Date: 2015-06-04
From: Mountaintop Market

To: Pawling/NYC
Miles today: 12.4

Warning to anyone else who plans to tent behind the Mountaintop Market: you will get woken up at 5am by very loud vehicles from the concrete plant nearby. I went back to sleep and woke at my usual 6am. Stoat and Poppins were already inside the store enjoying their breakfast. They're crazy and get up at 5.30am. The extra half an hour sleep I get makes me a much more sane and functional human being. Meanwhile, Stoat and Poppins were off. I won't see them for a while, if I do manage to catch up to them. For breakfast, I got a cream cheese bagel for $1.65, which is very cheap. I took my cup of tea with me, and headed back to the trail. Although the sun was out, it was still a chilly morning. The majority of the woods was completely shaded and a bit cold. Today was definitely the smoothest day I've had on the trail for a long time. The incredibly annoying rocky sections were shorter, both in height and length. More importantly, the trail was much drier in most places than before, which meant I wasn't slipping all over the place. Or very carefully inching my way down a steep slope. I saw a few day hikers and passed some other thru hikers. I got to the road crossing at 11.35. I dropped my pack on the ground and watched as it rolled down a slope, but only did two full rotations before I caught it. From there, I set off eastwards to Pawling, 3.1 miles away. A few cars passed me, but I didn't have my thumb out. I can't wait until I leave NY and can actually attempt to get lifts again. Walking 3 miles on the very edge of a road because there is no pavement or shoulder is not my idea of a fun time.Still, I got to the train station at 12.30, and got my return ticket to Grand Central Station. I quickly changed on the platform and combed my hair to try and be more presentable for the real world. Unfortunately, that didn't do much for my smell. The train took about 2 hours to get to Grand Central station. It was a nice journey, looking at the different towns and countryside on the way. At Grand Central station, the air was hot and it was very busy. People were milling about everywhere, with no organised sides of walking. No signs of "stay right" to ease congestion like in London. Another difference is the "Watch the gap" written near the tracks. In London, it's "Mind the gap". Gran Central Station itself is really magnificent. I can see why so many films use it for scenes. The main hall is huge and really stunning. It has a constellation ceiling. I saw a few chandeliers and everything looked spotless. It really puts all the London stations to shame- they have lost their grandeur, if they ever had it. Grand Central is an incredible throwback to a very different era in America. This happened several times as I was walking through New York City. There is a decent amount of architecture that looks as though it just fell through time and contrasts directly with the tall modern buildings. I searched around for a place to charge my iPod and use wifi. I found a Pret, which is a chain store I often frequent in the UK. I really felt like I was back in England with my cup of tea and over priced cheese and hamroll. From my spot there, I found a cheap hostel across the river in New Jersey. I decided to walk part of the way.This should have been easy, as the streets of New York are laid out with very straight lines and clear streets. Somehow I kept managing to walk in the exact opposite direction however. Eventually I stumbled upon the Empire State Building, which is very grand but could easily be lost within the many, many towering blocks that make up the NYC skyline. After, I eventually made my way to Times Square. It was quite spectacular, with the hundreds of enormous displays and glittering lights. Even the subways have flashing lightbulb signage there. The place was jammed with people though. Many were tourists, and some were there to entertain tourists. I saw 3 different muppet suits, Frozen characters, super heroes and all sorts of costumes. From there I walked to the bus station and managed to figure out how to get on the bus. The biggest problem was my pack- it was a bit too wide and annoying to squeeze down the aisles. I nearly missed my stop as I had no idea how to stop the bus and had to quickly ask. My hostel is a very cheap one located in a very Hispanic area of New Jersey. The bus ride from downtown NYC was just 15 minutes, but it's a completely different world here. All the signs are in Spanish, and there are no chain stores or coffee shops in sight. It took seemingly forever to get checked in to my hostel before I could finally take a shower. I went to dinner afterwards at a miscellaneous Hispanic buffet. I have some mild regret mostly because of the persistent grumbling in my stomach already. At least there is a toilet here, and I can use it as much as I need.