Date: 2012-07-16
From: 3D's house

To: Monastery
Miles today: 20.6

3D dropped me off at the trail this morning. He's gotta work and I have to catch the post office in Fort Montgomery. As I walked this morning I could hear some loud booms, the sky was clear and I knew it wasn't thunder. After listening to it for a half hour I was certain it was artillary fire and for a second I thought that maybe New York City was under attack : P But I realized that the sound was coming from the wrong direction. I was walking toward the noise and it was getting louder. The sound of heavy machine gun and artillery fire was unmistakeable. We're either being invaded by Canadians or I'm near a military base. I looked at Google maps on my phone and realized my proximity to West Point, it all makes sense now. They must be having war games today.After solving that little puzzler I found myself in another one, only much more frustrating. The A.T. joins the Red Dot Trail and a trail maintainer really needs to come up here and put a nice big sign on a tree clearly marking the point at which the A.T. veers off. I've never been this far off trail before. I did some serious extra credit miles today, perhaps 7-8. I just kept following the stupid Red Dot Trail. When I got up to the top of the mountain I looked across a huge valley and thought "I think I'm supposed to be on that mountain over there". The other mountain had a tower on top (the guidebook said I'd pass one), it was also closer to the Bear Mountain Bridge that crosses the Hudson river. This experience and others like it have made me aware of a phenomena that affects people when they get lost. I might suspect I'm lost but I'll keep walking a little further in the wrong direction hoping to see a blaze anyway. When you put so much time and energy heading the wrong way it's hard to admit that you're off track. The further off track you are the harder it is to accept. Even though the only sane thing to do is cut your losses and turn around. You continue to push forward hoping you some how end up in the right place. This phenomena can be clearly scene when observing government.Anyway, I figured that somehow this trail must take me over there so I kept walking. When I summited the next mountain I realized I had gotten even further away from the bridge. At that point I had to phone a friend. I sat down and called my friend Scott back in Michigan. I also called my Mom. I had a lot on my mind and it was nice to let off some pressure. I ate a snack while I sat there and realized I was out of water. The trail had been dry the last few hours and I wasn't exactly sure where I went wrong. Rather then spend a thirsty afternoon up here trying to figure it out I followed a dry riverbed straight down the mountain I was on. The water was flowing by the time I got to the road. I was frustrated and I still needed to get to the post office in Fort Montgomery before they closed. I started walking with my thumb out and got a ride after a couple miles. I arrived a the post office just in time. When I opened the box containing Kelly's homemade chocolate chip cookies I immediately felt better : DThen I made the mistake of walking back to where the A.T. enters the zoo. The problem is that the zoo closes at 4:30pm, I hadn't bothered to look that up in the guide. So, when I got there the gate was closed and locked. I could see a white blaze taunting me on the other side. I had to take a blue blaze trail around the zoo to get to the Bear Mountain Bridge. Things didn't work out as planned this afternoon and I just felt like moving forward. So I crossed the Hudson and went into the woods about 7 more miles. I spent the night at a monastery. They have a shower, shelter, and porta potty for the hikers. It's very comfortable here.