Date: 2005-06-06
From: Graymoor Road

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: clear sky

Being so far east only 2 weeks from the solstice, the field was light by 5AM. My clogged nostrils kept me from sleeping well (often a problem the first night on the Trail) so I remained in bed until 6. Number 11 was all packed and ready to move on. He said he was sure I¢d catch up even with his hour head start.Despite camping in an open field, the tent was only a little wet around the edges and even the ground cloth wasn¢t too soaked. I dried them in the pavilion while eating breakfast. The sun¢s rapid ascent and penetration assure a hot day. What happened to Spring? Only a few days ago, I still had the heat on in my house. Two guys dressed in typical mid-summer attire came by with dogs picking up the little remaining trash from the soccer people. Brother Leo introduced himself to me, apologizing for the ruckus last evening. ¢That¢s OK, and I really appreciate your hospitality to us hikers¢ was my response.Today¢s plan is to hike about 16 miles and stealth camp somewhere between Fahnstock and RPH Shelter.   Hike began with up-and-down, the pattern for most of the day. Continuing to see wildflowers and wood frogs, I caught up to Number 11 in only an hour. He¢s taking his time to enjoy his thruhike by, among other things, trying to identify the trees and flowers by consulting his nature book. Also, he had taken two wrong turns, one of which I had nearly taken myself. Much of the Trail in NY is well-blazed thus far but Murphy¢s Law does surface: those times when you most need a clear blaze i.e. turns, they¢re missing. We walked together for a while and then it was my turn to go the wrong direction as the Trail lead up a knob and seemed to turn either left or right. I chose left - wrong! After rectifying myself, I met a SOBO section hiker before catching up to Number 11 on planks across a wetland (jumping frogs everywhere - what a gratifying sight!). The marsh sported some flowers on long stems resembling bluets but neither of us could identify them.As I moved ahead of him at Albany Post Road, I told Number 11 he¢d probably see me later since I was tenting somewhere before RPH. I still don¢t think I¢ll make it to RPH because despite this early start, the wrong turns and rocky footing have put me on a slow track thus far. And the heat & humidity are already getting to me although it¢s noticeably less miserable than June of last year when I hiked in New Jersey with Northern Harrier. However, this hike is more difficult with rocky footing and ups-and-downs. One thing I¢ve learned in New York: never pay attention to the maps¢ elevation profiles!        Notwithstanding these feelings, I was (unconsciously I guess) upping the pace and reached Dennytown Road by 11:15, the sun still shining brightly. After stocking up on water (I¢m drinking a lot on a day like this), I meet another SOBO section hiker who started in Bennington and would finish at Bear Mountain. He sounded tired and discouraged - maybe it was the heat. Anyway, he said the walk around Canopus Lake was slow. Found an ideal lunch spot on top of a ridge with breezes and shade on large flat rocks. Took off boots, socks, shirt, and bandanna all of which dried reasonably well. Arrived at Rt 301 with Canopus Lake straight across and Fahnstock Park entrance 1 mile to the right. The Trail bore left through a road construction zone, crossed the road, and began a gradual ascent to a viewpoint with a fine overlook of the lake.It was on the ascent when the distant noises I heard, which I first thought emanated from the road construction, became louder, longer, and more frequent. Yeah, that¢s thunder. And the sky¢s all of a sudden looking very threatening. If it rains, I¢ll strive for RPH Shelter but it looks like I won¢t make it. I wonder how long this storm will last, how much I¢ll get. Hope I¢m not exposed on a ridge.I was off the ridge and filling my water when the storm hit, that is the rain which was preceded by bellowing thunder and crackling lightening. The temperature plummeted about 15 degrees (refreshing!).   On went the pack rain cover and then my rain hat, rain parka, and rain pants. Decided to stay put under thick foliage cover rather than walk in the rain but the intensity and volume of rain rendered that consideration moot; I¢d get soaked no matter what. And for 20 minutes, it was like standing in a shower. So I figured I may as well resume walking since I had 4.2 miles to RPH Shelter.My rain pants proved ineffective so from the waist down to and including my feet, I was wet and not much drier up top. Fortunately, the Trail was fairly easy at this point although waterlogged in some stretches. The ascent up Shenandoah Mountain (what¢s Shenandoah Mountain doing in New York?)wasn¢t bad. At that point, the views were sufficient to see that this storm would be around a while - leaden gray skies 360 degrees. The rain was slowing to a drizzle but under these conditions more deluges could occur for several hours yet. The sounds of traffic on the Taconic Parkway meant I was closing in on RPH. A few minutes before 6, there it was. With the substantial cinderblock structure and large porch area ensuring a relatively dry interior, this shelter was worth the long hike. Of course in these conditions, nothing really dried but at least I could cook dinner and sleep under a roof. We¢ll see if anything dries in the sleeping bag tonight.No one else here - no caretaker. Perhaps it¢s too early for most thruhikers. Nice to have a water pump, that is until I actually pumped the water and observed the orange color. Must be rust so I kept pumping but it wouldn¢t run itself out. At least there¢s a stream .1 mile away.