Date: 2006-07-14
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: few clouds

Quiet night at Wildcat Shelter. Later in the evening Rusch Hour, Indiana and Sleep Ninja came in. Bama was up early as usual and she and Little Wing headed out toward Mount Arden, passing Fitzgerald Falls and the vista at Mombasha High Point where a view of NYC is supposedly visible, but not today. They stopped on top of Mountain Arden for lunch which was nice and reported fewer mosquitoes. The trail still had a lot of rock and boulder piles, but at least they were dry now and easier to negotiate.After passing under the NY State Thruway, Bama entered the Harriman State Park, the state¢s second largest park with 46,647 acres, containing flora and fauna that is supposed to be different from any other section of the AT (according to Wingfoot¢s Thru-hiker¢s Guidebook). Another killer day of climbs and descents on rocks and boulders. Bama and Little Wing have decided now that they dislike NY rocks more than Pennsylvania rocks ¢ plus, NY seems to have older shelters and no apparent regular upkeep. They did get to pass thru the ¢lemon squeezer,¢ a tight passage thru huge boulders. There was some good news in the form of Trail Magic from a number of local NY trail groups, including Don & Susan, The Tuxedo Trail Club and the Brementown (sp?) Trail Maintainers. The water and bug spray and first aid stuff was very much appreciated. Thanks Angels! After 14.3 miles in 9.5 hours from Wildcat Shelter, they reached Fingerboard Shelter ¢ a quaint building using native rocks for the three side walls.The shelter was occupied by two rough looking locals (not hiker-types - maybe homeless). The shelter was trashed with their litter and their stuff strewn all over. Bama explained to them that they were going to have to make room as there were others coming in for the night, at least Windtalker & Mom, maybe more. Of course, with the nice weather and no chance of rain, it would be a good night to sleep outside in their tents. However, later on the two men decided to vacate the shelter leaving behind their trash, empty beer cans and half-eaten sandwiches. This was a good thing. Although the view outside the shelter is nice, the overgrown grass and weeds and the sloping ground makes tenting less desirable. Not much else to report. Following though, is an interesting background on Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain ¢ the site of the first section ever built on the AT.Now part of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the area was saved in the early 1900s as development along the river began to destroy much of the area's natural beauty. Numerous efforts were made at the turn of the century to turn much of the Hudson Highlands, the area along the Hudson River from about Peekskill to Newburgh, to a forest preserve. All of these, however, were unsuccessful until the state of New York tried to relocate Sing Sing Prison to Bear Mountain. It was then that some of the wealthy businessmen who had made homes in the area went to work. Led by Union Pacific railroad president E.W. Harriman, a group of wealthy and influential businessman donated land as well as large sums of money for the purchase of other properties in the area. Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park became a reality in 1910. By 1914, estimates showed more than a million people a year coming to the park. Bear Mountain remains popular today, welcoming more visitors every year than Yellowstone National Park. The first section of the Appalachian Trial was created at Bear Mountain, taking hikers south to the Delaware Water Gap. It opened on Oct. 7, 1923, and served as a pattern for the other sections of the trail, developed independently by local and regional organizations and then joined. In the mid-1930s the federal government led by Franklin D. Roosevelt was embarking on its own plan to preserve the environment. The Depression-era public works programs, including the Civil Works Administration and then the Work Progress Administration, spent five years on projects at Bear Mountain State Park.Bill