Date: 2008-09-10
From: Greymore Monastery 

To: Bear Mountain Circle
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

We slept in until about 6:30. Soaring was up preparing to go to the morning mass held at the monastery. I heard her say something about a dog being outside, then she was talking with a man. She said goodbye and left for mass and I could hear the man start talking with Owl, who had just left the tent. I stayed in the tent with Roo, who was getting excited over sensing the other dog. I called out to the man and asked if his dog was friendly. He hesitantly said, 'Well, yes, but he's a two year old puppy and sometimes he scares other dogs with how hard he likes to play.' I smiled, he's going to love Roo. I unzipped the tent and she went running.By the time I got out of the tent they were a whirlwind of puppy fur. Joshua was a standard poodle just about Roo's size and the same color. They were having a blast. Luckily they had the whole ballfield to run wild on.Joshua's owner's name was John. We had a great conversation about raising puppies, hiking the trail and the Bible. He had named Joshua because he was reading Joshua when he got the puppy. We told him our verse for our hike was Joshua 1:9, 'Fear not, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.' We talked for quite awhile. The puppies ran and ran.When he was ready to leave John asked if he could pray for us. He prayed for our strength over Bear mountain and our safety over that mountain that they say has all those snakes. (Huh?) He finished the prayer and I got distracted with something, probably the puppies, and forgot to ask, What snakes?When he got ready to leave Joshua would not go with him. He and Roo had made best friends and they did not want to part. John had to walk to his car and drive it up to the ballfield to pick up Joshua. And then I had to hold Roo back from jumping in the car with them. It was the most fun she had had in a long time.It took awhile to get going on the trail. It was cold and our clothes, socks and shoes were still wet from yesterday. We delayed putting them on, finally heading out at 9:00. The morning walk was nothing special. We thought we'd have a great view from Anthony's Nose, but we seem to have missed it. We found ourselves crossing the suspension bridge over the Hudson River before we realized it.We were expecting some boxes at the PO at Ft. Montgomery so we took a right turn into town. We planned to pick up our boxes and do some resupply at the grocery. We got the boxes (Thank you Pam! the jerky is great and the other surprises perfect) and walked across the street for a burger. Unfortunately the store on the corner was a terrible resupply spot, except for candy.We sat at the deli discussing out options. The through hiker companion listed an outdoor adventure center that had cabins for rent and offered slackpacks, unfortunately they weren't answering their phone. It would have been nice to stop somewhere for the night to wash up and dry out and find a real store.After calling several places and finding no place to stay with a dog, our last resort was The Econolodge in Highland Falls. If they took dogs we had no idea how we would get there, it was 4 miles away.   I called and yes, they take dogs. Is there a local taxi that we could call for a ride, no, but they would come get us. Wow! Great, we'll take it. They were incredibly hiker friendly. Jamie even gave us a ride to the laundry when she got off work. Great people.So we've cleaned up, resupplied and have a nice room for the night. Tomorrow, back on the trail. God just keeps putting the most wonderful people in our path.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9