Date: 2003-07-28
From: Unionville, NY - Bear Mountain, NY

To: Unionville, NY - Bear Mountain, NY
Miles today: 56.8
Weather: few clouds

Unionville, NY - Bear Mtn, NY56.8 miles (1386.1 total miles)We left Unionville at about 5:00 on day 114. I was happy about how friendly the locals were. One post office employee called the local restaurant to ask what time they open for lunch. The other employee called the phone company and told them to fix their pay phone since some hikers needed it. And of course we were welcomed to town by the mayor. It was amazing to see such genuine kindness from strangers while simply passing through their town.But as the rains threatened, we had to leave. At about 5:00 we headed out of town. The trail followed an old railroad bed for a while, which was easy walking. Then it cut through the woods, and down to some country roads. Finally it followed an old jeep trail through Walkill Swamp. The mosquitoes there were the worst I have ever seen. The 3 of us made excellent time, running almost a mile while swatting our bodies with our bandanas. It was an absurd moment and quite comical. We finally came out to the woods, and hiked up the final mile to the shelter. I knew it would rain, but I still chose to sleep in my tent than see any more mosquitoes in the shelter.It rained lightly for about 2 hours before I got up on day 115. It was a hot day. We did about 6 miles on the day when we came to Pochuck Swamp. The trail was a long boardwalk (wheelchair accessable!) through the swamp. It was really amazing. We wound through the cattails, over a suspension bridge, and over more swamp. It was the most expensive stretch of AT constructed. I was impressed by all the work put into it.We hiked on, over a few mountains and some swampy farmland to a road crossing with a bakery. Of course we stopped for ice cream and other goodies. It was so hot lately that all these rest spots were much needed. We sat there for about 2 hours. We had to say goodbye to Piggy and Kat (and their beautiful dog Pika), some section hikers who were headed home. They offered us a place to stay when we hit Vermont. I was flattered by their offer.We left the road, up the "stairway to heaven" to Wawayanda Mtn. We hiked on until dinnertime, when we stopped to eat. The ridgerunner told us there were 3 streams ahead, about a half mile apart, with camping at the second one. We did a few more miles and found the streams. The first one had a nice camp spot, but we continued on the ridgerunner's word. The second one was swampy with dirty water and ATV tracks all over. We didn't like it so we pressed on. The third stream was dried up. So we set up camp and backtracked a half mile to get water from the dirty swamp. It was not pleasant, but our only option.I left camp shortly bfore 8:00 on day 116. In about a mile we crossed the New York/New Jersey border for the final time. 8 states down, 6 to go! It was another scorcher. We hiked along the ridge, sometimes along the exposed boulders above, sometimes in the shaded forest below. We found a few streams for water, but they were red from iron deposits. I tried filtering it, and it was supposedly still healthy, but it was still hard to drink red water.It was another day of hiking slowly and taking many breaks. We got to route 17A, where a brand new ice cream stand had opened. We were far from "roughing it" lately. It was a little embarrassing.   After a short ice cream break, we pressed on. We met Gruevy at the next shelter. He randomly ran into Overshot in town, a hiker we met way back in the Smokies. He summitted Katahdin on July 6th! Unbelievable.We finally found a place to camp between 2 dry streams. It was getting dark, so we split up the chores. Willow and Last Minute went to find water, while I hung the bear bag. I hung Willow and my foodbags, but didn't hoist them, as Last Minute was not done with his yet. It would only be a few minutes. I crawled into my tent to journal when I heard Last Minute yell "I might need y'all's help out here. There's a bear going toward the foodbags." I jumped out of my tent wit my headlap on, clapping and making noise. Willow grabbed our hiking sticks and banged them together. Finally the bear eased away. I felt a little uneasy as I fell asleep that night.   I tried to get out early on day 117 to get some hiking done before it got hot. It was a day of steep ups and downs. After a few miles we climbed down "agony grind" to the NY State Thruway. We entered Harriman State Park and climbed again. It was brutally hot. We stopped a lot.We hiked up to the Lemon Squeezer, a rock formation that got very tight. We all made it through without even removing our packs. Then the trail split either around a rock cliff or straight over it. Of course I chose to climb over the cliff. It was a hot day, but these fun rocks lifted my spirits. We eventually came to a swimming lake. I showered, got soda, rested, and ate dinner.We hiked about 4 more miles to the shelter for the evening. The shelter had 4 bunks and a big floor. There were 4 locals sitting around drinking beer. They had taken the bunks and had their gear spread out on the floor. We asked if the shelter was full, and one took a swig of his beer and answered "yup". Then he suggested we hike on as some others had done earlier. I was insulted. My home for the last 4 months had been take over by local drunks. We didn't want any trouble, so we left. It was dark by now. We night hiked for a couple miles, up to Black Mountain. We could see all the lights below, including NYC in the distance. It was a very nice place to spend the evening.It was drizzling when I woke on day 118. It was another day of big ups and downs. We followed along, trying to make good time, but it was slow going. The water sources were sparce, so we stopped at the Palisades Parkway visitor center for water. They rudely told us they didn't have any. We hiked on up and over Bear Mountain. We grabbed some sodas there, and tried to check out the view from the tower. Then it was 2 miles down to the Bear Mountain resort. We got a little lost, and ended up following a drainage ditch instead. But we found our way.Bear Mountain was overwhelming. It was a crowded Sunday, and there were people all over the resort. I got a way overpriced lunch. We met Willow's parents, who were bringing Jen out to hike with us again for the week. They drove us around to do our chores, bought us an excellent Mexican dinner, and let us all crash in their motel room. Thanks for your generosity!Despite the crowds, hot weather, and sudden steep climbs, New York has been beautiful! It is amazing to be within 30 miles of NYC and still see such natural beauty. 786.5 miles to Katahdin!