July 17: sometimes when things are going bad, all it takes is one good day to turn everything around. July 17th was that day.

We had planned a short day (8 miles) to get into. Bear Mountain NY, where we would meet Upstate, whom I had hiked with in North Carolina. Upstate now worked at West Point, in Fort Montgomery, close to Bear Mountain. He would be working until 3, and picking us up at 3:30. We had plenty of time to kill.

The hike on the morning took us up a gradual climb with more rocks. The day before, I had been hemming and hawing, debating whether we should have pushed ourselves to do the 20 miles with Road Runner. We should not have. We made the right decision by stopping at 12. Even though it was not extremely difficult, it was one of those sections of trail that took up if full, undivided attention. The kind of section where it's easy to fall when fatigued. Subaru actually did catch his toe and fall once, which scared me, but he was fine.

We climbed past a couple viewpoints where you were supposed to see the NYC skyline. Maybe on a crisp, October day. Certainly not on a hazy July day when the temp hovered around 100. Near the top of Bear Mpuntain, we stopped for cold drinks from the vending machines. The trail had become very well maintained and level; gravel walkways in some areas. There was also a tower at the top, but it was closed to people.

The descent from the peak, again very well maintained, consisted of a very long set of stone steps.

We passed a large number of day hikers on their way up, hot and sweaty and breathing hard. At the bottom, we came to Bear Mountaon Recreation Atra, a park with a lake for fishing, picnic areas, concessions, a zoo, and a public pool. A POOL!!!! I was just about as happy as anyone could be! After a lunch of Nathan's hot dogs from the concession area, we headed to the pool. And learned that the pool was free for thru hikers!

We spent a couple wonderful cool hours at the pool. Letting our clothes dry on the sun and enjoying the cool weightlessness of the water. Then we headed to the zoo.

It's always the flat-looking sections that are the most difficult. The big climbs are fine.

July 16: in the morning, we took a cab back to the trail to save time. ( even though we had gotten those rides from great people, it had taken about 40 minutes) We started the day in Harriman State Park, going through grassy areas and gentle climbs. We came to some large rocks and went through the Lemon Squeezer- finally, the trail gives us something that somebody of my size has an advantage! Basically I put my arms out front and leaned slightly to the left to get through. Road runner got so frustrated, he pulled himself up and put halfway through!

There were more rock scrambles and climbs, but most obstacles has bypass options. I bypassed about half of the rock obstacles.
RR had pulled ahead, and was going to meet us at a beach area .3 off the trail. We got some snacks and waded in the water to cool down. Then RR said that he had come to a decision to hike ahead on his own in order to meet his deadline. We said our goodbyes and he headed off down the trail.

When Subaru and I left about 20 minutes later, I lead and Sub followed. Hiking down the trail behind my bug-deterrent sunglasses, I again found myself crying. I cried tears of sadness because I'd miss Road Runner. I cried tears of relief because I no longer felt like I was holding him back. I cried tears of guilt because- no matter what Sub and RR had said, I still felt like I had broken up the band. And I cried tears of bewilderment because I just thought I was going for a really long walk. I had no idea how emotionally draining this trail would be.
At a road crossing in the late afternoon, we stopped at a rest area for snacks once again. And we decided to camp near Beachy Bottom Creek. Maybe we could end the day with a swim!
Alas, Beachy Bottom Creek was a muddy trickle. We filtered AND treated water from this stink pit.
We quickly set up tents (sans rain flies) and got inside to dodge the mosquitoes. During the night, we kept hearing a very large animal walking around the food hang. We either had some very hungry deer or a bear.
Either way, the food was safe.

July 14: Today was the day we crossed from NJ into New York. We had successfully broken out of our NJ doldrums the day before with a 20 mile day. And my friend, Isa, had met us at Wawayanda State Park with bagels. Our stop was a bit longer than anticipated, but that's ok- we were on a roll! And New York was supposed to be easy. We had planned on an 18 mile day. New York had other plans for us. After crossing the border, things got rather hard. We hit rock scrambles and steep pitches, one so steep that a ladder had been installed to help with the climb.

Our pace slowed WAY down. Even when the terrain eventually evened out, it became clear that we were not going to meet our 18 mile goal. We reached the road at 15 miles at 8:30 pm. Not wanting to do rock scrambles and ladder climbing in the dark, we decided to head into Warwick for the night and get a hotel. We got a ride from a guy named Dan who is a hiker himself. He was actually going in the other direction, but turned around just to give us a ride!
We stayed at the Warwick Inn, and the owner, Rami, could not have been nicer. He got us a 2 bedroom suite, instead of our usual single for Road Runner, double for Subaru and I, which ended up saving us around $35. Then he called a local pizza place, which closes at 8:30 on Sundays and convinced them to make just one more (ok, two more) pizzas for some hikers who just got off the trail. Then he drove down to pick up the pizzas for us!
It was a late night for us, by the time we showered, ate, and did laundry. And this was just the beginning....

July 15: We woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and got a ride back to the trail from Rami by 8:30. A little later than we hope to start, but as I said, it had been a late night. By 8:30 am, it was in the high 90's with extreme humidity. Cooler in the shady woods, but still very uncomfortable. We had looked at the guide book and planned to stop and have a swim in Little Dam Lake around mid-day, to cool off and rejuvenate. New York had other plans.
The first few miles were not bad- flat, scattered rocks, a forest path, really. We came to the shelter we were supposed to stay on the night before and saw that it was a blessing we did not make it there: mosquito infested with a poor water source. That also would be a recurring theme throughout NY.
Then the rocks started. And the steep, short ups and downs started. Rock scrambles like the day before. Sheer bouldering climbs with full packs. Sharp, rocky descents.
Road crossings became our best friends, as trail angels, clearly familiar with the lack of water sources, had left gallons and gallons of drinking water along the trail for hikers.
We came to Little Dam Lake around 1:00 and each in turn yelled out our disappointment: "Hey! This isn't a lake!" It was around 2 feet deep with algae and Lilly pads and Mosquitos. We had to make due with hanging our shirts in the sun to dry.
The afternoon brought a few more climbs, some views, and the blessed breeze that comes at the top of higher climbs and keeps the bugs away. By late afternoon, it was clear that all the climbs and rock scrambles had slowed our pace WAY down. 18 miles was a near impossibility. We planned to try to push to a pond at 15.5 miles- rumor was, the pond was swim-able).
Alas, the descent into Harriman State Park was so rocky and steep, that 0.8 miles took us an hour and a half!

The pictures don't do it justice. Picture White Heat at Sunday River. Throw a bunch of rocks on in. Then walk down with a pack. By the time we reached the road, I was absolutely SPENT!
We hitched a ride into Harriman to the Budget Inn for the night. Again, somebody going the opposite way turned around just to give us a ride! Angels everywhere, I tell you.
Once showered and dressed in dry clothes, we walked over to Fridays for dinner. I took the chance to call my Dad for a quick pick-me-up. I was feeling really low. This was theist exhausting day I had had on the trail and we had only covered 13 miles! What was I going to do when we hit New Hampshire and Maine? At this rate, I would never finish!!
My Dad was quick to point out that the temps were in the high 90's and humidity near 99%. "Thirteen miles is amazing on those conditions. I would be very upset if you didn't stop and tried to push yourself too much. What would have happened on those steep rocks if somebody passed out?" He was right. I felt better.
At dinner, trying to be helpful, Road Runner and Subaru offered suggestions on how I could go faster on the rocks. Faster? Whenever I tried to go faster on rocks, I fell. And like Dad said, what would happen if I fell on those steep rocks? I was NOT going to try to go faster!

On the way back to the hotel, I remembered a promise I had made to myself before starting this hike: if I was hiking with somebody who was consistently holding me back, I would stop hiking with them. And if I was consistently holding somebody else back, I would stop hiking with them.
I was holding these guys back! Road Runner has a time limit on his visa and has to finish. I had to stop hiking with them!
I made a decision that when we got to Bear Mountain, I would tell them to hike on without me and I would zero and find another hiking bubble.
I had been hiking with these guys since late April. And now I was going to have to leave them. It was the only fair thing to do.
So now I was both physically and emotionally spent.
We got to the hotel, turned out the lights, and I just cried my heart out into the pillow.

That would be the perfect way to end the blog post, wouldn't it? "And I cried myself to sleep." Everyone would feel bad as the curtain closed.
But it's hard to wrap yourself up on your own misery and cry yourself to sleep when your sharing a room with somebody.
Subaru came over and asked me what was wrong. "It was just a hard day." He asked if something else was bothering me. "I feel like I'm holding you guys back. I can't go as fast as you on the rocks. I'm holding back our Milage." He went on to say that nobody expected me to go any faster than I was comfortable with. And that I wasn't holding anyone back. And then he just sat with me for a while.
Which made things better. And worse. Because I still had to leave them when we got to Bear Mountain.

I'm thoroughly perplexed by the sheer lack of information on AT sites about the trail through New York. Everyone talks about the Whites, Maine, North Carolina, Pennsylvania. Nobody talks about NY. Which is surprising. Because New York is HARD!
I have some theories: first that lots of people start the trail on Georgia and never make it out of NC! So there's more reports of how hard NC is. Likewise, many people start southbound from Maine and don't make it past Vermont. So they talk about how hard NH and Maine are. There are just fewer hikers in NY.
Secondly: I suspect that a large number of hikers skip New York altogether. You can take a bus from New Jersey onto NYC and then take a train from Grand Central that lets you off 6 miles from the Connecticut border.

I suspect this happens because much of the descriptions of New York's terrain describes that 6 mile stretch exactly: rolling hills that go through farmland and woods, a few moderate climbs, few scattered rocks. Also, because if I had to do this hike over again, I would totally take a bus from New Jersey and a train to Connecticut.
Why? Because the trail in New York is possessed by demons!
Demon #1: ROCKS- New York is completely covered in hard, pointy, tilted slippery rocks. They slow you down, hurt your feet, and try to make you fall.

Demon #2: STEEPNESS- As if those rocks weren't bad enough on their own. They are scattered along near vertical inclines and declines which turns this endeavor from hiking to bouldering. With a backpack.

Demon #3: UPS & DOWNS- look at an elevation map of New York and it looks flat. Not true. It merely means there is no chance for a breathtaking view. There are plenty of chances to go up, down, up, down. New York takes advantage of every one of those chances.

Demon #4: POOR WATER- Again, look at a guidebook and there are lots of references to bodies of water; lakes, ponds, rivers, streams. When planning your hike for the day, you may be tempted to plan breaks along these water sources for swimming and refilling water bottles. You will be disappointed. "Ponds" turn out to be 1 foot mud puddles covered with a scrim of algae and a cloud of mosquitoes. "Lakes" are the same. Rivers and streams are trickles in dried up beds with warning signs not to drink from them because of bacteria. It's depressing.

And the twin demons: HEAT and HUMIDITY. I was lucky enough to be in NY during a heat wave. When the temp was over. 100 degrees for days. It's great fun to be drenched all day when it isn't raining.

Luckily, for all the demons, NY has an equal number of angels.

Twice, we were picked up hitching by somebody going the opposite way who turned around solely to give a hiker a ride. Motel owners drove us back to the trail. And picked up pizza for us. On those really hot and humid days, there were multiple gallon containers of water at road crossings, left there by people just for hikers to drink.

There was Joe, who comes out to the state park campsite and cooks food for thru hikers.

And Steve, who is one of the water leavers, but who also drives by road crossings looking for hikers who need a ride.
More angels than I can count! As hard as the trail was in NY, I think it's the wonderful angelic people in New York I'll choose to remember.

Here's the thing about the AT in New Jersey: it passes towns more often than it passes shelters. Which makes it all too easy to fall into the habit of hotel-ing it every night. It goes something like this:
July 9: early start, pass Funky Town on the way out. Immediately see that your decision to stealth camp rather than push on to the campsite was wise, since the terrain is STEEP. And rocky. Come to a road mile 10 where you had planned to eat at a diner. See that the diner is closed. See that it has started raining. Remember how miserable carrying a heavy, wet tent is. Hitch into Branchville and stay in a hotel.
July10: get ride back to trail. Hike over steep, rocky terrain, surrounded by your own personal swarm of mosquitoes in hot, humid weather. See that the terrain has given way to wetlands with boardwalks. Meaning more mosquitoes. Oh wait- we are back to rocks. Emerge at a road at mile 14. See that Road Runner has decided to go to a hotel, as he is completely exhausted. Go with him.
July 11: take a zero day in Port Jervis. Spend the entire day in bed.
July 12: take another zero day. Spend the entire day in bed.
*What is going on here? Weren't the mid-Atlantic states supposed to be easy? Weren't we supposed to be pushing BIG miles? How are we ever going to finish at this rate?*
July 13: make a push for a 20 mile day. Wear long pants to protect yourself from bugs as there is lots of swamp walking today.

Actually, there is a lovely section of protected wetlands at the end with very few mosquitoes.

Finish in Vernon, NJ where you stay at a hostel.
July 14: hitch back to the trail. Begin the day with a hot, sweaty climb that goes on and on and on. But at least has a mice view

Miss the turn off trail to the state park where your friend is waiting for you with bagels. Walk an extra mile to get there. Hang out in the park for 2 1/2 hours. Start the afternoon late, but finally make it out of NJ

Who ever would have thought New Jersey would be so hard?

Tomorrow will mark the start of Empower's second summer program. I wanted to wish the staff and participants good luck and the hope of a great two weeks.
The mid-Atlantic states, which this entire time I had been thinking would be the easy states, are proving to be anything but. I've been walking over rock riddled trail for weeks and my feet have been hurting. It's been a bit discouraging.
But then I saw onfacebook that tomorrow is the big day for Empower. It made me think of a speech that Carrie gave before we did the Spartan Beast on Vermont. She said that it may get hard, and we may get tired, and we may want to quit, but that's when it's time to reach deep down inside and find the strength to go on. We do these things because we can. We are lucky enough to be able to do these things. And we do these things for those who, for whatever reason, cannot.
So over the next two weeks, I'll be thinking of my friends at Empower and I'll be pushing on even when it's hard and even when I hurt. Because its a great gift to be able to walk from Georgia to Maine. And I do it because I can.
Have a great two weeks, guys!

July 8: It's always hard to get going after a zero day. We were out of the hotel at 8:30 and made a stop at the post office, me to send home things from my self imposed pack shake down, Subaru to send post cards. Then we hit the road.
For the first couple miles, the trail followed the road. We walked across a bridge spanning the Delaware River, with cars whiz zing by. Halfway across, we entered state number 8: New Jersey. We passed the visitor's center of Delaware Water Gap Park ( where Road Runner was waiting for us) walked under the interstate, and turned into a state park.
The trail then began a slow, gradual climb. We came to Sunfish Pond, one of "New Jersey's Seven Wonders". Halfway along, we ran into Funky Town, who were taking a dip. So we joined them. Shortly, Patchouli and Barbarossa arrived, and then Sugar Rush. Funky Town had acquired a ridiculously large boom box which was playing classic rock and 80's hits. It was a regular party!

We pushed on, past a high point with nice views

And finally to the Mohican Outdoor Center where we stopped on for a soda.

We had a 6 mile push to go, on order to reach Blue Mpuntain Lakes Road, where Fire Hazard's mom, Sandy had some trail magic dinner waiting.
Originally, we had planned on moving on to a campsite 3 miles further. But we were all pretty beat. We ended up camping there by the road. I guess the smell from trail magic was strong, because we had 3 bear sightings in the vicinity that night. Not me though; I was beat. I fell asleep early and slept straight thru the night.

July 6th: Up and out by 8, stopping in McDonald's for breakfast. I haven't eaten this much fast food and junk food in years. Subaru raised the question "Do you think our cholesterol levels are going up?" I think no. The sheer amount of physical activity is keeping it in check.
We got a ride back to the trail from the parents of another thru hiker, Olive Oyl. I have yet to meet OO, but I see her entries in the shelter logs. She has been about a day ahead of us for quite some time.
My first thought upon waking this morning had been "I'd really like to yellow blaze into Delaware Water Gap and just be done with Pennsylvania". Turns out, quite a few hikers did just that. But I'm happy that I didn't. I'm glad my final day on the trail in Pennsylvania was not that ugly superfund site. Today was much easier, a little cooler, and much more pleasant. It was the Pennsylvania I met in the south part of the state when my love/hate relationship with Pennsylvania was still firmly in the love phase.
We ran into a lot of day hikers and weekend hikers, taking the long holiday weekend. We ran through nice forested areas, rolling hills, and - yes - more rocks. But again, naturally occurring rocks are much easier to take than rubble piles from power line installation or zinc mining operations. My feet don't hate those rocks quite so much.
The trail enters the town of Delaware Water Gap and goes down the street, a true trail town. We opted again for a hotel over the hiker hostel, as Road Runner is wilting in the humidity and Sub and I love to have our own shower. We ate at a nice little tavern which was a bit pricier than we anticipated, but quite good with good service.
A nice sleep on a mattress....I feel like I've earned it.

July 7th: zero day. You know the drill....laundry, outfitter, resupply, sleep. We briefly considered getting a ride across the Delaware River to one of the beaches there. But going to a waterhole on the trail in your underwear is quite different from going to a vacation spot beach in your underwear on July 4th weekend. We decided to spare the general public and spent the day watching Pirates of the Caribbean on ABC Family.

July 5th: After our awesome day at the picnic, we had a rough road ahead. Just north of Palmerton was the infamous Superfund Site. This was the site of a former zinc strip mining operation, now essentially a deforested strip deemed a polluted area and singled out for environmental remediation. Awesome! I totally support whomever's idea it was to route the trail through here. What's next? A landfill? A climb into a dumpster? Maybe a radioactive waste treatment facility?
All drama aside, there were a lot of re-forestation efforts obvious to the naked eye. And the hazardous chemicals are pretty much gone. All that remains are rocks. Lots and lots of broken up pieces of rubble and a long stretch of no trees.
Fortunately for us, our Independence Day trail angels, Lisa and Jay, agreed to slackpack us for the day. We emptied our packs of all but food and water needed for the day and put the rest of our gear (sleeping bag, clothes, cook systems, etc) in garbage bags. Then they shuttled the garbage bags ahead to Wind Gap. Woodman had decided he was going to yellow blaze ahead to Delaware Water Gap, because the rocks were really getting to him. He had fallen a number of times in the past week, and was walking on knee replacements! So Woodman got a room at the Budget Inn in Windgap and all our garbage bags went into the room with him. See the beauty of that? Big day. Big climb. Lots of rocks. No pack.
Lucky for us we found such trail angels, too. Because even with no pack, it was a hard day. The climb up from the gap was a CLIMB: hand and feet, scrambling up a near vertical surface. Then the superfund rubble. Then the stretch of deforested land (did I mention it was over 100 degrees this day). The more rocks. More rubble piles. And very little water.
But we did have trail magic! In addition to the slackpack magic, we did run into a former thru hiker who had set up a tarp with a grill and coolers. Hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas, snacks. He had his kids with him, who were telling jokes and setting up "Carnival Games". Knock over the the empty soda cans by throwing a rock. His daughter informed me that the male hikers were all "Nobos" (north-bound) but I was a "Nobette". And that collectively we were all known as "hippies." That's okay. I answer to hippie now.
By the time we emerged at Wind Gap, I was exhausted! And my feet hurt. But I was rewarded by a shower and a hot meal at a diner.

The deforested area of the superfund site