New York

Entry into New York last Monday, August 13, was uneventful, without even a sign to mark the occasion.  Most of the day was the proverbial, walk in the woods, with no views.  Rain started about lunchtime and lasted the rest of the day.

Tuesday morning brought me past Nuclear Lake, the site of a nuclear fuels-processing research facility until 1972.  The site has been tested and apparently has been given a clean bill of health after the facility was decommissioned.  The afternoon provided a nice view from Hosner Mountain. 

I spent Tuesday night at the Ralph’s Peak Hiker Cabin, a shelter that is located on a residential, but fairly rural street not far from the Taconic Parkway in Hopewell Junction, New York.  This allowed me to take a break from my usual routine and order Chinese food.  I was hungry enough that meeting the $15 minimum order for delivery was not a problem.

Wednesday brought me to a 32-mile stretch of trail with no official shelters.  I have been told the shelters in this section were razed to prevent issues with homeless people from New York City.  The trail passed Canopus Lake.  Given the heat and humidity during the week, I would have liked to stop at the beach for a swim.  However, as it was 9:30 in the morning, I decided I would rather put in as many miles as possible before the day heated up too much.

I spent Wednesday night camped on the ball field at the Graymoor Franciscan monastery.  The monks have welcomed hikers since 1972, and the site is quite popular.

Thursday brought me the closest to New York City.  I crossed another suspension bridge.  This one, the Bear Mountain Bridge, was large enough that I did not notice any movement as I walked across.  The trail passed through a small zoo after crossing the bridge, giving me my first view of a bear on the trip.

The afternoon included views from the summits of Bear Mountain and West Mountain.  I had some unexpected excitement later in the day when I found out the trail requires crossing the Palisades Interstate Parkway.  Fortunately, traffic was light; the crossing provided a good line of sight; and there is a wide median, so I only needed to cross two lanes at a time.  However, this seems like a crossing that definitely requires a footbridge or underpass.  Ironically, after seeing the first bear of the trip in the zoo that morning, a mother and two cubs were spotted near the campsite that evening.  Fortunately, no issues occurred other than some weekend campers had their food taken during the night.

By Friday the heat, humidity, and bugs were getting to me.  The trail provided no unique views on this day.  The highlight was when my son, Brian, met me with a resupply of food during the afternoon.  We took the opportunity to drive into Monroe, New York and had lunch at a pizza restaurant.

A heavy rain on Friday night did nothing to improve the heat, humidity, or bug situation, and resulted in wet, slippery rocks on the first day in a while that involved a lot of scrambling on open ledges.  Views were muted by early morning cloud cover, which seemed to exacerbate the humidity.

The open ledges provided some relief from the bugs, until the trail ducked back down into the woods.  I was at a low point mentally on this day, as there seemed to be no end in sight to the hot, humid, and rainy weather.  Fortunately, a phone call home to Katie provided needed emotional support and the weather is now improving as I work my way across New Jersey.