Date: 2004-09-21
From: bear mt. n.y.

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

SEP. 21, TUES. 2004 bear mt. n.y.    you have to bear with me on these next entries since i neglected to bring a notebook with me. do have tape recorder but not working properly. too the bus from home to here at bear mt. had a layover in n.y.c. of about 3 hours. then got on a local bus up to the mt. i know i said i would not travel by bus again but that is really the only practical way to get close to the trail and get started. i went to the bear mt. lodge to see about a room. too expensive. so went up the trail a short way and pitched my tent. then went back down to the lodge and bought a soda. did not have an appetite so ate very little. not supposed to camp where i am at but did it anyway.          SEP. 22 WED.                  Leaving bear mt. 7 a.m. slept some last nite. do not feel well this morn. but heading up the trail. pack is really heavy. feel like throwing half of it away. have sinus. did not eat anything for breakfast. met 3 guys heading nobo. section hikers. good bunch. wish i was hiking with them. would like to hike with someone going my direction. they said there were some hikers ahead of me so maybe i will catch up to them. met a hiker from keough,wis. 62 yrs. old. section hiker. he started at springer last year and got to port clinton. this year went to port clinton and is this far. thinks he wont make it to vermont this year. had some trouble with his leg and went to dr. but says it will be ok.            SEP. 23 THURS.                  13 miles today. stayed at fingerboard shelter last nite. got thereat 5 p.m. nothing to eat all day. had a part of a bagel but not good. finally took some immodium ad, think it is supposed to be for diarrhea but took it anyway. am sick as hell.sinus is draining and stomach is sour. but got to sleep some. woke up about 3:30 a.m. and felt some better but so weak i am just shaking. this morn i cooked about a half cup of oatmeal. and some hot chocolate. got going at 7:30 nice morn. sun shining. i put up my tent inside the shelter last nite and had some porcupines visit during the nite, they like to chew on the boards for the salt.   if i don't get better might have to go into town. is 16 rough miles to next shelter so don't think i can make that the way i feel. so will look for a campsite this aft. yesterday was quite an ordeal. would stop about every 15 min. heart was racing, nose draining with that yellow shit. nasty. now today it isn't draining quite as much so there is hope. if it doesn't get better will consider going into town and getting motel for a day or two and get better. need to gain some strength for the mts. coming up. aout 10:30 got to a road. and my guidebook says there is a motel about 2 miles away. decided to get some rest. so got a ride right away into town. went to motel . they are full because of some festival in town. so went to restaurant across the street. had a bowl of chicken soup and a sevenup. felt better right away. then tried to hitch a ride back to trail. stood there for an hour or so with no luck. went back in cafe. the owner said there is a short line bus that goes by in about an hour. so sure enough he stopped for me and it cost me $1.50 to go two miles out to the trail. was worth it.                        SEP. 24 FRI.               made 8 miles yesterday.tented last nite not too far from a stream. to those who don't know the most important thing about stopping for the nite is access to water. 7:00 in morning. slept a little better. feel some better. ate a little bit. about a fourth of a package of rice and chicken. this some better.this morn. ate some oatmeal and some tea. pack is still heavy but hate to throw anything away. i am such a tight ass and hoard food. you would think i was in the great depression of the 1930's. well i heard enough about it from my dad that i could have been. and my grandmother always had a big garden. canned everything she could get her hands on. she had a fruit cellar that was so loaded with food a family of 7 could have live for five years on what was down there. MET a hiker at a shelter where i was taking a break. name is cooker hiker. i had met him up last year at the blueberry patch. he knows all the hikers i know. he is a section hiker and flip flops all over the trail. good guy. got his name from the cooking he does on the trail and at the hostels. stopped at heavenly hill, bellview creamer and dairy farm. they have prize winning cows. it was about a quarter mile off the trail. they had an icecream store and an fruit and vegetable stand. bought had a malt. then bought and apple and a pear to put in my back pack. then after i left there i came across a hot dog stand next to a highway. of course i wasnt hungry but did buy a soda. when you are out on the trail you never pass up a soda. met two ladies who were going up to the seven falls to paint the scenery. told them my story about being sick. they offered to drive me to town. but decided to go on. but that was very nice of them to offer a ride to a stinky old man. came across a big black snake on the trail. about 6 ft. long and two inches in diam.            SEP 25, SAT. 7 a.m.               got 8 miles in today broke camp. took forever. treated blister. seems to happen every time i hike. guess i am too tender. maybe its the shoes. did not sleep very well last nite. tossing and turning. am constipated but haven't ate enough to be otherwise. probably more info that you wanted. ate breakfast of oatmeal and tea. got to a road that goes into vernon. n.j . was a road stand there. got an apple and icecream cone. met a guy and visited with him. told him i was going into the hostel at st. thomas episcopal church. he said he would like to hike some day. he is a retired cop. any way he gave me a ride in to the hostel. wasnt' sure they were taking hikers. but there were packs there so went on in. got the rules of the hostel. they have tv. comp. washer and dryer.got a shower, washed my clothes. and went to cafe. had a big meal. go am getting better. nose is drying up. so things are looking up. nice people here. going to church here.have decided to start staying at shelters since it easier to set up and there is usually water close. sounds like we have some rain coming in but the past week has been perfect. there is a hiker here that has been here for several weeks. he is painting the outside of the church. met bean and he has his guitar with him.               SEP. 26, SUN. 9:00 a.m.            14 miles today getting packed up. a late start and have to get out of here before sun. school starts. going over to the cafe and have breakfast at the mixing bowl cafe. the cafe is painted purple and yellow. good food. the caretaker here is giving me a ride back to trail. feeling better today. am on a boardwalk right now. the voluteers put a lot of work in this. there is two miles of this boardwalk. pure heaven walking on this instead of rocky trail. but there is always a drawback. it goes thru a bog of sorts. wildlife area. and the mosquitoes are horrendous. old mighty mullyah told me i wouldn;t need a mosq. net in n.j. but he was wrong. met a nobo. name aussie bill from australia. has hiked the trail once but now is back hiking some more. met nobo. came from del. watergap. name is freebird. from del. is going to ct. line for his section hike. had heard about a secret shelter. supposed to look for an old pump at an abandoned farmstead then as you hike up the trail keep a lookout for a side trail to the right. i found what i thought might be a trail and followed it. was not sure i was doing the right thing. after about a mile i did come over a hill and there down in the valley was small cabin called church of the mt. i was the only one there. went in and found that it had a sink,loft,elect. and around the back a shower room with hot water. pure heaven and so peaceful. so unpacked and made myself at home. heard a loud screeching noise like something out of hell. if had not heard that noise before i would have been scared to death. it was donkeys. walked up the trail a ways and sure enough there were two donkeys in a fenced in area with a shed in there also. as i was eating my ramen out on the porch a bunch of wild turkeys came up about 50 ft. from me. i was very quiet and still. but they finally saw me and meandered off. took a hot shower. unbelievable. owners name is jim murray. people have lots of notes thanking him for his hospitality. was about to get to sleep when i heard the door of the cabin open. jim came in. said he had hike the trail and just wanted to provide a place for hikers. he has 85 acres and mows the trails around here. 20 miles of mowing by hand. he comes out her and runs around the place on the mowed trails whenever there is a full moon. pretty neat. would have gone with him but had enough for the day. lol. had a good visit with him. after his run he came back in the cabin and visited some more. says he lives about 15 miles from here.               SEP. 27 MON. 7:00 4:45 p.m.               staying at gren anderson shelter tonite. made 18 miles today but tired as hell. WOULD have stopped at previous shelter but no water. lots of rocks now on the trail. there is a spring here at gren anderson. only met two people today. pretty lonesome. reading the trail reg and some of the entries talk about a bear that comes around and begs food. tries to get right in the shelter with you. hope he doesnt show up tonight cause i am here alone. put up my tent inside the shelter because of mosq. bean came in so am not alone tonight. bean was in americorp out in ore. he is from cleveland oh. does not think he will finish trail. last night was by far the best night i had spent on the trail. was hoping to see the resident bear that jim says comes down to visit in the mornings usually. but he did not show up today darn it!!    got up to observation tower at high point state park which is the highest point in n.j. supposed to be able to see n.y.c. skyline from here but is too cloudy this morn.         SEP, 28 TUES.          raining all day. got to a ymca camp. miserable day today. feet are soaked. walked in to the interior of the camp looking for a place to put up tent maybe under a porch by one of the cabins. no one around not even in caretakers house. so tried some doors on cabins and found one open. went back down to entrance and left a note for bean. i had told him i was going to try and find a spot at this camp so figured he would come on in. then went back on in the cabin. have hot water and a shower in there. also bunks. dried out my socks in microwave. hope i don't get kicked out if the caretaker comes around. bean showed up and we stayed the nite. didn't sleep the best. afraid of being found out and kicked out in the rain. lol. got up early,had breakfast and got the hell out of there. spooky here.          SEP. 29 WED.            met a flipflopper named crashbang from ind. started at port clinton. seems to be a popular place to start and stop. got into del. water gap made 18 miles. lot of rocks on trail. waded thru overflowing streams. still raining. got into hostel about 4 p.m. bean came in about 6. bean and i went into town and had supper. ate too much. in hostel at presbyterian church. ran by pastor karen nichols.            SEP, 30 THURS.               got up at 7 a.m. went to town for breakfast and got a newspaper. there is a young couple names are overdrive and lowgear. just grad from coll. hiking to where he lives in va. another guy named vagrant. he is broke. will be leaving here today later. bean leaving also.             OCT. 1 FRI.       nothing on my tape recorder and have lost my journal notes so will have to guess what happened on trail. and see if i can remember anything about my expereinces. did not run into bean again. don't know if he went home. but he is slower that me. bivouacked but don't know just where. rocks are horrible.      OCT. 2 SAT.            i think i camped at smith gap rd. tough going as i recall.      OCT. 3 SUN. metallica spring. cant make shelters it seems. but tent works ok. as long as water is available.         OCT 4, MON.gold spring. and then pinnacle great views you don't really expect in pa.      OCT. 5, TUES.         in to port clinton at nine at night. had a tough time finding the pavilion. finally went to the hotel. the dishwasher there was getting off work and actually drove me down to the pavilion.         OCT, 6 WED.      got up at 3:30 a.m went up to front of port clinton hotel and waited for the bus. flagged it down about 5:30 a.m. got into reading and then on home for the year. will go back out next spring to pearisburg to hopefully finish the section hike. long bus ride home. what torture.