Date: 2009-07-01
From: Econo Lodge, Highland Falls, NY - Trail Mile 785.8

To: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center - Trail Mile 779.4
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: clear sky

Day 11[Watson & Holmes' reported their arrival via email: "Safe tenting at the pavillion at the Greymoor Spiritual Life Center."Talked with Jess at 10:45am, all is well. This is a revised destination for the day. She is thinking of lowering her average daily miles to near ten. Next stop is the PO.Later email contents: "Got both boxes from the PO in Fort Montgomery. Still SORE! H too, but not his foot as I originally thought. Second trekking pole is helping me a lot, and I'm able to take his (now fully loaded) packs settled across the top of mine."Her journal entry:]Woke up in the hotel well rested, ate a big continental breakfast of chocolate glazed donuts, raisin bran with extra sugar, an apple, and tea. Took a while to pack up, and was reluctant to put on my socks and shoes - they were pretty pungent!! TT tells me that if you can actually put them to your nose to smell, they're not that bad. I'm not sure I ever want them to get 'that bad'! It turned out to be a long hot walk into town to reach the post office. Then H had to wait outside while I went in to pick up my second trekking pole and resupply. Received both boxes with little damage (thanks, Mom, for 'creating' a box to fit a trekking pole!) except for the cereal and grits packed in regular sandwich baggies. Something had punctured the side of the box and two of the baggies with it. Luckily only a little (dry) milk was spilt, so there was no reason to cry. (Sorry - terrible joke!) I quickly repackaged and sorted out the food and supplies. I sent home my hat, compass, paper journal (no time/energy to write two copies!), and an extra fuel canister (I hadn't even finished the one I started the trip with). I kept my parka, and ended up using it this afternoon. I did throw out the half bag of dog food remaining from our first resupply, as it was a bit stale, and also a package of Mountain House Wild West Vegetarian Chili that wasn't all that good and gave me terrible gas (DD - worse than onion rings!). Poor H!!! A quick stop at the convenience store (M&R grocery referenced in the companion is closed) yielded 3 AAA batteries out of a pack of 4 with instructions to the clerk to give the remaining one to the next hiker who needs them. (Headlamps use 3 AAA batteries.) I had traded my spare set, knowing my headlamp was good for another couple hundred miles, to TT for some Clif bars - yum! - which I also bough more of at the store. H and I shared a chicken salad sandwich from the deli case and were on our long hot way to the Bear Mountain Bridge where we had left off the day before. After the bridge is a steep climb but we were just happy to be in the woods and cool under tree cover again. H wasn't too happy though, either the heat or his foot or his tail was bothering him, so I took his packs and saddled them across the top of mine, and we slowly made our way up the hill. Luckily, we had a short day planned (6 mi), because we were packing a lot of food and I guess the combined weight with 5L of water (totally necessary on such a hot day) was near 50 lbs. Ouch. Glad the rest was only mild hills. Also glad to see H running ahead and happily sniffing out the trail, even if his tail wasn't up. Made slow time to the Greymoor Spiritual Life Center, but got in just before the rain this time. Yay! Met Obi at the ballfield shelter referenced in the guide. He told us a Friar had checked in and mentioned that this shelter tends to flood but that the picnic shelter up on the hill would be dry. Obi planned to stay - this shelter had electricity and water and cold showers - and was going to put his sleeping bag in the loft area across a folded up picnic table. Knowing H would never be able to sleep in the loft, I headed up to the picnic area shelter and met In-Tents on the way. IT immediately apologized for not having brought the promised beer to Wildcat shelter. I understood, as I had heard he had quite a rough night! We set up tents on top of tables (just in case it floods there, too) while Double Zip and Skeeter show up. DZ hiked 1300 miles of the AT a few years ago but was seriously injured and had to take a break. She's back to finish the last 800 now. S is new to the trail and like me hopes to finish some day. Dinner was mashed potatoes with fried Spam, but our short after dinner conversation was interrupted by mosquitoes. A short trip to the nearby restrooms (electricity, hot water, real soap and toilet paper and hand towels -wow!!) and I climb into my tent to sleep. Trying to balance with a dog on a picnic table is a trick, but a manage. Around 2 or 3 am another thunderstorm rolls in and, surprise, we're getting dripped on. I quickly throw on the rain fly (which I had been using as a pillow) and pull the pack cover onto my pack. All's well and I go back to bed!41° 20' 25.31" N 73° 55' 26.55" W, 404 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop