Date: 2018-05-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Thur. Day 108 5/31 we had plans to just hike 16 miles and Stealth camp today. Ibex realized if we hike four more miles and do a 20 we would be in Peekskill, New York. She could then take the train out of Peekskill into New York City meet her cousin and enjoy the city. We got back to the trail at 5:30 a.m. We continued the hike through the beautiful Harriman State Park. To my surprise Hot Sauce came by as we were taking a food break. He had no food whatsoever. He's hiking the trail on an absolute shoestring. So I gave him 4 bars, a bag of Trail Mix, two dinners, and a half a pound of pepper jack cheese. He atethe half a pound of pepper jack cheese before he finished his conversation with us. I haven't seen hot sauce in 6 weeks. It was a gentle day with some nice views and great places to take a break. We were hiking at our standard 2 mile an hour pace. Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain State Park go together. There's a observation tower at Bear Mountain State Park. We spent a half an hour reading and learning about the history of Bear Mountain State Park. We learned that after the death of her husband, Mary Harriman donated 10,000 acres and a million dollars in 1909 to create Bear Mountain State Park. Her husband was the leading expert on railroad construction and the family later on bridge construction. We hiked down a thousand feet to the lowest point on the trail. I never understood what they meant by the bear cage. As the trail wound through the zoo at Bear Mountain State Park we realized, oh they have bears here in the park at an elevation of 177 feet sea level the lowest point on the AT. We walked over the Bear Mountain Bridge. It started to rain during the two steep up hills before Peekskill. We finished our 20 miles at the Appalachian Deli on Route 9 in New York. Hot Sauce, 50, Good Push and Cheddar as well as a half a dozen other through hikers were already there. It was a good Deli. I had a lot to eat. We were organizing Uber to the Inn on the Hudson when Cheddar and 50 said they were going there as well. When the Urber came Good Push decided to jump in as well. There was only room for four but the Uber driver was cool. You can always squeeze in one more through hiker in any situation. We talked a lot about how the best part of this through hike was the people. Good Push said it had renewed his faith in mankind. Everybody commented on how everybody helps everybody. There are really no sides on a thru-hike. Everyone is on your side. You bond up into little families called Tramilies. We talked about how this bubble of 20 or 30 through hiker kept crossing over with each other. Some people hiking dirty thirties and forties. Ibex and I just hike 18 to 22 everyday. Somehow this bubble keeps crossing over each other even with such varying amounts of hiking per day. Cuz another variable is how many zeros you take. You take more than one zero in a row. It's really a community that's hard to replace or replicate back in traditional society. We are all heading the same way, facing the same challenges, difficulties, and obstacles. There's a cumulative effect of wearing down your body and your mind. So much of this is about your state of mind. That's where the tramilies come in. People who hike your pace, think like you, and encourage you to carry on in spite of the hardships. Hot Sauce is putting together a video on your hardest day. When I was talking about my feet, everybody was happy to look at my feet and compare it to the beating and challenges their feet had taken. This is a very difficult adventure. I didn't know what it was going to be like. I didn't expect it to be as difficult as it is. I've never thought of not completing it, but there have been some very tough tough days. As I talk to the others, they all say the same thing, this is a hard task in tough conditions. They were talking about the day of the lightning storm as they were crossing the fields. So they ran into the woods where big branches were being blown off the trees and crashing onto the trail. Then the hail was whipping in their faces. Just where exactly are you supposed to stand to be safe in these conditions. Oh and there was a strong, soaking, driving, pounding rain mixed into all that as well. Everybody was out there that day and everybody lived through it. There's something about shared adversity that pulls people together. When we arrive at the Inn their computers are down. They were down when we called earlier from the deli. We sit outside for 2 hours waiting to get a room. After I get in the room and shower I try and watch game 1 of the NBA finals but I am so tired I just fall asleep after the first quarter. At this point I am pretty beat up. It appears everybody is pretty used up that I'm talking to. Everyone had a story for Hot Sauce video on the difficult, painful, trying moments of hikeing the AT. It's not all days in the 60s Sunny with a 15 mile an hour wind. This is a tough, long, hard grind.