Date: 2012-04-01
From: 3/31/12 Day 1 Little Dam Lake

To: AT in NY Day 2 - Fingerboard Shelter 
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The place where I fell the hardest yesterday was partly my fault. The trail between W. Mombasha Rd. and E. Mombasha Rd. was particularly difficult with many steep climbs and steep downs mainly over large rock piles. Just before E. Mombasha Rd., there was this large tree blown down right over a particular short but steep section of the trail, basically a steep pile of rocks, and while trying to climb over the tree, I slipped, just a little bit, but being so steep and carrying a full heavy pack, I lost my balance and fell backward. In retrospect I should have removed my pack before attempting to cross the tree. Lesson learned, the hard way. Well last night wasn't a great night's sleep. With my arms and hips aching it was hard finding a comfortable sleeping position. I found myself tossing and turning all night long. The good news is the extra time I took selecting my campsite turned out to be well worth it. My tent was on flat and level ground. Another good thing is, it didn't rain at night and wasn't raining when I woke up. I turned on my iPhone to see the weather radar and low and behold, for the time being there wasn't any rain in the picture. I was stiff and a little sore but I felt I could continue on, so I ate breakfast, packed up and, taking a couple Advil for support, was on the trail by 9:00. Then the real fun began. It was up and down up and down several steep sections of about 300'-400' each until I hit the real challenging section called the Agony Grind which, going north bound, is a steep rocky section going downhill about 600' in less than 1/2 mile arriving at Route 17. It was a short road walk past Elk Pen then back into the woods and a 600' climb. Just like yesterday, I didn't encounter another hiker until I passed Elk Pen. The parking lot was full because this up-coming section is very popular with day and weekend hikers. I met several groups of day hikers, young and old, and a large 30+ pack of Boy scouts. All going in the opposite direction. About 1/2 mile past Island Pond Rd. came the notable rock formation called the Lemon Squeeze. Here the AT goes right through a narrow crevice in a large rock formation. When I say narrow I mean very narrow. Wearing a full pack I had to push my way through, again getting a fair amount of rock rash on my already scrapped up arms. Oh joy. Then it was back to 300' up and 300' down, up and down until I reached a small stream about 3/4 mile from the Fingerboard shelter. My guide book said that the water source for Fingerboard shelter was about 1/2 mile down hill in front of it. I was planning to stay at or near the shelter but not wanting to do any more climbing than necessary, I stopped and filled all my empty bottles at this stream. I still had to carry that extra water about 3/4 miles, and yes there was a 400' climb, but when I got to the shelter I didn't then have to go and fetch water. Lucky for me because it started to rain just as I was leaving the stream. Along about that time another long distance hiker, Bob, came by. He also was planning to stay at the shelter for the night. It was about 4:00 when we got tho the shelter, I was really sore, exhausted, glad I had made it to the shelter and just wanted to get off my feet and collapse. . . When we arrived at the shelter there was a young family with their 3 kids out for a day of hiking and lunch at the shelter. They had hiked the easy 1.3 miles up from Seven Lakes road. They soon left and we set about setting up camp. With it still raining and the large shelter all to ourselves, I set my tent up right in the shelter. I knew my tent would offer a little extra warmth over just sleeping in my sleeping bag on the shelter floor. Bob didn't have a free-standing tent so he slept on the floor instead of setting up his tent in the rain. We had finished our dinners and were just sitting around talking about the trail. Bob had hiked a lot of the AT in 2008 and was planning on finishing most if not all of the remaining trail this year. With no cell service in the shelter I took my headlamp and headed up the mountain to the nearest hilltop. There I was able to call Gerrie and let her know where I was for the night. . It was about 9:30, still raining and we were just about to turn in when 2 hikers and a dog came scrambling into the shelter. They were hiking the Long Path and heading towards the George Washington Bridge, about 50 hiking miles away. At first they were only stopping in to get out of the rain, to rearrange their gear and then move on, but the rain made them change their minds and they decided to stay in the shelter. Yippee. The shelter is large enough that all I had to do was turn my tent and there was plenty of room for all. They hadn't had dinner yet so we all talked together while the ate and set up camp. . Again I was not expecting a real good nights sleep. I was still hurting from the fall and now a little stiff from hiking again I could not find a comfortable sleeping position but eventually fell asleep...... During our conversation I had asked Gerrie to pick me up the following morning at Seven Lakes Rd. Not knowing in advance just how difficult the AT in NY was going to be, I made the wrong and stupid decision to use that section as a "warm up" hike. Also having a pack weighing 43+ lbs. wasn't a very bright idea for a warm up hike either. Add all that together with my fall and it was time to go home, recover and reassess my next "warm up" hike. I am in more pain but much wiser tonight. . . . Today I started on page 134 (just before Little Dam Lake) and stopped for the night on page 134 (Fingerboard Shelter) in the A.T. Guide by David Miller (the green book).....Temps, it's 45* in my tent right now (11:00) with light to moderate rain and little or no wind....My aches and pains, bumps and bruises have convinced me to stop and leave the trail for the time being but it still felt good to be on the Appalachian Trail. . . .Total AT miles hiked today 8.0......I'll be back.Nite all