Date: 2006-07-12
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Graymoor Friary
Miles today: 15.2

Just after getting out of my tent and packing it away this morning it started raining. It looks like it is going to be another wet day out on the trail but sometimes it's better to be a little wet than too hot. Before heading out Shasta, Silver foot, H-Bomb, and Donkey showed up at the shelter. They stayed last night at Lake Tiorati just a few miles back and rushed out early this morning to catch up with Hot Springs and I. Just after leaving the shelter we were introduced to our first climb for the day up to Black Mountain were NYC is often visible. Due to the overcast skies today it wasn't. The next couple of miles were rolling hills with a few steep climbs that got us to Bear Mountain. On top of Bear Mountain is Perkins¢s stone tower and parking area. This area has recently been closed for renovations so we couldn¢t go up inside the tower. With it still raining we didn't spend a lot of time on top before heading down to the Bear Mountain Wildlife Center. At least one of the pavilions gave us a little shelter from the rain for a while. We ended up taking a short break here and waiting on Shasta to catch up with us. From the pavilion we crossed under US9W in the pedestrian tunnel to the Bear Mountain Wildlife Center. The wildlife center was built in 1927 and features the nations oldest continuously used nature trail. It also has a lot of wildlife exhibits such as; grey fox, red fox, otters, beavers, eagles, owls, vultures, hawks, bobcats and more. So it basically is a small zoo that the trail passes through. Since it is an official part of the AT all thru hikers are admitted for free. After seeing all of the exhibits several of us had to stop in Fort Montgomery just down the road for mail drops so we hiked about eight tenths of a mile to town. It wasn¢t much of a town but allowed us to get our stuff from the post office and also had a nice deli across the street. When everyone was done at the post office we went over for some lunch. To our surprise a guy by the name of Moose bought us a few sandwiches and a few Heinekens as trail magic. Since we were already at the deli and it had begun to rain harder we set inside until it was done before heading to the trail. Back on the trail we crossed the Hudson River on the Bear Mtn. Bridge. It is a large suspension bridge that acts as a toll road from one side of the river to the other. Since we were on foot we didn't have to pay a toll to cross. On the other side of the river the trail took a steep, rocky climb up to the ridge and then provided some nice hiking all he way to Graymoor Spiritual Life Center. This monastery has been welcoming thru hikers for decades to stay free of charge. We decided to stay for the night. When we got into camp everyone¢s first move was to take off the wet socks and shoes. We had been hiking in them all day and our feet were starting to blister. Bare Bear had ordered a pizza before we got there so we sat around eating the rest of it and chatted for a while before calling it a night.Tonight: Jane and Baro are staying just before Bear Mtn. So hopefully they will catch up soon.Tonight: Bare Bear, Shasta, H-Bomb, Silverfoot, Donkey, (1) south bounder, andmyself.