Date: 2007-08-03
From: Arden Valley Road/NY 17

To: Palisades Parkway
Miles today: 11.8

August 3, Retreat to the WoodsAfter getting to bed pretty late last night, it was no real surprise to anyonethat we weren't doing 18 miles as we had planned today. Instead, we set a planwith Tomaso to slack about twelve miles.She dropped us of at the trail around 9:30 a.m. and we started heading north.The trail was kind for a few minutes despite it immediately heading uphill.I soon arrived at the infamous Lemon Squeezer, a section of the trail that isvery narrow and runs in between two gigantic rocks. I had to take my pack off tofit through there properly. It was exciting. Next up was a gigantic puzzle. It was a large rockface that was exactlyperpendicular to the ground on which I stood. I was not sure I would be able tofind a way up with these short legs of mine. There was a blue blazed trailaround the rockface but I didn't much like the idea of taking a trail that had asign specifically saying, "Easy Way". Seemed inappropriate. So I stood there andwaited for Melk who I could see approaching the climb.She solved the puzzle with her long legs and I was left standing questioning ifthis was even possible for me. And then came Hopalong and Pockets. Hopalongdidn't hesitate to offer a hand so she gave me a boost and I was up in a jiffy.I was pretty impressed.The trail was full of large rock walks after that up and down large hills. Istopped for a little while to pick some blueberries and then when Melk got therewe walked together until we found Yellow Snow Man. He was on top of a hillfeverishly picking blueberries - jackpot! We had planned on breaking at theshelter but we decided breaking with blueberries was a better idea. I picked quite a few and feasted on the homemade potato salad and cantalopeTomaso had sent with us. It was delicious. I told Melk and Yellow Snow Man thatI imagined this is what heaven would be like - warm but shady, peaceful,delicious berries in abundance, and good company. Yellow Snow Man wondered ifthere would be smoking in heaven and I told him I thought that was more of apurgatory thing.It was very nice there but, alas, no matter how nice a place is, we must alwaysleave it - the true tragedy of this hike. I turned on my internal power switchbecause I wanted the last seven miles to go fast. Melk did what she called"parasite hiking" - she latched on behind me and tried to follow me step forstep. She was having a hard time turning her power switch on today.We got to the next shelter for a break around 3 p.m. and feasted on marshmallowsthat had been left unopened in the shelter. Mmm.After that was a sprint to the finish. Two miles and eight climbs later, we wereat Palisades Parkway walking past the traffic jam coming out of New York City.What a culture shock.Tomaso drove us back to her house and then Phil and Erin came to pick me up forthe night. We had a terribly relaxing evening between dinner in Woodstock and around of hot tea back at their place in Willow - sencha, my favorite. They livein a wonderful cabin in the woods which felt very serene. It was really nice tosee my friends and very nice to be so relaxed. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyedtheir company. It was the farthest I've felt mentally from the trail and it wasa nice retreat. Went to bed on wonderful cowboy sheets around 1:30 a.m.- Sound of insects partying outside.Post Trail Thoughts:When I say the blueberry patch felt like heaven, I meant it. It was quiet and serene and, to me, the calming act of picking berries and feasting on them was like a short reprieve from the rugged rock scrambles and the sweaty, dirt-caked skin they provided me. It is an area I am glad I can revisit in my head.After that spot, however, I was ready to be finished hiking for the day. I turned my power swith on and it was one of the handful of days on the trail that I actually felt fast. A nice feeling.