Date: 2017-08-10
From: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center baseball field

To: Mt Black
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

The last piece of the AT to be completed was back in Maine, crossing under Sugarloaf mountain in what we were discovering was classic AT style: by first dropping then regaining 2000ft instead of following an easy undulating ridgeline that would have avoided this unnecessary exertion. Today we hiked the very first section of the AT to be completed, which was the complete opposite experience. It was, in a rare moment of trail accuracy from nobos, "like a Japanese garden".But there was so much more to Bear Mountain State Park than that, including a museum and trailside zoo that was originally supposed to be the model for all 14 states on the AT so that city dwellers could not only experience some wildness in their increasingly industrialised society but also learn more about the natural world they were passing through.So far as I know, no other state built their own trailside zoo so today this one stands alone. It was certainly popular with children and family groups, although any smelly AT hiker who followed the white blazes as it goes through the zoo is more likely to feel like one of the exhibits than a visitor.This was also the lowest point of the trail, in more ways than one. Physically, the zoo trail was just 160ft above sea level but environmentally and morally, this was very much an "old school" zoo where animals were kept in tiny enclosures. The saddest of all of these was the black bear, which sat surrounded by birds of prey (vultures? buzzards?) as if they were awaiting his imminent demise.The low elevation was probably responsible for this being one of the hottest sections of trail yet, particularly when the trail left the shade of the forest and crossed the Hudson River via Bear Mountain Bridge.The midday heat left me feeling lethargic despite the awesome deli breakfast just a mile from our ball park campground. I tried topping up at a hot dog concession but the only thing that really helped was retreating into the aircon at the Bear Mountain Inn, a depression era work project similar to Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood or even Bascom Lodge on Mt Greylock.After being there for half an hour, Spiff and Littlefoot walked in, looking similarly enervated. They admitted feeling in a DGAF mood and opted for some of the craft beers being sold in the restaurant.I understood entirely what they were feeling. "Some days," I said, "are just high-gravity days."I stayed for an hour longer with them, partly because their cellphone charger had been stolen the day before and so they used mine to charge their phone. But I was also feeling equally torpid, although I knew that the beer on a hot day was only going to make matters worse.I headed on, more out of a sense of obligation rather than enthusiasm, in mid afternoon for the ascent of Bear Mountain via the trail the nobos had described as the Japanese garden.This was the biggest climb we'd done in some time but it was also beautifully graded, thanks in part to the gazillion interpretive signs that explained the AT and the best-practice construction techniques that were on display here (but which, ironically, were only occasionally seen elsewhere on the actual trail).By the time I reached the tower at the top, I was very grateful to have avoided the lunchtime beers. The far side was equally well graded and I made good time down to the road in the far side, at which point the usual trail quality resumed.There was a shelter on the ridge of the next mountain but it was half a mile off trail and, unusually, didn't have any source of water in the immediate vicinity. It was reported to have an excellent view of the Manhattan skyline but the haze that stymied the view from the tower meant it was unlikely to be at its best.So I pushed on, aiming to camp at the next shelter after that. But at 8pm and with a mile to go before the shelter, a makeshift campsite presented itself on the far side of Black Mountain and I decided it was good enough.This is my lowest tally of miles from a full day of hiking in a while but for a high-gravity day, it's not too bad.Life is good.AT fact of the day: This was not only the biggest climb we'd done in some time but also one of the longest dry stretches. From what the nobos say, we'll be relying increasingly on roadside water caches left by trail angels -- or will this prove to be just another example of baseless nobo hype?