Date: 2003-06-15
From: NY17A, Pallisades Motel 

To: Fingerboard Shelter 
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

Aloha! Ahhh... what a day this has been. This may be another one where you need to get that cup of coffee or tea. Or then again, I'm tired so it may be short and sweet. Guess we'll see. Shall we?    Slack pack, freedom hike or whatever - call it what you will but know that it works... for me. Prior to crashing last night, it had finally been agreed that Lady Hawk was going to help me slack pack 12 miles. Yeah! Twelve miles with little more than water, lunch and snacks.   Lady Hawk even brought a small pack for the occasion. Excellent! At the 12-mile mark she would hand off my pack and I'd be on the way to wherever and she'd be on the way home for Father's Day. I felt slightly guilty letting her do this since it meant she'd have to hang around waiting on me but she insisted.   So how could I refuse? It would be rude!    Prior to getting on the road though, we grabbed Crow and headed off to the Bagel Deli for another tasty egg and cheese bagel sandwich and coffee. Both hit the spot nicely for this hiking gal. It made for a late start on the hike but so worth it. Yummmm....   The hike itself was awesome. The terrain was gentle enough (in the beginning) and the weather perfect with lovely blue and crystal clear skies. I practically skipped the first two miles. Did six miles in two hours. I was having a blast.    Along the way I passed Fitzgerald Falls. Gorgeous. Granted this isn't a Hawaiian falls but it definitely rivaled one or two of them back there. Truly lovely. And of course the trail had to climb beside them all the way to the top.   Isn't that a surprise?   I also passed Mombasha High Point where on a clear day you supposedly can see the New York City Skyline, including the Empire State Building. Or so they say. It's probably true but only in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees.   All I got was treetops. Pretty treetops but definitely not New York City skyline treetops.   Though the slack pack did end up taking me much longer than I had originally anticipated due to some rock climbing, it was over much to soon. This was a wonderful day for hiking and I loved every moment of it. The only thing that could have made it better would be if Lady Hawk had joined me on the hike.   It was excellent!   Upon meeting Lady Hawk at the road I had a decision to make - take off hiking to the previously decided shelter or hit the deli down the road and then the shelter. Common sense told me to start hiking but that's where it stopped. With little prompting from Lady Hawk I was back in the car and down the road deli shopping.   My meatball and cheese hoagie was perfect and hit the spot so well that half had to go with me for later eating. It was yummy!   It also was over long before I wanted it to be. Back trailside it was with a tear in my eye that I said aloha to Lady Hawk and sent her on her way. She's such an awesome lady and friend. I'm thankful for the time we got to spend together and for all the things she's done for me.   Most importantly, for her friendship. I owe her big. Mahalo nui loa for everything Lady Hawk. You're the best!   I really had pushed the limit on my departure. I sometimes forget that I'm not the youth I think I am and I certainly can't do the miles like the younger ones out here. My next several hours were a race against the clock (darkness) and the bugs.   You wouldn't think that four miles would be that much of a killer. Let me tell you! They can be if you're me! I huffed and I puffed and I huffed and puffed some more UP that nasty, but pretty, hill. I passed gorgeous campsite after campsite overlooking Green Pond.   They looked idyllic yet I pushed on past them. Fighting the bugs angrily the whole way. Silly me!   The trail cut back and forth, often u-turning on itself just to ensure that everyone got to experience the...Lemon Squeezer! The Lemon Squeezer are very large boulders set close together with the trail cutting right through the middle of them. It was a definite challenge for me to confront those mammoth rocks with little room to maneuver between them. As a gal that suffers a touch from claustrophobia, it was definitely challenging. especially with being tired and with lessening light. The end result proved that I could, and did, make it and wished I had had someone else there with me to take pictures. I'm sure it was comical watching me trying to squeeze through without the pack getting wedged.   It was fun in the end. Just poorly placed on my self-imposed time clock.    I did make it to the shelter and am so tired I have chosen not to set up the tent. There's also no place to do so really. I made it shortly before dark and that's enough for one day. One long, tiring but extremely fulfilling day.   With me tonight is a young man named Caddis (after the Caddis fly used for fly-fishing). I'd say that he's a nice young man but you know that already. Caddis is doing the trail in between college work. He will be starting dental school shortly.   Good on him! In the meantime though he's just another tired, dirty and smelly hiker like me.   That was pretty much my day except for sharing with you one very important fact. Effective tonight, I now only have 799.9 miles to go! Say it with me -- wuhuuu! Step by laborious step, the miles are fading away. That's so cool!   Okay, it's time to shut this down and say goodnight. I can barely see straight.   Wait! Speaking of seeing, my glasses have yet to arrive at their destination. Lady Hawk was kind enough to check on them as I hiked. Nope, no glasses.   There's a lot to be said about guaranteed overnight delivery, huh. I'll be hiking through there tomorrow so there's one more chance. Fingers are crossed.   Okay, now that's really it. The eyes are battling me to close. So you toddle off to bed and I'll pull my sleeping bag up around me. You dream of being here and I'll dream of... being here too. Sleep well.BSandTs: ton of sweat, it was hot!AandPs: feet are tiredMandGs: eye and ear bombing gnats, yelling at the rocks and mosquitoes. Also trails that needlessly drag you to every rocky high point only to take you the rockiest way to the lowest point and then repeat... waah!Critter count: 1x garden snake, 30x chipmunks, 10x squirrels, 2x turkeys w/2 chicks, 1x raccoon (way cool!), 2x does, 1x yearling, and 2x poss deer (just a brief glimpse of something big... gulp)