Date: 2010-07-23
From: William Brien shelter

To: Fort Montgomery, NY
Miles today: 8.9

Day 101: Bear MountainFort Montgomery, NYWoke up early and packed up. Scatters and I were on the trail by 8am. It was good terrain, but still no water. We came to the Palisades Interstate Parkway, which was a 65 mph road with a wide median. We crossed safely and walked along the road (off the trail) .4 miles to the visitors center in the middle of the highway. We used the facilities, and I charged my phone. We filled up on water, but there was a problem with their system so the water looked like iced tea! It tasted very earthy. Oh well. It was drinkable....We hiked on and were preparing ourselves for Bear Mountain. First we hiked up and over West Mountain, which was pretty steep, in the drizzles. Then we walked a road for a while and paused before the climb up Bear. Once we got in the zone, we took off. It wasn't too bad! And we saw a big ole dear right off the trail. What we thought would take us 30 minutes only took 15! We couldn't believe it was already over!!!?! And we were glad... because it was raining again. We hung out in the Bear Mountain museum/tower/lookout place for a good chunk of time while it rained. The view was not ideal. We snacked and phoned a bit and talked to a few other tourists. Finally it was time to hike down the mountain. In the rain. And cold. Luckily!!! They'd finished the MASSIVE work on the north side of the mountain. It was a very pleasant walk down - hundreds of slate steps and flat ground in between them. Such a wonderful walk downhill!!We got to the bottom to Hessian Lake, avoided hundreds of summer campers, then crossed the road into the zoo. Yes, the AT goes right through a small zoo! We saw a couple sad-looking animals (bobcats, coyotes, porcupines, bears) and headed off the trail towards Fort Montgomery. One Life has been feeling sick, and a friend of his got a hotel room for him to force him to rest. Once again, he said he could stay - thanks again Cyndi!Scatters and I walked to the post office and picked up our packages. (Thank you SO MUCH Toboggan for the package! It's full of delicious treats and great meals. Big BIG smiles - and yes, I will share : ) We really didn't want to walk the mile up to the hotel, so we were asking everyone who came into the PO if they could help us out with a rode. We were very lucky when the third person we asked, Sue, said she'd love to drive us. Thanks, Sue!Up at the hotel, we were able to check-in without One Life, and we cleaned ourselves up in the room. We knew it would probably be a while before he got there, so we bought a bunch of his favorite snacks and Gatorade at the mini mart, and we hung out, hotel-style. One Life texted around 8pm, and he said the zoo was closed. It was about to storm. He wasn't sure how he'd get up here, so I called Kit Kat (who we'd seen earlier in the hotel), and she agreed to pick him up and bring him here. Thanks Kit Kat!!! By the time he got here, the pizza had arrived and the coke/Gatorade was chilled. He cleaned up and we all chilled out. Should be hot out tomorrow, so I'm trying to hydrate while there's a flushing toilet around. Night!(8.9)For the full blog: http://maine2010.blogspot.com