Date: 2006-05-16
From: Fort Montgomery, NY

To: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up this morning unfazed by the rain. This will happen when you're lying around in a comfy hotel room.I was feeling strangely carefree and more energetic than I ever, EVER feel in the a.m....likely because I only hiked 3+ miles yesterday and only planned on doing 6+ today. Also I knew that the forecast was for the rain (which has been constant since I started hiking) to break today. Perhaps even...hmmm...I read all about people getting their "trail legs". Well, I am far from getting those developed. But maybe I am starting to get my "trail mind", and that maybe even more, if not equally, important.Nah. I think I'm just happy to be dry.So much so that I sat in the lobby and drank coffee, at total peace...waiting out the rain.The sun came out around 1:00. I never knew that I could feel such deep love for a big ball of fire 93 million miles away from me. I headed out, first crossing the Bear Mtn Bridge over the Hudson River. As I live on the west side of the Hudson in New Jersey, I enjoyed finally crossing it. As though it marked a degree of progress just to make it to the east bank (really the sun was just making me giddy.) Then I began climbing Anthony's Nose...yes there really is a mtn in NY called Anthony's Nose. The ascent was not even 1000 ft. Afterwards, I came upon another first...flat and level walking. In high spirits, and feeling strong I reached my destination by 4:30.I am staying at a monastery outside of Peekskill, NY. It's just off the trail, and I guess the story goes that once upon a time, an exhausted hiker on the AT saw the monastery and knocked on the door. They let him stay the night, and have been doing so ever since. Outside of course. They have two picnic shelters.I relaxed, filled my water bottles, read the hiker registry, and waited. i waited for someone to come down to try converting me. It never happened...apparently they judged my soul from a distance to be too far gone.Then 4 more hikers showed up, and I was thrilled to discover that they are the head of the pack of thru-hikers. They started at various dates in February and March, but have been hiking as a group for several weeks now. I was a little unsure of myself, interacting with "real" hikers, as I know nothing about the culture other than what I'd read on websites...in many, many ways, i am not a "real" hiker yet. Would they have disdain for me and my ragtag getup? Think I was an idiot because I was wearing cotton and don't have fancy hiking boots? Do "thru-hikers" have any love at all for "section-hikers"?Turns out, all 4 of them were very amazing, and I listened to their stories all night long. First, there was Pa Bert...a 62 year old from SC, who had never hiked before. He was by far the most amazing of the group (they're all pretty amazing in that they're averaging 25 mile days to be this far ahead of the pack), that he is keeping up with people a third of his age when he has no hiking experience. Then there was Hatteras Jack. He's 30, from Boulder, CO, just got out of the Navy, and is absolutely hysterical. He reminded me a lot of my friend Riff. Then there was Robin's Nest, a 19 year old girl from Boston...amazing to think that she was out here doing this 2,100 mile, 6 month (or 4 month at their pace) hike on her own. She must weigh about 90 lbs.. Lastly, there's Bleach. He's 19 also, from Minnesota. He started out later than any of them, but is unfazed by doing 30 mile days. I don't think he pays attention to much as he hikes. I would talk about parts of the trail, and he would always sound like someone who had never been there before, and then he'd say, "I don't know...I just like to hike."Oh yes, the best part was the monks left some menus here. We could actually get pizza delivered right to the picnic shelter. I don't think I possess the adjectives (you know I'm trying to keep my backpack weight down) to describe how wondeful it was to eat pizza with a community of hikers, after all of the low points of my first week.I must resign myself to find it sufficiently said, that a day like this makes this whole venture worthwhile.