Date: 2016-07-07
From: William Brien Shelter

To: Bear Mountain Bridge
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I had a much needed good nights sleep. I still don't have a pad but the ground was not too hard. When I left the camp at 7am it was warm and muggy already. I felt rested today..I felt so much better than yesterday. The hike out of camp was straight up. It got my heart beating right away! I climbed up Black Mountain where on a clear day you can see NY City. It was too hazy in the distance but the views were wonderful anyway. It was going to be another hot and humid day. It did not take long for my energy to start leaving me because the ups and downs started taking their toll. I took a lot of breaks today. The view from West Mountain was great. I could see the Lookout Tower on Bear Mountain, my next mountain to climb. Going up Bear Mountain was tough. It was 1.8 miles of up! I had to take about 3 breaks on that climb. For one stop I saw a deer grazing. He saw me but he did not seem phased by my presence. On another break Optimistic Dreamer and Gung Ho asked if I had extra water. I did n't have too much but I shared it with them because they looked like they were in bad shape. They took a wrong turn early in the day and got lost. That put them 3 hrs out of the way! It is easy not to pay attention to the blazes but it is dangerous. We hiked to the top together where we all bought Gatorade or Cokes from the vending machines. That was nice and refreshing. I walked to the Lookout tower but it was locked...bummer! I took some pictures from up there and also on the way down. So far NY has been very tough to hike but the views are spectacular. I made my way down off the mountain and arrived at a recreational area with a lake, pool, concessions, pavilions and a zoo. I had lunch with Optimistic Dreamer and Gung Ho then continued on. I went a little ways and ran into Aurora and Conundrum. I hadn't seen them in over a week. I learned it was Conundrums birthday. Happy Birthday fellow hiker! They will be heading out tomorrow so I will probably see them on the trail. I left them and followed the trail. It actually goes through the zoo! Now how cool is that! I took my time and walked through the zoo reading everything. It was not very big but it was pleasant to walk through. The Bear cage is actually the lowest point of the Appalachian Trail 124'. I had called the Stony Point Center which is a religious based convention center. They have simple rooms with shared baths, breakfast included, and dinner is an option. That was going to be my home for tonight. They picked me up at the Bear Mountain Bridge then we ventured 20 minutes down the road to pick up 4 more hikers. It had been threatening to rain for a while and it started coming down right when we got to the hikers. Great timing. I knew one of the hikers, SpongeBob. He is a retired physician from Hawaii. I am not really sure if Doctors ever retire! It was good to meet up with him again as we talked about where other hikers were. We arrived at the center and I was happy to be able to wash my clothes, catch up on my blog, and have dinner with SpongeBob, his wife and two friends who are all down to hike with him for a week. There were about 50 teenagers there too. This must be a retreat for them. SpongeBob thinks this is the place where his parents came 58 years ago to train to be missionaries before going to Africa. He will have to find out. Dinner was all you can eat cafeteria style and it was fantastic and filling. I will try to fix my pad tonight, I hope the patch holds. I am tired and my body needs rest so I am off.