Date: 2015-06-13
From: Franciscan Way

To: Stormville, NY
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: broken clouds

Getting started this morning was a breeze. While I didn't have a hot shower, there was a picnic table and running water to make things quite luxurious.The air was dry and a lot cooler than it was yesterday, and the terrain was not as rocky. A thirteen mile jaunt to Fahnestock Lake where there was free hot showers and a concession stand, and then another 10 mile leg to get to a little deli outside of Stormville, NY made for an enjoyable day. And, to really top it off, I get to tent in the yard behind a deli, and share a six pack of Mike's Lemonade with a few interesting and intelligent fellows I met yesterday.This is the weekend, and the trail goes right by a State Park, that means lots of weekend day hikers are on the trail. It is also New York, the day hiker attitudes here seem very different than the southern day hiker attitudes. They don't usually share the trail, they are usually in small groups, they avoid eye contact, at least one member of the group is usually zoned out on a smart phone, and they don't always extend a verbal greeting when we meet. However, I had an interesting exchange with a few thirty something year old dudes on a wide paved pathway in front of Hessian Lake. They were dressed in super clean sneakers and shorts with white tee shirts. There was gel in their hair and a faint aroma of cologne surrounding them. When they talked, they used that fast New York Italian way of communicating. It went something like this.Dude #1: Yo man, is there a trail that goes to the tower on the top of that mountain? (Pointing across the lake to the mountain)Dude #2: We were trying to walk up there but the trail didn't seem to go to the top.Me: Yes there is, just follow those white blazes on the trees behind me and it will lead you to the top. There is a stone tower on the top that you can climb up the inside and see the NYC skyline if it's not too hazy.Dude #1: Yeah, yeah, we heard about that. We want to go up there.Dude #2: Were you up there?Me: Yes, I just came from there.Dude #1: I saw another person carrying a bag on his back with sticks. Do the sticks help?Me: Yes, I think they help.Dude #1: How far is it to the top? Do we need sticks?Me: It's probably no more than a mile and you won't need poles.Dude #1: How long did it take you to go up? Why are you carrying the bag?Me: I carry food and stuff with me, and I'm not really sure how long it took to climb to the top. I came from the other side of the mountain.Dude #2: You came from the other side? Where did you start from?Me: Um, I came from Georgia.Dude #2: Yeah, yeah, I can hear from your accent that you're not from around here.Me: No, I'm not from Georgia, I started walking the trail from Georgia.Dude #1: Wait, wait, you walked here from Georgia?Me: Yes, I am on this trail that goes all the way from Georgia to Maine. I am walking to Maine by following these white blazes.Dude #1: (looks at me incredulously) You were following these white marks on the trees all the way from Georgia? How many miles is that?Me: The trail is almost 2200 miles long and I did 1400 miles so far.Dude #1: How long did it take you?Me : I started in late March.Dude #1: (looks at dude #2) This man's been walking here from Georgia for over two months by following these white marks. That's f***ing insane!Dude #2 Yeah, we can probably walk to the top of that mountain.