Date: 2003-08-08
From: Island Pond Outlet

To: Trail to West Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 11.1

Wow! Today was such a bizarre day! And it started out so normally...strange how everything can change over the course of a few hours. We got up pretty late...it rained most of the night and we were all snug and cozy in our respective tents. As usual, everyone's bladder/digestive system forced them to get up...I didn't get up till 8:45. We packed up and were on the Trail by 10:00, with Viking leaving a little before us. He planned on doing 19 miles today, while we were going to do 14. The plan was to camp just a couple of miles outside of Bear Mountain, NY, then hike in early Saturday morning to go to the post office. We hiked for 3.8 miles through Harriman State Park, which is really quite pretty. There's lots of grassy areas mixed in with the trees and rocks. Oh, yeah, we started the day off with something called "The Lemon Squeezer". It was a set of rocks that were at a slant that we had to walk between in an upward direction. It kind of reminded me of a carniv!al/fun house sort of thing. It looked wider than it was, and it was really tough to maneuver (sp?) due to the angle at which the rocks were presented. I made it through, then Randy went...he didn't think he could get through due to his wider shoulders. He made it, then Gerri went through without her pack. I went around the corner to see the Trail we had just come up...we didn't necessarily "have" to go through the Squeezer...it was just a thrill ride on the Trail. I believe that those states that don't have big elevations on the Trail feel that they have to provide some sort of challenge or stimulus...take the PA pointy, pointy rocks, for instance. Clearly, in NY, it's about rocks as well, but in a different way. We continued traipsing up and down small hills and mountains today...the pointless ups and downs, or PUDS, as we hikers like to call them. They can really wear you out, especially in high heat and humidity. Thankfully, we only had the latter today. We go!t to the road where we planned to take our first break...there were snack machines 3/10 of a mile down the road...SODA! Actually, we ended up having Nestea and ice cream from an ice cream vending machine. I was intrigued by how this machine operated. I put in my money and the code (A8) for the one I wanted, the door on an inner freezer flipped open and a vacuum tube went to the one I'd selected, sucked it up and dropped it in the vending slot. Very cool! I almost got another one, just to watch it happen again! We ate, filled our water bottles and were just getting ready to leave, when a man came up and started talking with us. He offered to give us a ride back to the Trailhead. We accepted, and while we were driving there, we told him of our plans for the day. He informed us that the post office at Bear Mtn. was closed on Saturdays...we could pick up our stuff between 11 and 12, but couldn't mail anything out. We didn't know what to do...then Gene, the Angel, offered to bring us there today, so we could take care of our mail. While !on our way there, he also said he could bring us to a supermarket tomorrow to resupply. We couldn't believe how lucky we were to have met him! We got to the P.O., where I had bounced some food, my Seester had sent a package (thankyew, Seester!) and MY NEW STRAPS WERE IN! Yay! I'm so excited to not have my armpits cut up by my old straps anymore! I replaced them, sent back the old ones (boy, I wouldn't want to be the person to open THAT package...they smell NASTY!), transferred my water from my temporary bottle (a 2 liter Coke bottle) to my borrowed-from-Seester Camelbak (Platypus waterbags LEAK!) and packed my food bag. Ugh! Very heavy! Randy and Gerri took care of their business, and we headed back to where we'd left off. Gene told us he's done Springer to Bear Mountain, except for a 60 mile stretch in VA, in sections. He also told us about other hikers he'd helped out, including Happy Feet and Froggie Pete. We got to the Trailhead, thanked Gene profusely, told !him we'd see him tomorrow and hit the Trail. We still had lots of miles to do! We got to the next shelter, debating whether or not to take a break there. As we were arriving, I heard someone say "Dragon". I thought it was Randy, and I thought he was saying it because it seemed as though I was going past the shelter, when I was following the AT to the shelter, rather than the side trail. I explained this, when Randy said that it wasn't him who had said my name. I kind of sputtered "but, then, who..." Then I saw Deacon Blues coming down the Trail! I hadn't seen him since the Shenendoahs, and he'd had to get off the Trail for a week at Harpers Ferry. I knew he was back on, but didn't know whether he'd catch us. I ran to give him a hug...it was great to see him again! He was hiking with BackDraft, who had also taken some time off. We all chatted for awhile at the shelter, then Randy, Gerri and I continued on our way. After more rocky PUDS, we arrived at Palisade Parkway, which a SOBO described as "the AT's version of 'Frogger'...and we!'re the frogs"! Deacon Blues and BackDraft had caught up with us, and we all crossed the first set of two lanes. When we tried to cross the other side, however, we saw that there were police cars, police people, traffic stopped and yellow tape cutting off a section of the woods...right where the AT went through. We started to cross the road when this (expletive deleted) female cop told us we needed to go back the way we'd come. First of all...don't ever tell a thru-hiker to go BACK! It gets them all riled up. Secondly, she could have given us a short explanation (it's a crime scene) and we would have been satisfied. We went back, but then curiosity got the better of me, so I stood on the steps on my side of the road, looking at the traffic. The (expletive deleted) cop came over, really angry with me, and I told her I wasn't in the area she had told us about. She yelled at me, and Gerri thought I was going to get arrested. I went back...they said it might be an hou!r or more before we could go through. We decided to cook dinner, and I offered to go to a visitor's center 4/10 mile down the road for sodas (and to call in my pocketmail). When I got there, the place was closed, and there weren't any soda machines outside. I went back and started cooking. Deacon Blues had also gotten himself yelled at, but he found out about it being a crime scene. They told us it could take up to 5 hours to finish investigating...then they were done just as I was finishing dinner. I threw my things together, we donned our headlamps and started night-hiking. We got to the trail leading to the next shelter, and pitched our tents as best as possible on the top of a rocky mountain. I hope we find out tomorrow what crime was perpetrated. I put this day down as an "everything happens for a reason" day. If we hadn't met Gene, we would have passed through that area much earlier...and may have gotten involved in whatever transpired there. I guess I'll take the reduced miles in exchange for not being involved in the alleged crime. Anyway...that's it for today! I'll keep you posted if I find out what the crime was...and you can let me know if you find out before I do! Goodnight!