Date: 2018-06-22
From: Wildcat shelter/Mile 1375.1

To: NY 17/Mile 1383.0
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: moderate rain

No one can say New York is just an extension of New Jersey ¢ it is proving not to be more of the same. Yesterday was tiring (my mantra: ¢Everyday is hard.¢), but a fun and exciting day. The weather was perfect, the rocks manageable and mostly fun, if extensive (4 miles or more) and the views exceptional. Today was a bit of a curveball or a slap to the side of the head ¢ very different from the prior day. Despite my planning, I did not see the difficulty of this day coming.Expecting a long day with a 19 mile objective, I headed out at 6:15 am, but before we could leave we had to redirect a 400 pound+ black bear who was coming down the shelter trail just as we were leaving. Once I said  ¢Hey, there,¢ the bear turned away and walked down the hill away from us. (A big reason for the planned, long day was the very recent reports of a very active bear at the otherwise logical stopping point for the day. We planned to hike 4-5 more miles to get by the ¢active bear area.¢)The early hiking was relatively easy and included a long descent. After crossing a local road the day really began. While there were some easy or modest trail (such as the walk along a large pond and some very pleasant foot tread) even then the moderate trail was often rocky. Further, although the trail was interesting (as opposed of my disappointment with most of AT throughPennsylvania) the way in moved through and around various large rock formations/outcroppings, the challenge for the day consisted primarily of numerous climbs over, around and through various, vertical rock fields/formations/ridges/ledges ¢ both brief and extensive. These climbs (and to a lesser extent the inevitable descents) often required holstering my trekking poles and using my hands to find holds to work up through the rocks. At the same time, these climbs required extensive use of my poles to help lift myself up tough steps, steady my balance, and ease myself done. (At he end of the day my hands were uncomfortably sore and swollen, I believe from gripping my poles so tight so many times.) These climbs often called for uncomfortable steps with very bad consequences if I slipped. I found myself saying (to an extent I do not recall saying previously), ¢this is dangerous activity.¢ Likewise, often I said to myself [as I have said previously at the prior day¢s rock/ridge scrambles as well as at Firescald ridge (two days north of Hot Springs, NC), the Sinking Creek Mountain ridge crest (a day south of Dragon¢s Tooth outside Roanoke, Virginia), Dragon¢s Tooth itself, and in Pennsylvania the ridge top just out of Duncannon as well as Bear Rocks, Bake Oven Knob and the Knife Edge, ¢I have no idea how I could do this (get through this part of trail) in the rain or in wet conditions.¢)The first of these were up through terrain to Mombasha High Point ¢ tough but modest, and somewhat fun. The next significant vertical, rock climb was an unnamed ¢summit,¢ then Buchanan Mountain (perhaps the most vertical climb we¢ve seen on the hike thus far), then Arden Mountain (consisting of three separate climbs to reach the top). Keep in mind between these major climbs were difficult descents and many intermediate, shorter climbs/descents. The consolation (or ¢counter¢ to my suggestion that these climbs were epic in nature) is that while incredibly steep, the climbs are brief (typically, only 200 to 400 feet of elevation. As a matter of comparison, I found the (infamous) climb out of Lehigh Gap/Palmerton (known to just about every thru-hiker doing almost any planning) to be materially easier than Buchanan Mountain (a climb I never learned about despite my allegedly excessive preparation).I had only gone about 9 miles by 12:15 pm. I rested and took lunch at the top of Arden Mtn. Next was a descent as steep (perhaps steeper) as anything we¢ve encountered since Springer Mountain ¢ again, it was surprising to me I didn¢t see this section of trail coming. (We¢ve been warned that the White Mountains in NH would be like this, but even more extensive (longer vertical climbs of hand-over-hand scrambling), thus, we should moderate daily distance expectations/goals. Hence, I¢d like to think I would never have planned a 19 mile day through this section of trail.)After a good break I started down. Various times I was uncomfortable with the type of step required to simply descend ¢ these times I would study the trail and seek an alternative to the path the primary trail line. Sometimes I¢d have to toss my poles down and get on my back side or actually turn around and descend like going down a ladder so I had the benefit of hand holds.As I worked my way down slowly (NY Rt 17 was at the base of this descent) began to think through the rest of the day and the next day. Rain was 100% expected overnight and the following day. I could not figure out a strategy to finish the day (I would not be able to complete the 19 miles ¢ although I¢m not sure it would have mattered) and be in a position the next day to have a successful (and safe) hike ¢ it seemed inevitable that I would be faced with climbing similar terrain in the rain.With very mixed emotions (my ego and machismo urged me to ¢suck it up,¢ ¢act like a man,¢ and keep moving) when I reached the road/trailhead I decided to see if I could get off the trail. (I was scheduled the next day to be in a motel at the end of the day to wait for Brooke to arrive so she could hike with me again.) In 20 minutes, after a call to the hotel and a few taps on my Uber app, it was settled ¢ I was going to spend the night off trail.With both a sense of relief, but some guilt, in another 20 minutes I was riding in my Uber driver¢s new RAV4 on my way the the Bear Mountain Bridge Motel. I knew I made the right decision. I knew that Cheryl would have urged me to make the same decision, without any guilt or hesitation. It was (and continues o be) interesting to how certain emotions and expectations play into certain decision making. Somehow, a little more than 12 hours later, as I record this (after a good night¢s rest), I¢m still not very proud of my decision to take ¢the easy way out.¢ I¢m trying to take solace in this observation: Washington ran from the field more than once disrupting the British expectations of a ¢proper¢ battle. He did this primarily so he could keep his troops together and alive so they could ¢fight another day.¢ (I¢d like to think that good decision making, like it did for the Colonial Army, will help me get to Katahdin. Yet, the length of this post suggests some lingering disappointment in myself - as my friends know I love to say, ¢doth protest too much.¢)BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...