Date: 2016-06-14
From: NYC

To: Not sure
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Box Turtle here, preparing to get back on the trail after two luxurious vacation days--first time on my AT hike I've taken off more than one day. Already today (it's 1pm), I've done the following: bid goodbye to friends J & D and their co-op near the Hudson River; caught a NYC bus; caught a train from Harlem to Wingdale, NY; walked to a nearby bakery for coffee and tried unsuccessfully to bribe someone to give me a ride; walked further into town to the post office, where I succeeded in getting a ride from the postmistress to the supposed site of my firend, "44"'s, parked car; realized I was at the wrong car at the wrong parking spot; hiked to the right car at the right parking spot; and drove 44's snappy little Fiat into town for a little blogging. Next, I'll go pick up 44 at the finish point of his section hike, south at Bear Mountain. 44, meanwhile, retrieved my hiking stick from where I left it last week. He'll drop me back at the spot where I got off the trail Saturday to go into NYC. Yeah, it is a little more complicated hiking a trail in the woods than you might think.Fold in a side trip to Manhattan, and there's been a little culture shock--both at arriving in New York and then, arriving back at the trail. That said, NYC provided its reliable panoply of fabulous manmade creations--bridges of stone and steel (including the former Croton Aquaduct),lots of new, narrow skyscrapers (more luxury housing!), the graceful Freedom Tower, the Statue of Liberty, Gracie Mansion, and many other points of interest as seen from the goofily-touristic Circle Line boat tour which my friend, an NYC resident, humored me by going on. Truly, it was a perfect way for an AT hiker to experience NYC (no walking).Last week on the trail was hard, I told myself as I tucked into steak, potatoes, more steak, ice cream, pizza, red velvet cake, gin, beer and wine...yes, all that on my piggy little holiday. I covered 86 miles and nearly all of the AT in NY last week during six hiking days; I should reach CT today or tomorrow. I loved NY for its trail history: the first section of the AT was laid out here; several of the earliest stone trail shelters;a couple of the "cultural attractions" (a historical museum and a zoo highlighting plants and animals of the region) that were part of the original vision for the AT as an educational experience as well as just a scenic trail; several mountains with dramatic views; and monuments that explained the huge philanthropic activity of the early 20th century that preserved much of the Palisades along the Hudson and much of the parkland that includes the AT and included the construction of scenic parkways for automobile traffic, and dozens of destination lakes, rustic camps, summer programs for city children...all of which I found interesting.Box Turtle's hiking friend from last year, "44", surprised her by hiking into a shelter Friday evening, joining a positively convivial group of several middle-aged hikers, all charming attractive men who buzzed about Box Turtle like happy bees, a delightful experience. Box Turtle demonstrated the PCT bear-hanging method--which brought her to tears when learning it, but now provides a chance to show off with her deft tying of a clove hitch around the stick that acts as a jamb for the rope, eliminating the need to tie the rope diagonally to a tree. The men, for their part, showed off their greatly superior throwing arms, gaily tossing the rope and rock-filled bag over high branches in a single attempt, when BT must sometimes throw ten times! I learned two short poems by Walt Whitman, who seems to be the patron saiof the NY AT, with a large monument in the trailside zoo, last week: "A Noiseless Patient Spider" and "The Dalliance of the Eagles." About the Soul, and connection, or lack thereof. Got to go--a highway drive to pick up 44. expect to be back in the vibe of the trail by next entry.