Date: 2004-07-12
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light rain

Have I gone back in time?Let's see: it took me all day to do just 14 miles, it is foggy windy and raining, I came to a stone shelter with fireplaces and a leaky roof but no water or privy, and I am so chilled I had to dive right into my sleeping bag to avoid becoming hypothermic. I know, I am back in the Smokys, right? It sure feels like it! The resemblance is uncanny.The big difficulty was rock climbing again and again and again. Up a steep ravine alongside a waterfall, then a river of boulders up to Mombasha Point, then ridgewalking like yesterday. Then the rain started and wet slick rock added another factor of difficulty on steep ledges up Buchanan and Ardin Mountains. A steep descent followed down into the pass to the New York Thruway. I slipped and fell once there and Palm Tree said he fell and found himself rolling down the slope like a log until he was able to stop himself. Another hiker who had joined us at Vernon fell early on and decided the trail was too much for him and got a ride off the Trail.After a while it finally occurred to me that the New York section of the AT was planned with the goal of proving that you really have to be insane to thruhike the AT by being so rugged that any sensible person would skip it. Naturally, since I am still here, I am insane!Aside from the rather foggy views, the best compensation was the blueberries! They crowded every height in every sort from the bright blue tart ones to the deep blue sweet ones. I nibbled happily at the top of every rock climb.Once across the Thruway into Harriman Park the going moderated, but only a little. The most noticible change was that the usual forest ground cover was replaced by grass. I swear it looks like Central Park with the grass a bit long. It looked almost creepily unnatural and city park like. I can't imagine how it was done.I caught up with Palm Tree just before the famous Lemon Squeezer. This landmark consists of two rock walls formed by those vertical strata I have come to know so well in the last two days. The passage between them is very narrow, hence the name. What makes it even more challenging is that the walls are not vertical, but are canted to one side just enough that you cannot stand up straight and there is an awkward step to climb in the middle. I made it through, then got out my camera to get a picture of Palm Tree trying it. He got stuck and had to back up, remove his pack and carry it sideway before he could get through. Then he had me put my pack on and get back in so he could get a shot of me in the Lemon Squeezer.Right after that the white blaze path divides into two alternate routes. One went up a REALLY nasty rock climb, the other went around. It was raining again and I had gotten a wary respect for the danger of slipping on wet rock so we prudently took the alternate route.By the time we got up the last hill before the shelter it was raining harder and the wind was kicking up. But I could not resist lingering to pick and eat handfuls of blueberries. Finally I reluctantly left the feast and headed to the shelter.Once there it was the same routine as months ago in the cold early days: get on dry clothing and take refuge in the sleeping bag. The moment I stopped hiking my body chilled quickly until I was in the snug warmth of my sleeping bag.The last two days have been pretty challenging but it is high time to start honing the skills needed when we get into the White Mountains in a few weeks. There with the hardest mountains of the trail and the most severe weather on the entire planet, this pratice may come in handy.