Date: 2014-06-21
From: Seven Lakes Drive

To: Fairbridge Inn and Suites - Highland Falls, NY
Miles today: 12.2

Ready to meet up with the family today! It has been a while since we were last together and it is about time to do it again.We got ready to leave Anton's in the morning and met Bubba while we were sitting out by the lake - a very interesting fellow who just recently caught up to us. He was taking a nearo and doing 15 or so miles to a camping spot - the definition for a nearo varies widely!Matt dropped us off at Seven Lakes Drive and we started out trek towards Bear Mountain. First brief stop was at the William Brien Shelter - good thing we took a little rest because we had a fairly tough climb from the shelter to Black Mountain.Rewarding in a couple of ways though! First we ran into the father hiking with his two daughters - Rerun and Bear and Radio. A nice friendly trio who are doing 400 mile sections of the AT together - awesome way to do it! At the summit of Black Mountain we had great views of the NYC skyline and of the Hudson River - spectacular sights! We also ran into a group of New York hikers on the trail and had a good conversation about the AT and hiking with them. They fit the bill of New Yorkers with the accent and everything!From Black Mountain we walked downhill to Palisades Parkway and played Frogger to get across - people were moving quickly on that road! Surprised the AT took us across it and not over it...but we survived it!On the way to the parkway we also passed Sharp Knife and Hiccup on the trail and I was reminded it was Naked Hiker Day - the first day of summer! Sharp Knife was hiking mostly naked with a little bandanna kilt with an American flag - patriotic too! I did not participate in the celebration - I forgot it was today at first and then decided heading into a state park as a naked crazy-looking bearded guy was not a good idea. Too many people out and about on a Saturday.Up another tough climb from tthe parkway requiring a rest near the top of the climb - walking through a lot of rocks uphill! From here to Bear Mountain we ran into many day hikers out for the weekend all over the place - could not get away! Crossed over Seven Lakes Drive again before climbing up Bear Mountain - not too bad of a climb and we ran into Reset at the top - glad he survived yesterday with his pack on! We had a thru-hiker group enter the area near the Perkins Memorial Tower - everyone was excited for the views and the soda machines nearby! The soda was well worth it and Big Dawg and I decided to eat lunch on the benches near the tower. Reset, Rerun, Radio, Bear, Sharp Knife, and Hiccup were all at the tower at the same time. Enjoyed the views from up above and a great place to rest and see.A quick jaunt up the tower and we pressed onto the Trailside Zoo - thought it closed at 4! After a minor mistake following a trail that was not the AT we ran into two guys working on the new sections of the AT from the lake up to the mountain. They directed us to the newly completed section down the mountain and it was very nice! A lot of work went into making that trail and it was well done. Thanks to the trail crews for their hard work!We walked around Hessian Lake into the Trailside Zoo and man was it busy! Everyone and their mother was out near the lake or in the zoo and so many different ethnic groups were out we did not hear a lot of English being spoken - a mixing pot indeed! It was a nice weekend to be out so I can see why it was so busy.The zoo was neat and it was cool to see the animals and to have passed the lowest point on the AT by the black bear cages - it is all up from here to Katahdin! The same group of thru-hikers rested near the end of the zoo and we all went separate ways. Rerun and Radio and Bear went to a hotel in Fort Montgomery while Reset and Sharp Knife and Hiccup moved on. We started our walk into Fort Montgomery looking for a ride - Mom and Stef were still a bit away from town.No luck on finding a ride so we walked to the Holiday Inn Express looking for a ride - luckily the manager Patty overheard our dilemma and took us to the Fairbridge Inn. Such a nice gesture after we had walked so far!Cleaned up and then Stef and Mom arrived - a joyous family reunion! They set up in the hotel and then we went to dinner at the Hacienda Restaurant near the hotel for some good Mexican food and family time. Caught up with each other and Stef filled us in on her trip to Europe - sounds like she had a great time!Ready for the rest day with the family!