Date: 2005-06-07
From: RPH Shelter

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Didn¢t hear any more rain last night and this morning¢s sky looks more promising as the early sun pokes through the trees. And I slept pretty well. But of course nothing dried out, not even the things I stuffed in my sleeping bag. So I¢m packing a damp sleeping bag, putting on damp clothes, and fitting wet boots over wet socks. Oh well, that¢s the AT. I shouldn¢t complain - the last time I was this wet (Port Clinton in November) was the last day of a hike. My October NC/TN hike featured mostly drizzle but I kept my socks and the inside of the boots dry. I¢ve usually kept dry feet in all my 2005 hiking despite numerous other challenges e.g. deep snow.So the day seems relatively pleasant but also hotter earlier than this time yesterday. And I have an ascent from the start up crossing the Taconic Parkway and then 600' up Hosner Mountain. The ascent is easy but once at ridgeline, the footing became rough and rocky as the Trail slabbed the west slope with occasional views of the valley and Taconic.   Haze in the west prevented vistas of the Catskills.   Think I can make Telephone Pioneers Shelter but we¢ll see how hot it gets.This morning I was never more than 5 minutes from the sound of highway traffic, first from the Taconic and then at some point after crossing to the east slope, I-84. The east views were nice with some open fields and no housing developments compared to the west. As the Trail descended east, I felt I was getting closer to I-84 and Rt. 52; consequently, the next ascent after Baily Spring was a jolt. I looked at the map and guide. Oh yeah, another 700'. Then the Rt. 52 and I-84 crossings (another construction zone) followed by a more facile ascent up Mt. Egbert. Some good views from the flat rocks but their complete sun exposure renders them unfit for lunch break so I pushed on to Morgan Stewart Shelter, arriving at noon.Sounds from a radio emanated from a tent down the slope. While I was eating lunch (whole-wheat tortilla wrap and cheese - delicious!) sitting on the shelter¢s edge sans boots & socks, its denizen emerged. He was base-camping and doing short hikes in the vicinity. Good water source lay a short walk downhill and with the peaceful setting, I was tempted to follow my original schedule at this point and stay here tonight. But it¢s not even 1:00, the sky looks and the air feels less threatening today, and Telephone Pioneers Shelter lies only 7 more miles. So onward I went.Further ascents (mild) up Depot Hill led to more flat rocks and views. Also I¢m seeing blooming bluets again - just like 1,000 Trail miles south ago last month. There are definite advantages to section-hiking. Arriving at Rt. 55 meant I was close to Nuclear Lake. Soon after crossing the road, I met a day-hiker accompanied by his dog who recommended a swim at Nuclear Lake. When I responded to his question of where I was heading, he hadn¢t heard of Telephone Pioneers Shelter. I guess the lake was his limit.Speaking of limit, all of a sudden I¢m feeling mine. Yes, it¢s hotter today than yesterday and I¢ve had up-and-down, but why am I all of a sudden so fatigued? These little ups-and-downs to Nuclear Lake should be a snap but they¢re taking a toll. I¢m feeling a bit bloated and my stomach has traces of heartburn. In light of the hot weather and my dehydration problem experienced last month, I¢ve been drinking a lot including a pint of gatorade. Maybe I¢ve drunk too much?At the picturesque setting of the lake, the Trail followed an old road through tall lime-green feathery grass. Along the left side 2 feet off the Trail I spotted a turtle. No, not a box turtle but a painted turtle typical of those basking on logs in bodies of water. What was he doing so far from the lake? He quickly pulled his head back and wouldn¢t re-emerge for me to get his picture. I settled for a photo of his shell.Now I¢m less than 3 miles from the shelter but every step¢s a chore especially the ascents, all of which are short and easy. But not easy for me this afternoon. I even considered camping along side of the Trail right then-and-there but pushed on with more frequent rests. I surmised that whatever I had would pass similar to the March morning I hiked from Jenny Knob Shelter to Brushy Mountain in SW Virginia when I felt a similar mysterious fatigue.   The longest ascent - West Mountain - did provide some nice views. Yes the temperature was hotter than I liked but the clear blue sky personified a less humid day, certainly more favorable than my NJ hike in June 2004. And the descent, steep as per the Guidebook, signaled near completion of the day¢s hike so I looked for the side trail. It was unmarked but unmistakable, proceeding across a stream on a footbridge. The stream was more substantial than I had expected given Wingfoot¢s description as ¢intermittent.¢I¢ve got company tonight: Shadow who just started today and will hike north for 10 weeks. He began a thruhike from Springer June 26 last year (yes, that¢s June 26 from Springer) and got as far as County Rd. 20, a mere .7 miles ahead. He rode a night bus from his Indiana home arriving in New York City 4:30 this morning. After spending time sightseeing, pack and all, including the Staten Island Ferry, he took the train to Pawling and got a ride to the Trail.We swapped stories and tried to come up with hikers we had both met last year. It looks like he hiked in NJ from Delaware Water Gap to Deckertown Pike within a day of when I hiked there in September 2004 right after the hurricane that washed away cars from the Visitors Center parking lot. He met the same two women I did whose car was one of the victims. He had also met some of the SOBOers I had encountered in my late summer and fall hiking.Shadow reminds me of Shakedown who I met in NC/TN earlier. Not just the obvious superficial similarities - hiking light in New Balance running shoes, tarp not tent, alcohol stove - but he seems to have the ideal temperament and personality for a thruhiker. And like Shakedown, he¢ll hike 20-25 mile days. I would enjoy hiking with him, but I¢d have trouble keeping up! Shadow¢s challenge which he faces with aplomb is that he¢s gluten-intolerant which rules out much of the food available in trail town grocery stores and restaurants.   He eats a lot of rice and grits.After about an hour¢s time during which I felt much better, we were joined by Meg, a college student from Tulsa, Oklahoma attending college at William Jewell College in Kansas City. Her youthful enthusiasm and exuberance were a source of fun! She¢s on an out-and-back 3 dayhike before starting her summer job at Sandy Hook, NJ the nearest Atlantic beach to where I grew up in Northern NJ. Not her first time backpacking - she worked at Kings Canyon NP last summer - but her first time on the AT and she doesn¢t like the humidity. Well, neither do we! Meg¢s majoring in German and Japanese and has visited Japan so I told her about Alicia¢s Peace Corps experience and her sailing around the world in the Semester-at-Sea program. Gave her some of my pesto sauce-flavored bulgar wheat which she liked immensely. Despite the shelter¢s shady location, my shirt, socks, bandanas, and sleeping bag dried on the line. Good feeling! Shadow¢s tarp is a little ways from the shelter and Meg decided to sleep under the stars (cowboy or cowgirl camp) on a flat spot above the shelter. I started in the shelter. 5 minutes and several annoying mosquito buzzings later, I lopped up to the flat spot next to Meg, pitched the tent, and had a blissful mosquito-free night. With a clear sky, I skipped the rain fly and slept to comfortable temperatures. And more than anything else, there¢s the difference between this hike and June 2004 - the nights on this trip are cooler and much more pleasant.