Date: 2009-08-11
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: Hemlock Springs Campsite
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: few clouds

There was a little water in my tent last night. That was a first and stopped me being quite so cocky about my bombproof tent; although I don¢t think that it was my tent¢s fault but rather the pitch I had chosen. The water had nowhere to go and I suppose that¢s what you call a flood. It pooled in a hollow under my tent and somehow some of it got in. I mopped it up with my towel through and this morning everything was more or less dry which is always a relief. Not a complete necessity out here but a relief nonetheless.I also woke glad that I hadn¢t dissolved into a puddle of sweat. I felt well rested and wee, normal. No immediate signs of any fever by I resolved to keep an eye on it as the day progressed.And the day progressed pretty well. Overall another top walk with quite a bit of variety. The section to William Brien Shelter offered a fantastic perch high over a lake for breakfast. Unexpected and exceptional. However, it was short lived. Sitting up there I could hear people shouting down below, the noise presumably carrying up unobstructed. It shattered the peace and I really mean it shattered it, completely destroyed it. They probably didn¢t mean any harm. It¢s why I like walking alone. I know that when I do walk with other people we also speak and our inane nonsense no doubt carries much further than we would ever intend or could imagine, probably imposing on some other innocent bystander¢s perfect moment. Oh well, I was grateful fro what I had experienced and moved on before the circus came any closer. The deer I saw were much better behaved and one even ambled warily towards me. Deer always cheer me up. They are far from rare but they are a real joy. I think I¢m at the stage of complacency with bears: ¢oh there¢s another bear¢, but never with deer. The way they constantly flit in and out of my adventure is a welcome and reassuring constant.On the active side there was a big pile of rocks that required a bit of low level scrambling, a bit of problem solving and a chance to met my imagination run wild, so casting myself as a roughie toughie mountain man.Of course roughie toughie mountain men never turn down an opportunity for ice-cream and a bottle of pop so I felt oblige to take a brief detour to a park visitors¢ centre if for no other reason than to maintain my self esteem.Up over the next mountain I could see the Hudson River Valley down to my right and the top of one of the towers of Bear Mountain Suspension Bridge half hidden by Bear Mountain ¢ easily identifiable from the tower at its summit. That was where I was headed and after a quick down, some warm road walking up the hill and a last pull up the hillside that was where I was. It would have been a nice enough place to loiter but the views were nothing that I hadn¢t already seen during the morning and the best viewing spots were out in the mid-day sun ¢ not something that I am particularly fond of. Instead, I grabbed another pop from the handy vending machine and carried on towards the park, the zoo and the bridge.The zoo was cool with a small but interesting collection of birds and reptiles common, or once common, to this area. The bears were having a holiday while their enclosure got a makeover but as I said earlier I¢d seen plenty bears. For me the stars of the show were the otter, the beaver, the snakes and the frogs but it was also good to see the coyotes and the bobcat. A little girl commented that the bobcat smelt as I was standing beside her, I felt for the accused by remained tight lipped, as I, the guilty party sidled away.I made a quick stop in Fort Montgomery, primarily to visit the Post Office and send some journals home but with least half an eye on another mini snack fest of, by now habitual, ice cream and fruit juice.The day had gone well and all that remained was to cross the Hudson River and find the nearby designated campsite. There was another steep, hot and sweaty climb but eventually I had arrived at my home for the night. On initial inspection it suffered some minor trash issues ¢ namely glass from broken beer bottles but its main downfall was not immediately apparent. I was alone, it seemed like a lovely and peaceful spot only it wasn¢t. Down in the valley the trains rumbled past and as they rumbled past, which was fine, they blew their whistles (more like foghorns), which was not. Even with earplugs the noise was somewhat antisocial. It was a long and tedious wait for sleep to arrive but eventually sometime after midnight it did.