Date: 2015-08-26
From: Fort Montgomery, NY

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 109.7
Weather: scattered clouds

8/18 Day 77 9.7 M795.8On the trail by 9:00 am this morning after a nice breakfast at the Bagel Cafe across from the Bear Mountain Bridge Motel, nice folks looking to sell the hotel after 40 years gave me a ride back to the trail. Still hear military Heli's and big guns shooting all day. Started the day with a walk through the park on a Monday morning clean up after a very big and busy weekend. 800 stairs plus a lot more trail to ascend Bear Mountain just south of the Hudson. Nice views and nice conversation with a few NOBOs at the top. Water is scarce, so I walked along Palisades Parkway (when the trail crossed) to the visitor's center to use their water spigot (still tastes very metalic...how do people drink this all the time?) and the vending machines. I met a mother-daughter thru-hiking team who've been at this for 16 months flip-flopping to different parts of the trail best suited for the season, told me where trail angels had left water ahead of me beside the trail. I can definitely notice a culture shift from what I encountered in New England. All in all, a good hike today. I missed a couple of opportunities to see the NYC skyline due to the haziness in the air. Also, I had an interesting encounter with a buzzard on a cliff, got a nice pic. The bugs seem to have disappeared since crossing the Hudson. Pulled into the William Brien Memorial Shelter a bit early, not a long hiking day but a tough one. Spent this night alone in the shelter.8/19 Day 78 13.7 M809.5Noticeably fewer NOBOs this day, only 1. Difficult, rocky trail and NO WATER! Thankfully, trail angels had left water jugs at road crossings (and it tasted delicious, not metallic). One angel left a cooler full of food. So, I ate in the rain some fried chicken, a banana, an apple and cameled up on water taking enough to get me into the next day. I set camp alone on top of Buchanan Mountain and had dinner watching the sun set.8/20 Day 79 18.0 M827.5My last day in New York found VERY rocky trail, lots of ups and downs, then lots of climbing over outcroppings. The wind was very nice today, and the weather had turned decidedly cooler. Still not finding water and remaining grateful for the trail angels who find the time to put water out for hikers.   I stopped at a road crossing just before going into New Jersey that had a hot dog stand and had lunch, then hiked another 0.1 mile up Peter Mountain to a Dairy Farm Creamery... one milkshake was really good, so I had another as I enjoyed the amazing view of the valley, the Catskills, and off to the left could see New Jersey. After a brief rest, I hiked out at around 3:00pm and into New Jersey arriving at Waywayanda State Park just after dark. Was able to find water at the park office before hiking further to the Waywayanda Shelter were I spent the night alone.8/21 Day 80 16.8 miles M844.3Out early, I enjoyed the morning climb over Waywayanda Mountain. I descended down what the locals call the stairway to heaven and arrived at a fairgrounds-like place. I sat under a tree near a cell phone tower and had a nice conversation with Lynette. Descending further into the valley, I was amazed by the length of boardwalk that was the AT in this area. I saw the first turtles here. Then later, another amazing time walking around three sides of the Walkill Wildlife Refuge. I saw many ducks, several Egrets, and a couple of Great Blue Herons. Later I saw a couple of canoe paddlers in the Walkill River and had a nice chat. I stopped for the evening in Unionville, NY (the trail runs along the NY/NJ border technically in NJ, Unionville is less than a mile from the trail). I set my tent in the city park and had a nice dinner and a Warsteiner or two at the Wits End Tavern. All in all, a cool and beautiful and surprising day. It's a great day to be alive and to see amazing things.   8/22 Day 81 11.7 miles M856.0I had a delicious Egg sandwich at the deli in Unionville then helped a section hiker "Intrepid" position her car for her next hike - thus I didn't get on the trail until noon today. I hiked into High Point State Park, saw the 220' tower atop the highest point in NJ, then hiked down to the beach to get a shower and eat at the concession stand. After 4 more rocky miles, I stayed in the Rutherford Shelter. Where before we went to sleep, there was another south-bounder (Zucchini) and 3 NOBOs. I had thought I'd seen all the NOBOs by now, but I guess not - they feel they can still make it by Oct 15th or somehow get atop Katahdin after the cut-off date.8/23 Day 82 18.9 miles M874.9In the morning, I crossed Sunrise Mountain where at the top was a pavillion where I stopped for a short rest. I enjoyed especially seeing the snaking fog over the Delaware river run for many miles through the mountains. On the Culver Firetower, I could see several lakes, including Lake Kittatiny in the distance. All in all, a cool and pleasant morning with a nice breeze. The trail is still very rocky today, especially until Culver's Gap where I had a very nice lunch by Lake Kittatinny at Gyps Tavern. Very nice view of the lake, mountains, and homes/docks around the lake. A great place to kick my feet up and enjoy a beautiful spot. This afternoon I hiked along a ridge with nice westward views into PA until I reach the intersection of the Buttermilk Falls Trail and the AT and set camp as the sun set and dark fell. The days are definitely getting shorter.8/24 Day 83 20.9 miles. M895.8Another fire tower today in NJ with beautiful views in all directions. Met again Zucchini and now Hot Dog (from Germany) on the tower. They both started their hike around June 16 or so. Nice hiking today. After 10 miles, I stopped for lunch at the Mohican Outdoor Center run by the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) where I was reminded of AMC huts in the White Mountains. This afternoon, I was passed on the trail by a SOBO hiker who started July 3rd. I passed Sunfish Pond which (for some reason) had a high acidic content and very clear water. It was formed naturally by Ice-age glaciers leaving boulders that formed a dam trapping the water behind it. At the end of the day, I crossed the Delaware River (after a couple of mornings seeing its fog) into Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania. I stopped in to stay at the Hiker Hostel in town, but didn't care for the 'air' so walked a little further in town to check in at the Pocono Inn - not a great motel, but adequate. A nice dinner at the local diner hit the spot. Watch a bit of TV that I hadn't done in a while.8/25 and 8/26 Days 84 and 85After spending the night in a hotel, having a nice breakfast at the local diner, I started to realize how tired I was so decided to stay another night and take a zero day. After breakfast on the 26th, I still didn't feel rested, so I stayed a second day. Much needed rest and readying myself for PA which I've heard from many NOBOs is a tough hike due to the rocks.