Date: 2016-07-05
From: Random Tentsite

To: The Bronx, New York City
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: few clouds

The other day, my mom told me to get in touch with our family friend, Marla who lives in New York, because she said she would love to host us, so I called her up and we set up a plan for her to meet us at Bear Mountain today at 6pm; however, that means we would have to hike 21 miles, so we got up early (6:45...) and got going! (Unfortunately, it had rained all night and was raining on us in the morning, so we took a while to pack up the wet tent and we didn't end up leaving until 8am.) Now we had 10 hours to hike 21 miles...should be doable. EXCEPT for the fact that it was quite difficult terrain (thanks New York) and all the rocks, of which there were PLENTY, were slick with rain. We ran into Sacagewea for the first time in a while, which was nice, but as the day progressed, it got hotter and hotter. We checked our clock to see that we'd only gone four miles in three hours. WHAT?! How?! Crap! Time to reevaluate our plan! (Especially because the terrain in the book only looked like it got harder.) We called and changed the plan to have Marla pick us up at the Palisades Parkway Visitor Center at 6pm, which would only be 16 miles for the day but seemed more doable. Now we had 7 hours to go 12 more miles.EXCEPT it got SO hot. Have you ever gone swimming, against the current, with a thirty pound pack on, and weights strapped to your ankles? Well, nor have I, but I'm pretty sure it was comparable to how I felt hiking today. It was dreadful. Verge and I decided this definitely made the list for one of the hardest days ever. This obviously then lead to a conversation of which days were our hardest ever, which then lead to a conversation of which days were our best ever, which of course then lead to which have been our favorite meals ever (because it always comes back to talking about food).Then we got to the Lemon Squeezer, and let me tell you, it was quite the squeeze. Verge and I struggled through the tight rocks slicked with rain and dirt, and Verge even started yelling at it, which made us laugh. Then, as if that wasn't enough, we came to a very difficult rock structure you'd to climb up and over. We had to throw our packs and poles up first, then climb around a wet tree and push off of a wet rock--not fun! Also comical! We had fun throwing a couple fits (especially Verge). There were two cute little baby deer in our path (still had spots and everything) and Verge started yelling at them! "Go away! No one likes you, baby deer! Go! Shoo!" It was so funny! What made it even better was that they didn't even care! Here's this wacko shouting and growling at them and they didn't even run away (no sign of momma). It was hilarious. Finally, the sun was out and everything looked beautiful and green. It was really quite magical--but still too hot! Mid 90s and SO humid! Thankfully, we got to the visitor center with time to spare. Sadly, it had closed at 5pm so we couldn't make use of the vending machines or bathrooms. So, we waited outside and aired out our tent while waiting for Marla. She arrived with cherries and nectarines for us! Yum! The ride to her apartment took about an hour, and she lives in the Bronx, so she's right in the city! So cool! It was very beautiful and much greener than I would have thought! She helped us with laundry; we got to shower, we ordered the most amazing Italian take out, and we even got to watch Indiana Jones while eating Tartufo (ice cream covered in chocolate with a cherry in the center--so much yum)! It was so fun chatting with her and getting to unwind from our goofy/ridiculously difficult day. Thank you so much Marla!!