Date: 2016-07-26
From: Time Warps House

To: Hemlock Springs Camp
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

A day in the life. Today started out early! Like real early partly because I wanted to get moving before the heat and humidity and the other reason was we were stealth camping in a place that was more than likely off limits.Last night Skittles and myself decided to hunker down underneath a pavilion by a public swim lake just off the AT after a major rain storm pushed a bunch of hikers there. Some hiked on into the soaked woods and others found the rain a good excuse to go and get a hotel. Having just showered and done laundry a Time Warp's house I chose to just stay at the pavilion and make an early get away before anybody could show him.Right before dark good old cranberry came walking in so it ended up being the three of us. The only negative drawback was at dusk a light came on and illuminating pavilion and making sleep a little difficult.So at 7 AM I was packed and out of the pavilion because of yesterday's rain and heat I have to admit I was feeling a little bit down. Mood changed when no more then 300 yards from pavilion I ran up into a middle of a big group of wild turkeys! Hens, poults and later as I got on the actual trail I saw the gobblers! But that was all the excitement for the morning. The woods were actually very wet and humid because of last nights rain. It was cool but I guessed the afternoon was going to be a scorcher. I was right.The first four miles to the William Brien Memorial Shelter were easy enough and I was there by 9:15. Easy as they were, I was covered in sweat from the humidity. I was originally going to land at that shelter last night, but balked when the rain held me at the pavilion. Skittles had beat me there and we both agreed the pavilion was a better call. Most shelters have a rudimentary broom or something to clean it out this one did not and it was absolutely filthy. New York's terrain is not easy. It seems that the little break we caught in New Jersey was the most recent AT cruel joke...as in we were lead to believe the AT is easy until the White Mountains. Not the case. New York's mountains seem to be laid out perpendicular to the AT and this means all day ups and downs. And at the top of each mountain is a big solid rock bald. The designers of the trail must've thought these balds are special because they damn sure want you to see everyone of them! And because they are rocks there's no trees growing around the tops on the mountain making it very hot once you crest. But you are not up there long! The trail takes you down into a little "valley" and then up again.The entire time the only thought in your mind is your rapidly diminishing water supply. Water is very scarce in these mountains and calculating how much you'll need until the next source is critical. Yesterday trail angels left multiple jugs of water by road crossings today we didn't have that luck.The trail today took me up Bear Mountain, A popular tourist spot with a view to the New York City skyline. About the only thing that I cared about upon reaching the top of Bear Mountain was the vending machine that dispensed Powerade. I bought one 20 ounce blue Powerade and sat down and leaned up against a tree and drank it. I'm pretty much sure that one drink was the best 20 ounces of liquid I have drank in my adult life. So I went back for another one...this time the red fruit flavored variety. After sitting against the tree for longer than a few minutes I decided it was time to hike on so I bought one more blue Powerade for the road. I did not make it far when I bumped into Sky and 1% at the big stone tower atop the mountain. As I talk to them I started drinking the third Powerade. A tourist came up and started asking questions about our hike. He violated the three question rule ...meaning after three questions the expectation is we get some kind of drink or food (it's like being a zoo animal). In his defense I was quickly drinking the last of my third Powerade so he may have thought I was covered. I now had crushed three Powerades and I thought it was better to just go buy a bottle of water and carry that with me for the rest of my hike. Having done that I began my dissent to the Hudson River Valley. The dissent consisted of many stone steps that were articulate in design .... the only bummer was it seemed visitors felt compelled to throw their trash all over the place. I saw more litter in this one small section than I have seen in all of the trail itself. Sad.I arrived at the bottom to the Bear Mountain recreational area and a place called Hessian Lake. There was a mass of humanity as the day was warm and people were out enjoying the lake. I noticed another set of vending machines and in my weakened state bought yet again one more blue Powerade. I hope you understand and appreciate how thirsty I was today!I hiked around the lake and under US Highway number nine and through the area that contained the zoo. Yes, zoo! Because it was after 4:30 in the afternoon the zoo was closed and therefore I had to make a bypass around (yes, The AT runs right through the zoo normally). The bypass was a blue blaze that ran in back of the zoo I was highly confident that I was either going to find a body or a hidden ganja patch as it didn't seem many people took the bypass. The bypass eventually took me back to the proper AT where it connected to the walkway of the Bear Mountain bridge over the Hudson River. I strolled across the bridge as commuters raised by it was very empowering to walk across that bridge with nothing but a backpack. I was wondering the whole time what the people in the cars or thinking I was doing.After crossing the Hudson river I took a steep climb back up out of the Hudson river valley and found my camp for the night. As I was making the steep climb I met a guy who was running the trail he stopped and we talked for a minute. He asked me how far I had hiked and that's when I realized that I literally had just crossed the 1,400 mile mark!Northbound hikers continue to be scattered, but as I'm typing this blog more are starting to reach this campsite and it actually has about seven camping here for the night. Of interesting note, as I was making my initial ascent up Bear Mountain today I passed the first southbound hiker coming from Maine. This is actually right on schedule and I am confident I'll see more in days to come. We stopped and chatted for just a few minutes the conversation revolved around water sources.