Date: 2014-07-02
From: William Brien

To: Graymor Spiritual Center
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

In which I have a lovely morning and a terrifying afternoon hiking.A steep climb awaited me almost immediately this morning after leaving the shelter. It was straight up the rocks. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day. Lots of climbs up and down the mountains. Water was the urgent need this morning. The next water stop according to AWOL was the Visitor's Center 0.4 mile down the median of Pallisades Parkway. Well, no thank you. I was not about to walk bonus miles chasing cars. It was bad enough crossing four lanes of highway 34 miles from NYC during rush hour traffic. So I made an executive decision. I chose to walk 0.3 mile passed the parkway to a brook and take my chances that water was actually there. Worse case scenario I would have to walk back 0.3 mile to the pkwy then another 0.4 mile to the Visitor's Center. It would have been a 1.4 bonus mile start to the day. However, all was well. There was water and a great flowing source. Phew! So once again I cameled up, filled up and hiked on to views of the Hudson River and NYC unrecognizable in the haze. The tower on Bear Mountain loomed ahead across the next range little did I know what it was at the time.As I was descending from the last shelter I saw a person and dog ahead of me. She calls out my name. I see that it is Valley Girl and Jake! Wow. I haven't seen them since Chestnut Knob shelter a long time ago. So cool. So we hiked for a little while and got caught up on events since our last meeting. It's so wild to cross paths with people I never thought I'd see again. You just never know who is going to show up next. Eventually I hiked on and met a guy running who was training for the Pikes Peak marathon so I had to talk to him for a bit as that race is on my to do list for a future date. Then I officially began my ascent up to Bear Mtn. which was really pretty. There are so many stairs leading up. They are very beautiful in their own right and steep. I met Isn't Black and Bear Bag as they were slack packing SOBO. I reached the top and enjoyed the view of the mountains, the houses and the river for a bit while I drank my ice cold Gatorade. I love vending machines in tourist areas! The sun was super hot and bright. I was drenched again from sweat and the humidity was outrageous. Many tourists were at the top and it's kind of weird to be walking through pack and all.So down the mountain I went to the lake with the concession stand in mind for a lunch break. As I walked towards the concession stand I was propositioned by a guy who said he was taking studio pictures of thru hikers for a book he's publishing next year. I declined because a cheeseburger and coke were calling my name. And that's what I got next, with fries of course and an extra water which has also been difficult to find this afternoon. It was an expensive lunch but worth every penny! The people watching was fantastic too.After lunch the trail took me through the zoo at Bear Mountain where the official trail walks right through. That was a fun but awkward walk. I felt like I was on display as people were staring when I walked by. Then I got to the bear cage, which is the lowest point on the trail and there was a bear playing in a pool of water. That seemed so unnatural and the bear didn't even look like a black bear. Was sad. At last I got to the bridge over the Hudson River. It was really windy but pretty. A helicopter was flying down the river and a train was tooting its horn as it emerged from the tunnel that paralleled the river. A few sail boats and motor boats were boating and the cars were whizzing by on the bridge at what appeared to be at a very rapid pace. What really struck me and gave me chills was the American flag hanging from the top of the bridge waving in the wind. That was just an incredible site and is etched in my brain.Once I crossed the bridge I came to a brief road walk and temporarily went the wrong way. When I finally figured that out I was faced with another brutal climb up more rocks. That's when I heard my first clap of thunder and saw some very dark clouds behind me. My heart started racing and my hiking went into overdrive. I even had to do a couple puffs on my inhaler, mostly because it was so humid and my breathing was tight to begin with. It rained briefly, which actually felt great, then rumbled a few more times and eventually went away. Dodged that bullet for now.At the top of that climb I met two kids out for the day hiking. We chatted for a few and they recommended a turkey sandwich from the market where I was going to do a quick resupply. So the Appalachian market was my next planned stop for the day. It started to rain and rumble again briefly. That too passed quickly and I made it to the market. I order my turkey and swiss sandwich and did a quick resupply followed by a quick lemon icy. I spotted Ben and Jerry's ice cream and really wanted to get a pint and eat it outside before my final walk for the day. But that plan changed when the clouds got really dark and the locals were talking of a really bad storm coming in. It looked like it was. I took my food to go and hustled. The sky was green/gray and very ominous looking. I had a half mile to walk and I booked it praying the whole way there.As I was leaving the kids that recommended this place showed up and we talked again. I crossed the street and found my way to the ballfield at the Graymoor Spiritual Center. I quickly set up my tent under the shelter of the trees and booked it across the wide open field with food and electronics in tow. The sky turned even more green, then black and all hell broke loose. The rains came down, lightening and thunder were everywhere all around. At one point the lightening and thunder flash boomed right overhead. My hair stood up on the back of my neck. That was unnerving and I was really grateful to be under the cover of the pavilion, even though the rain was blowing sideways and flooding the bottom of the shelter. I had my delicious sandwich and was dry and safe. North star came in under the pavilion. He was hammocking below in the woods. So we talked for a little while. Eventually he went to his hammock and I continued to sit it out and charge my phone. When I was getting ready to make a run for my tent I look up and see that Wingnut was just coming in. I hadn't seen him since Virginia. So cool yet again. So instead of going to my tent I sat and talked some more. It was so nice to see other thru hikers after not seeing any again for a while.The storm has finally passed, my belly is full and I am talked out. I am now making a run for my tent to pray that there are no more storms tonight. It is raining again but so far everything in my tent survived the deluge and is dry. What a day! I'm beat.