Date: 2011-06-14
From: (78) Port Jervis/High Point State Park

To: (79) Pochuck Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.1

I woke up and had a breakfast of pizza and cinnamon buns with Bud Heavy and Cactus Jack, and then we packed up and Alice took us back to the trail. It rained while I hiked today, but I did not mind. What I did mind was that the trail (god bless it) circled around a vast swamp land full of mosquitoes. I paused once to photograph two swans in the water, and the mosquitoes blanketed my skin. I was bit so many times that I stopped caring that I was being bit and just let them have at me. I stopped at Pochuck Mountain Shelter around 2pm for a break when the rain intensified to a bone drenching extreme and I decided to sit tight for awhile. While resting I looked in my book and saw that I was 53.5 miles away from Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River, and a town called Fort Montgomery. It appeared to be a decent stretch in terms of elevation, plus I would be ending at a resupply, so I decided to call it a day and do the 53.5 remaining miles the next (Which would make for my fourth 50+ mile day).Bud Heavy and Cactus Jack entered the shelter half an hour after me, and both of them were as soaked as they could get (It was still raining). They told me that they were moving on to get picked up by Bud Heavy¢s family a few miles down the trail, and that they were planning to spend a week at his house while slack packing the sections of trail that they would be skipping (Bud Heavy lives 5 miles from Bear Mountain Bridge). I informed the two of them of my plans to hike another 50+ miler, and Bud Heavy told me to call him when I finished at Bear Mountain and he would pick me up and give me a place to stay. I was very grateful. Assuming the weather tomorrow was decent (supposed to be 80 degrees and sunny), and with all the rain today making water plentiful, I would be set!I sat in the shelter for the remainder of the day being bitten by mosquitoes. Other hikers joined me throughout the evening, one of whom was especially interesting. His name was Whisper (Because he talks loudly, his name is sarcastic) and he was a south bounder without any money and a poor selection of food. I asked him how he was going to return home without money and he told me that he wasn¢t and that he was planning to start his life over in the south (Georgia or Florida). I was skeptical; he knew almost nothing about the trail, but then again he had been hiking for two weeks and survived thus far. I then asked him how he would buy more food and he said that he was going to rely heavily on trail magic and donations. I told him that he was in for a real rough time. (Upon reflection, he could always dumpster dive outside of grocery stores for food past the sell date, but I do not think he will have much luck panhandling in trail towns. Also his shoes were already falling apart, and his pack weighed 80lbs)In the late evening Night Train and Charlie showed up. Upon seeing me, Night Train coincidentally told me that I was becoming a trail legend with all my 50 milers, and that everyone behind had heard of me. When I told him that I was planning another big day, he hesitated and then shook his head. I have no idea what he thought about it. Later another hiker asked me what time I was going to wake up, and I told him 3am. Everyone laughed, but of course, I was serious. Whisper continued to try and trade food with everyone in the shelter while telling us his life story, and confiding in us that his real dream was to become a Hollywood actor. Then we found out that he was schizophrenic. He told us, in a cheery voice, that while hiking the other day he had spent several minutes on the edge of a cliff thinking about throwing himself off¢¦the shelter fell dead silent. I did not laugh at Whisper after that. When darkness fell the bugs let up. Because everything was so wet we all crammed into the shelter, including Charlie who slept sideways at our feet. I ate lots of food and prepared my gear for the next day¢s 53.5 miles. Soon I would be having an adventure; a challenge at last! Smashed between the shelter wall and Whisper, I looked down at the space containing my sleeping bag.¢Hey Whisper¢¦¢¢¢¦yeah¢¢Hope you like cuddling¢