group of about 100 schoolkids. I said I better get moving, then! ¢No¢¦ take your time,¢ he said and asked me, if I was still around when they arrived, would I mind talking to them about my experience for a few minutes.    I wondered how I would feel in the zoo, as my guidebook warned that it was an emotional experience for thru-hikers. Many of them felt extremely sad about seeing caged animals. Being an emotional person, myself, I thought I might also feel this way, but I actually felt the opposite. The coyotes did look a little sad and contained, but the other animals showed such personality, that I was greatly amused. I just loved watching and learning about them and was thankful for this opportunity. The porcupines were hilarious to watch. One was perched up high, but the other was waddling around the bottom of its area in such a funny manner. It thought about climbing the ladder and put one of its feet on a rung a couple of times, but the effort it was going to take to climb the rungs was obviously too much for it. A lady came around with a traveling porcupine exhibit- a skull, some quills, and other related items for the kids to look at and touch.      I continued on, reading all of the placards that identified the trees and gave environmental information, and continued to the geological section which described the long-term history of the area. I felt so happy to have all of this information at hand. Next, I wandered into the amphibian and reptile house, where I identified the blue-tailed skinks I had seen as juveniles, and watched a painted box turtle chomp on lettuce and blueberries. A woman asked me if I was the person who had walked from Georgia, and I felt like a zoo specimen, myself!   I loved watching the otter scratching his back, stretching, and moving around. I watched the bears laze about, and then saw a beaver in his habitat. Then, I moved onto the birds- the owls, the hawks, the turkey vultures- all with their own look and personality. I also saw my very first bald eagle- who looked identical to all of its carictures. The zoo defends the keeping of these animals by explaining that most of them were victims of either car accidents or gunshot wounds, and that they would have died if left unattended to.       The zoo also had three different museum buildings with all kinds of insect specimens, birds, rocks, and historical artifacts from the area. I could have spent all day there! After I emerged from one of the museum buildings, I saw another thru-hiker specimen! He was talking to the beaver attendant and I could see that he was as happy to be at the zoo as I was. Later, he went over to the tree identification board, where you match the image to the name. I kept hearing the buzzer go off, went up to him, and commented that he didn¢t seem to be doing so well. ¢Hey!¢, he said, even though he had never seen me before. We introduced ourselves, tried to identify some tree species, and then went our separate ways. (He actually was doing well. The buzzer goes off when you get the answer correct, but it makes a horrible sound!). I decided I better get going if I was to get some miles in. I hadn¢t been doing too well on that front, as of late.    I crossed the Hudson Bridge and turned left to follow the street back to the trail. Two cyclists came barreling down the road. The woman called out to me, ¢Are you hiking through?¢ ¢You go girl! Wooo!¢. That made me feel good, although I felt that what she was doing was far more athletic than what I was doing.   This was my first day in my new shoes and it looked like I had Mickey Mouse feet! They were much wider than the trail runners I had just gotten rid of. I tripped a few times as I started the first rocky climb because I wasn¢t used to them. My hike went quickly and smoothly that day. I had energy and power. At some point, I started hearing music through the woods. It sounded like a DJ¢d party. I walked on and on towards the sound, through the part of the trail that I found least maintained. Dead tree trunks and limbs were scattered everywhere, white blazes were not frequent, and where they were painted, they did not seem oriented in accordance with the proper direction. Normally, this amount of brush signals that you are not on the trail. In this section, it was all over.    I reached the road and crossed it to reach the Appalachian Market, which was the source of the music. They were celebrating their grand opening with a DJ, a man dressed as Elmo, and 25 cent hot dogs and cold drinks. I had a couple of quarters I was carrying around, so I decided to get a hot dog and a vitamin water. Then I went back for a second one, as well as a bottle of spring water. Later, I picked up a few snacks from the store, including a pint of Ben and Jerry¢s everything flavor, which I promptly finished.   I left the market at 4:15 and walked until 7:35, where I found a nice camp spot on the top of a small mountain. I strung up my hammock, changed out of my sweaty clothes, ate a power bar, and called it a night! I did hear an animal nearby- the same repeated sneezing and grunting sound that I had last heard somewhere in the south. As long as it stayed in that area, I was okay with it!