Date: 2005-08-18
From: Rt. 341, Kent, CT

To: Pawling, NY
Miles today: 21.0

21.0 miles todaySleeping in a bed at the Moosie's.New Milford, Ct.I'm in New York!!I'm at the Pawling, NY trailhead on the trail, but spending another night with the Moosie's. I didn't get to sleep until about midnight last night and was awake at 5:30 this morning. I caught up on a few emails and I apologize to the people I still owe an email too. It's not that you're not important, but most likely because your email is going to take more time and thought to answer, so please be patient. :-)) I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have in the next 2 days. Moosie and I are hiking together for the next 46 miles which we plan on having done by later on Saturday. We'll see how it goes because I may have to slow down some so that nobo can keep up. ;-))) Why do I feel like I'm going to be sorry I said that??? I sent my emails this morning and was going to put on a pot of coffee, so I went out to the kitchen and Mrs Moosie was just starting the coffee. I made my sandwiches for lunch and then made a couple fried egg and sausage sandwiches for breakfast. Moosie wasn't hiking today, so he was in no hurry to get me to the trailhead. He figured I'd get the miles done because I knew Mrs Moosie was making eggplant parmisan tonight. He drove me to Pawling, NY and dropped me off at 10am. I decided to hike north today and see how many sobos I run into between Pawling, NY and Kent, Ct. It was a very pleasant morning and I just started out slowly and really enjoyed my walk. I started right by the Dover Oak, a huge oak tree with a trunk that I think is about 18 feet in circumference. I was at the Appalachian Train Station within a couple miles. It's the only place on the trail where an Amtrak train will pick hikers up. There was a hotdog stand nearby, but I had such a large breakfast and had already packed out my lunch, so I hiked by without stopping...amazing huh??? I walked up a small hill and there was a register in a box there, so I signed it and hiked on. I can't believe how much easier this trail is for nobos...it's like a walk in the park. There was motivational signs that said stuff like; "Thata boy, you can do it, you're lookin' good." Another sign for the nobos said; "This way for manicures and messages." ;-))) The signs are all placed where a sobo can't see them. The climbs are all really steep heading south, but very well graded for nobos. I passed by an old cemetary called; "The Gates of Heaven." There's only a few graves in there, but I always think about how young the girl was that died at 48 years old and is buried there. I came to a road crossing that had a couple coolers and 3 chairs for hikers. I sat down and had a soda and wrote a thank you note in a register that was left there. Thanks for the trail magic!!! I kept walking and came to Wiley Shelter. There was a nobo there by the name of Uhaul. I signed that register, then got some water from the handpump and hiked on. I crossed the Connecticut/NY border and got to say hello to Pamela Kay. Moosie had left me a note in the trail that said he hid a coke in the stream for me. Someone else read the note and took the coke. :-((( Thanks anyway Moosie...it was the thought that counted. I guess someone decided they needed it worse than me. I hiked up Ten Mile Hill and then down to Ten Mile Shelter were I signed in again. I started climbing Schaghticoke Mountain and ran into Wicket, a sobo I met yesterday and his uncle that was hiking with him for a few days by the name of Double On The Rocks. The uncle said he was out there to keep Wicket on the straight and narrow path, but with a name like Double On The Rocks, I'll bet it's Wicket who has to keep an eye on him. I ran in the other 2 sobos I met yesterday about 30 minutes later. Their names were Moondog and Nemo. It's great to actually see some sobos for a change. I kept walking until I got to Mt Algo Lean-to and went to check for some water...there wasn't any. I went over and signed the register. A nobo by the name of Snake was there and already turning in for the day. It wasn't even 6pm yet!! He just said he was tired, so I left and walked down to the road crossing at Kent, Ct where Moosie was supposed to pick me up at 7pm. It was only 6pm, so I just sat down and enjoyed the quiet until he showed up. He had a cold coke and a bag of potato chips for me when he showed up. :-))) I stopped at the grocery on the way back and resupplied with a few things to get me started tomorrow. When we got back to the house, Mrs Moosie already had dinner ready. She's a very good cook. I don't know how she finds the time to do everything she does. We sat down to a nice table and had eggplant parmisan, some pasta and sauce and an ear of corn each. It was all delicious!! I felt bad because I don't have a huge appetite right now, but I really enjoyed what I did have. I was up so late last night and up early so this morning that I excused myself just after 9pm so I could journal yet tonight and try and get some sleep. We are leaving for Bear Mountain, NY early tomorrow. Somehow I have to try and get that nobo by the name of Moosie 23 miles down the trail tomorrow...not going to be easy. ;-))) Thanks again Mrs Moosie. You're a very special friend to me!! Oh yeah, thank you too Moosie, you're ok for a nobo....;-))) Good night....