Date: 2017-04-28
From: South Highland Road

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning I was able to take advantage of the breakfast offering at the DVQ at West Point before we loaded up the car and drove to South Highland Road where I had ended yesterday's hike. While enroute we discussed the details associated with the next two mail drops that Teresa is going to send me. Also, part of what we did during our off day was to not only restock my food bag but also to prepare two boxes of three to four days worth (8 lbs each) of food for mail shipment. In contrast to yesterday's weather which was completely overcast with short periods of rain, today's weather was fantastic - beautiful sunshine blue sky with just a few white puffy clouds and warm, but not so hot as to be oppressive. Now loaded up with a full 4 day supply basic load of food and two full liters of water, my pack was obviously a little heavier than it had been when I arrived on Tuesday. So I set out at a nice casual pace enjoying the sunshine and noticing that it was passing through leaves that had just begun to grow out beyond the early budding stage. At one point I noted something that I had heard earlier about the Harriman State Park - it lacks underbrush. During significant portions of today's hike, basically an easy nature walk, I saw that you could see long distances in every direction with trees spaced 10 to 30 feet apart with no significant undergrowth. Apparently Harriman State Park¢s lack of underbrush was due to ¢no hunting¢ laws and an overpopulation of deer clearing the underbrush, so I speculate that the same may be the case here in Putnam County. At about 12:30 I stopped for a break at a beautiful set of Falls which was just downstream from a beaver dam pond. I had the remainder of my first liter of water for the day and refilled the bottle, treating it with aquamira using the method described in the caption of a photo uploaded yesterday. The water looks clear and clean, but I understand beavers can be carriers of giardia.  Every experienced hiker I encounter is fearful of this microscopic parasite found in back country streams. It can cause intestinal infection characterized  by abdominal cramps, pain and diarrhea. About 1 p.m. the trail joined the Marquez Taconic Regional trails. With the exception of a few small climbs the trail stayed relatively level and easy. At about 1:30 I saw that the trail proceeded over what appeared to be a very high stone wall. Because of the size of a tree and associated roots growing out of the top of the same wall, I could tell that it was very old. This was unlike any of the stone walls I had seen in forests earlier, the ones which I¢d imagined were boundary markers of old family farms. This one was well over 10 feet tall in some places. So I checked  the electronic map in my Gut Hooks AT guide application and saw that my location was marked as that of an old mining road. At some point prior to 2 p.m. when the trail crossed New York Route 301, I could begin to see Canopus Lake off to the right as the trail entered Clarence Fahnestock State Park. After less than a quarter-mile the trail came to a steep rock ledge and I couldn't help but notice that today the trail was going around an obstacle where as a few days ago the trail maintainers had chosen to route the trail straight up the middle. This time I had juice in my phone, so I could capture a picture.Sometime after 2 p.m. I passed mile marker 1423 which means I¢ve logged 400 miles since leaving Harpers Ferry (mile marker 1023). Just before 4 p.m. I ascended Shenandoah Mountain, NY (not to be confused with the Shenandoah mountains in Virginia obviously). There were great views to the south from where I could hear the sound of traffic from the Taconic State Parkway. I imagine that on a good night you could probably see the effects of the lighting of New York City. Heading northward as I am, the view is somewhat obstructed by small trees and shrubs, but I could vaguely see the outlines of civilization and I know that in that general direction lies East Fishkill and then Hopewell Junction. I descended the north side of Shenandoah Mountain and sometime shortly after 4 p.m. I crossed Long Hill Road and left Putnam County and entered Dutchess County, NY.I arrived at the Ralph¢s Peak Hikers (RPH) shelter at about 5 p.m. and saw that Dori and Turmeric were already there. After a day off in the Fort Montgomery area staying at the Fairmount Inn, they took their time hiking and arrived here at the RPH shelter earlier today and just decided to stay put. I also met a southbound hiker in his fifties wearing a grey shirt grey hiking pants and a bandana on his head. He also had a grey beard and was wearing reading glasses. After chatting I learned that his Trail name was Crazy Puke due to an incident which had happened when he was hiking with a group of guys when he was younger. Apparently after having over-indulged he was observed to projectile vomit at a distance of at least 10 feet. So this inspired his friends to name him Crazy Puke. He had ordered pizza and soda with delivery to a road a stone's throw from the shelter and I accepted his offer to share some of the pizza. What a concept - pizza delivery to the Appalachian Trail! The water from the hand pump at the shelter was rather brown and cloudy, so although I treated it, I decided not to try to use it. So I went southward on the trail about a tenth of a mile to a stream crossing I¢d seen just before arriving at the shelter and filled and treated two liters. I also took the previously obtained/treated water (from stream at the outlet of the beaver dam) and filtered it using my Sawyer squeeze water filter. Half of it I used to make a 16 ounce bottle green electrolyte Mio. As the three bottom bunks were already taken in the shelter, I had set myself up on one of the top bunks, but at about 8:15 p.m. when it was getting dark Turmeric announced that he was going to sleep outside and offered his bottom bunk for me to use. So I guess we'll see here in a few minutes what final arrangements I end up with, but otherwise I'm ready for bed.