Date: 2016-07-05
From: Longhouse Drive/Brady Road

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: moderate rain

FYI, I have asked Yvonne to write this blog up until the time we separated in the evening. We are back on the trail today! Oscar and I really took our time in getting out and to the trail. We left my sister¢s home around 9am and had to travel about an hour to get back to the trailhead. Along the way we stopped at Goldberg¢s bagels and had the most delicious bagels that we have had in a long time. In preparation for our hike today I took some ibuprofen. My calves were feeling much better but I thought it would be best to get them feeling a lot better so as not to slow me down. We had to decide what the plan was going to be. Option one was for me to hike to the highest point on the AT in New York which was about 2.6 miles in and then walk back by myself. Not happening! Option two was for me to hike to the highest point on the AT in New York and then Oscar would walk back with me. Possibly but I would hate for him to retrace his steps for such a long distance. Option three was for me to hike to the highest point on the AT in New York and continue on with Oscar until the next road crossing which was about 8 miles in. The third choice won. Before we hit the trail we left our cooler with sodas at the trailhead along with a bag of candy and a trash bag. It would be interesting to see how many partook of our Trail Magic when we returned. We set off on our trek to NY 17A, close to Bellvale, NY and it was some trek. I kind of knew it was going to be because of the warning in the AT guidebook. It said, ¢Despite the unimposing (elevation) profile, rocks, abrupt ups and downs make this section challenging.¢ Challenging it was. The AT Guidebook shows the Elevation throughout the trail and for this section it looked relatively straight, flat. That had to work in our favor even with the warning. There was one area where our path went over what could be the back of a sitting elephant. It was that high, curved, and very smooth. We had to find just the right place to hold on to with our hands and step onto with our feet to get over it. There was another part with a ladder, steel placed into the rocks, for us to climb up with. There were many more hairy sections but the bottom line is that we made it through all of them.Before we headed out Oscar said, ¢You are not going to walk 8 miles.¢ I said I can try but truthfully, I actually believed his statement too. I was going to give it my best. On the entire trail we saw 5 people. 1 hiker was resting. Another two were on a walk from one of the side trails (they had no equipment with them) and the other two we saw right at the end of our hike walking southbound. The wildlife highlight from today was the snake we saw curled up on a rock enjoying the sun. I am glad that Oscar was leading the hike at that point. As we approached to pass, it slithered under the rocks. There were so many boulders today. Big grey, curved and sometimes slippery boulders. I had my one fall about halfway through the trail on a slippery rock. Fortunately it was not a long way down and I was able to laugh at myself. ? Towards the end I was actually feeling like I was ready to stop. My calves made it through without the burn actually going away. It seems like the ibuprofen had no effect and I took 800 mg! It took us about 4.5 hours to complete the 8.1 miles with minimal rest stops.By the end of the hike my fitbit was awarding me with so many badges for walking the most flights of steps ever, 125, and having the most steps in one day, 24000!! Oscar was great company and a great guide. He was as cool, calm, and collected as he always is and I believe that he was as surprised as I was that I actually made it through.Once we reached NY 17 we called a taxi to take us back to the car. We picked up the cooler that we left and were happy to see that several hikers had helped themselves to the refreshments. Before parting ways we had dinner at a restaurant in downtown Warwick, NY. It was a quaint little town. Oscar resupplied, donned his backpack for the first time in 5 days, and set out up the trail to the next shelter. I know that he is going to miss slackpacking.If I can do it, so can many of you. It is quite an experience. I would urge anyone who is thinking of and possibly hesitating about joining El Tejano to give it a try. Oscar would love to have company!. I plan to go back at least twice before he is finished in September. I have finished out the blog up until I left Oscar today. Check back for the rest of the blog from El Tejano. It was only a 2.1 mile hike to Wildcat shelter, got a very nice view from Cat Rocks outlook. Knowing that I will not see my wife for another 3 weeks is not fun. I really enjoyed her time with me on the trail. I am already looking forward to her return. I decided to stay in the shelter since I got in late, after 7pm. There were a few tents around, one belonged to Backscratcher and Can Do, had a short talk with them and set up my sleeping area. My pad deflated after a while, after an inspection I found a puncture hole. Slept without it and it was not comfortable, it was not a good nites sleep. Will have to try to patch tomorrow.