Date: 2003-06-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 19.0

okay, for the record, cowboy camping in winter, or early spring is a Good idea. but once the year has finally decided to behave like summer, it is a Bad Idea. we didn't get any sleep last night at all, but i wasn't smart enough to do anything about it until around 2am when i saw LT crawl into her tent as use it as a bivy to keep the no-see-ums away. Brilliant! so i follow along and manage to salvage a couple brief hours of sleep before the sun comes and heats things up.we 3 hike together ~12 miles into the little town of Bear Mountain. based on the name, you wouldn't have guessed that this is actually the lowest elevation point on the AT. this sounds very pleasant but boy did they make me earn it in the first 10 miles of the day--ups and downs! it felt like i was back in TN! it was a beautiful walk though, through Harriman State Park and the mountain laurel made for a lovely hallway that the trail ran through. i hope to come back to this park someday.at one point when we were resting on the top of bear mountain, a fast-talking new yorker comes up and chats with us for a bit. he says something like "well, you 3 sure look healthy for thru-hikers" i think this is his way of saying that we're a little to chubby considering we've hiked over 1300 miles. well, he had a bigger gut on him and it was funny anyway. so our appetites are healthy! so what?there was a group of kids from NYC in the bear mountain area for the day and it was fun chatting with them a little about the trail and what i'm doing out here.we get into town around 2pm, get to the post office and are given a ride to the grocery store by a local trail angel. at the store, i treat myself to a pint of Ben and Jerry's cherry garcia ice cream. i've made up a poem about what happens with that at the end of this entry...brace yourself, it's a sad story.it was 4:30 when we got back on the trail. at this point, before the trail crosses the hudson river, it goes directly through a Zoo, which according to my AT guide closes at 5pm...it was wrong--it closes at 4:30--ugh! but the zoo keeper let us walk through as long as we walked fast and didn't stop to look at the exhibits...which we did anyway. so half way through the zoo, he drives up in a golf cart and FOLLOWS right behind us until we finally leave. he could have at least offered us a ride! (Just kidding!)we walk ~7 more uneventful miles and are tenting at the Graymoor Monastery ball field. no bugs will be getting me tonight! i've learned my lesson.we hiked maybe 18.2 today. considering we're all running on 3-4 hours of sleep and someone said it got up to 100* today, that's pretty good!total mileage so far: 1393.2 (she can be taught!)[Editor: Amazing! Maybe she can be salvaged into a role as my Trusted Lieutennant in the new empire.]my poem: an ode to a Spoon:O super spoon, you've been with me so many miles!with every meal you made me smile.through peanut butter, ice cream, and stew,you were the best, i always knew.but cherry garcia was your kryptonite,i didn't know until i used you to take that fateful bite...you broke in two and left me therewith all this ice cream, left to spare!I'll never find another one like you...well, that's not true, any spoon will do... (so now I'm using a free plastic spoon until i get to Kent CT's outfitter)