Date: 2013-07-23
From: Beerdra's House!, Middletown, NY, Unionville Rd.

To: Stealth camp at base of hill
Miles today: 13.0

Hello All!I apologize for delayed TJ updates. Thank you for all your well wishes. I'm still trucking along in good health, not to worry! It's been a while since I've had computer access. I can't promise that I'll get this 100% up to speed today, but I'll at least get a few updates done. Enjoy!I didn't sleep well last night. Even my feet felt tight and swollen when I woke up. Beerdra hadn't slept well either and decided she would take another day off. We went a local diner for breakfast, and then she took me back to Unionville and the trail. The trail climbed up into the woods, and it crossed into New York. The trail opened onto the highway, and almost immediately, it started to rain. I ducked under a tree next to the road. Right beside me was a sign that said: NO TRESSPASSING FOR ANY REASON. Hmmmmm...Luckily, the rain soon let up, and I continued down the road. The trail turned right into the Wallkill Wildlife Reserve. It was a flat marshy area with water birds, deer, and plenty of mosquitoes tucked between two large wooded hills. The rain started to come down hard again. I stood under a tree and watched as sheets of rain whipped across the brown water. The wind and rain splashes rippled the water. I watched the dark silhouette of a water snake move under the surface. As I followed the perimeter of the park and across the way, I would see two other hikers, but I don't think they saw me. The trail cut back into the woods and followed along a board walk. A little while later I heard voices and laughing and music, but the trail turned away from it at the last minute. When I got to a dirt road crossing, I saw a sign that read: I miss camp already. I was skirting the edge of a summer camp, and the voices I'd heard were those of campers. I wondered if the kids had any idea they were so close to the AT. Probably not. The trail crossed through more woods and a few more pastures teaming with wild flowers and blackberries. The trail crossed back in New Jersey and took us over a beautifully constructed raised boardwalk that wove through cattails and duckweed-covered water. There were lots of runners thumping up and down the board walk. I crossed over a suspension bridge and was tempted to jump in the water. But there were so many people out and about that I decided against it. But one thing I couldn't avoid, stopping to pee. I'll admit, I've gotten pretty lazy about getting off the trail to conduct this sort of business. Normally, I drop my pack and cop a squat right where I'm standing. And normally, the trail traffic is pretty light, so you don't have to worry too much about getting caught. Today was the exception. I stopped at a big rock, dropped my pack and dropped my pants. Mid-flow I heard someone approaching. Approaching fast. A runner. Damn. Getting caught by a hiker is one thing, but getting caught by a runner is a different story. I stood up quickly and started tugging at my pants, trying to get them up. I back peddled to get behind the rock to buy myself a few more seconds. I was able to get my pants up, but I wasn't able to stop the flow. A super hot, Channing Tatum look-alike, shirt-less and tan to boot, trotted past me. With Mona Lisa's smile on my face as he passed, all I could do was stand there and completely wet my pants. My freshly washed shorts were now soggy, warm, urine-soaked. I sighed and kept going. A hundred yards later, I approached a fence stile and there he was running back towards me. I stepped aside to let him pass, hoping my smell didn't give me away. He ran by, I stepped into the fence stile and felt a sharp prick on the inside of my left thigh. I knew immediately what it was. A friggin' hornet got me. This guy was obviously bad luck. I hope we never cross paths again.I managed to get to the Heaven Hill Farms, a greenhouse and farm stand with ice cream and food, just before they closed up for the night. I got a tub of olive salad because it sounded delicious, an apple strudel and a mango lemonade. The trail does strange things for your cravings. I filled up my water reservoir from the spigot, and then I had to climb over the wooden fence to get off the property. The employees had already locked the gates. It was well past 7:00 pm, and I knew I needed to find a place to camp for the night. I passed a Ukrainian family sitting in the grass at the base of the upcoming climb. They asked if they could camp there, and I said it was okay with me. I headed into the woods, and it was so dark that it seemed that hours had passed in only minutes. There were big boulders and rocks everywhere with white blazes painted on them. However only 20 feet away was a flat smooth dirty path that avoided all the rocks and boulders. That annoyed me. I found a flat spot and put up my tent. Day Pack came down the trail heading southbound. He'd climbed a half mile up the hill and hadn't found a decent place to pitch his tent, so he was back-tracking. That made me feel better about my decision. Bryce and Keystone, two section hikers I had met earlier in the day also showed up and pitched their tents. So in the end, we had a nice little tent city. I was happy to have the company. I also got the tragic news that a dear friend had lost her husband earlier in the day. I felt a hole in my chest, so I can't even begin to imagine how she and her little girls must be feeling. Life is unpredictable. And you just never, ever know what might be coming around the next corner.