Date: 2006-07-26
From: Conn/NY Border

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 97.8

We set off around 10AM from Connecticut 55 with full stomachs and heavy packs. We had just taken our fourth zero day(no hiking!!!) of the trip. We spent the evening of the 20th and the 21st with jon's dad in Dansbury, CT. It was a great break and a wonderful way for jon to be able to spend his birthday. We had a great steak dinner, which I haven't eaten in at least 2 years. The break prepared us for another jaunt through the wilderness. The first 3 days of New York were the easiest terrrain that we had yet encountered. Nice rolling hills through the occasional farm field. We got a good little ways passing many ripe berries before the rain hit. In that rain we passed the dover oak. This is supposedly the largest oak tree along the trail, and it truly was magnificent. It looked incredibly healthy for its 300 years. Just before that we also passed the AT Railroad Station. Which is a little wooden platform where we could have sat and got a train ride into the Big Apple. Weird that it is located right on the trail, imagine how convenient that would be for a NYC resident wishing to go on an afternoon hike. That evening we stayed in a shelter with some locals and discussed the weather and its dismal outlook. The next day we set off early before they arose to leaden skies and the prospect of another wet day. This never panned out however and as the day wore on the clouds blew away and weather got nice and warm. The humidity has stuck with us till the present however and I haven't sweated this much since football practice back in high school. It is a challenge to stay hydrated. I had a low level of energy. Of course we pushed on and made it to a very nice shelter for lunch. Their water source was a rusty well and the nasty water didn't encourage me to drink as much as I should have. Water has been more scarce which adds another aspect of difficulty to staying hydrated. The day was fairly uneventful until the evening. We got to the road where we were to camp in the cooler evening hours and an older gentleman awaited us with a cooler full of beer. So I indulged in a few and sat there talking with him and a nice couple on a trip here from Holland. They had done a 1600 mile hike from holland to spain, and it sounded like an amazing experience. It makes me wonder why people hike the AT over and over again when there are other experiences like that. The next day was exciting because we got to cross the Hudson River and wander through the Bear Mountain Zoo. The day started off like many others. Somewhere during the morning I got a distant view of the NYC skyline. It was strange to try and imagine myself in the city when it was so quiet in those woods. It is alot closer than I would have ever thought. At one point we were only 34 miles from the island. The Hudson is a big brown river and the bridge that crosses it is just as large. As we walked across we could feel large trucks making it wave up and down. Just on the other side we entered the zoo which houses native plants, animals, and birds along with the lowest point along the AT (124 feet). The zoo and the park surrounding it contained an incredible diversity of peoples. Every race or ethnicity I could possibly imagine was walking around or picknicking in the park. Really a cool experience after you experience the monoculture that the trail has to offer. In the evening hours we climbed Bear Mountain for another view of the distant city, and a long dry ridgewalk to beechy bottom creek for water and camping. Our fourth day was a little bit more rocky and up and down. It certainly ended up feeling alot longer than it really was. It started off well with us slowly ambling through dry oak forests. Around 11AM we came to a road leading down the hill to a beach/park area. There we enjoyed a nice breeze and lunch before setting off again into the heat. In the afternoon as we climbed a very steep hill we heard the unmistakable rattle of a Timber Rattlesnake. It was about 10 feet away from The General and we backed off to let it pass. We got some cool pictures and video. The evening dragged on over increasingly rocky terrain, but we found plenty of water and made it to the shelter before dark. At the shelter we had a nice conversation with a group of NOBO's that included: Appy, Pappy, flying tortoise, and merry turtle. This morning we set off at 6:00 and made incredible time all morning long. The heat was present from the beginning however and it certainly didn't let up. We crossed many rocky ridgelines before entering NJ and descending to a nearby shelter for lunch. We had done 13 miles before noon and that set us up for a nice little break in Vernon. Before we got there however we had five more miles of fairly friendly terrain. About 2 miles before the road we got a good look at our first blackbear. People had been telling us there were alot of bears in NJ. Guess they were right. In town we found the Episcopal Hostel and set up basecamp. We are now clean and ready to attack NJ and enter our home state of Pennsylvania. Catch ya'll later, on down the Trail.