June 8, 2021

Woke up this morning still feeling a little woozy.  I suspect I’m dehydrated and can’t seem to recover.  The weather hasn’t broken yet so another steamy day is ahead.  Over breakfast I decide to end my hike at Ft. Montgomery by the Hudson River.  I have a drop box with supplies waiting for me at the Post Office there and I can get a hotel room. 

I pack up and head out.  The fatigue begins to hamper my progress not long after I start down the trail.  This reaffirms my decision to end my hike.  Despite my efforts dehydration has reared its ugly head despite my efforts.  Very disappointing.

I am also concerned that without my phone I have lost the use of guthook, my primary navigation tool and trail information source.  The AT is pretty well marked but having guthook has been very useful at times.

I stopped frequently to hydrate and rest, way more than normal.  When I got to the road crossing at Seven Lakes Drive I decide to hitchhike into town.  It’s not a heavily trafficked road but I was able to get a ride from a woman before long.  My guess is that she is in her late 30’s maybe early 40’s.  In a conversation during the ride I learn she had done a big trek in Asia and the Pacific when she was younger.  Sounds like an amazing adventure.  

She was kind enough to take me all the way to Holiday Inn Express in Ft Montgomery even though it is a little out of her way.  Thank you so much!

I score a room and then begin to make plans to return home.  I call Dorothy to get shuttled back to her B&B to get my car.  We make plans for her to pick me up the morning of June 10, the earliest she can do.  I will spend tomorrow resting and recovering here.

Dorothy did pick me up on the morning of June 10.  Rode back to Meadowlark Farm B&B, got my car and drove the three hours back home.  I loved the trail but disappointed that I could not handle the heat and hydration issues.  Was looking forward to hiking with Dave and Matt as well.  It turns out Dave may have a hairline fracture.  

June 7, 2021

The heat wave continues.  I didn't think that I would encounter such an extended period of heat this ealry in June,  It’s slowing my hike to a crawl.  I have begun carrying extra water as the water sources remain scarce and sketchy.  Staying hydrated is a challenge.  I feel the fatigue that dehydration can cause.  Crap.  I decided to make it a very short day and camp at West Mountain Shelter because I don’t have the energy to make it up and over Bear Mountain to Ft. Montgomery.

Unfortunately the shelter is over a half mile off the trail and water is scarce. The good news is that the shelter is high on the mountain and overlooks the Hudson River Valley and on a good day you can see the NYC skyline.  Today’s humidity and haze made it difficult to see the NYC skyline but the view  was still awesome.

There is water but it’s a half mile hike down to it.  Not much of a choice as I need water. The other bad news is that my phone has died.  Can’t reset or recharge. No guthooks.  No communication via the phone!

When I got to the shelter I put up my tent and then set off for much needed water.  I hiked about a quarter mile back on the blue blazed shelter trail and then turned down a yellow blazed trail which promised water.  Down it went and then down some more.  Finally I came across a creek bed. It was dry.  Discouraged is too mild a word to describe how I felt after hiking all this way down. I decided to go a little further. I found water!  A deer shared the water source with me.  I filled up the bottles and started back up the steep slope, stopping to rest periodically.  

A thunderstorm popped up and is rolling this way.  Not for nothing, but after climbing the hill from the water source, I got turned around on the side trail to the shelter. No phone and thus no guthook to help me.  I ended up back at the AT, not the shelter. So turning back around I hiked the half mile back to the shelter and got caught in the thunderstorm as well. At least the rain was cool.

Spent a little time talking with a couple of weekend hikers from NYC at the shelter over dinner.  Apparently you can get to Harriman State Park by train from NYC.  Takes about an hour and a half.

I am tired and feeling a little woozy so after eating and hanging my food bag I called it a night.

It was a very short day.  Including the side trail and hike to get water and back I think I did about six miles.  Hope things cool and I can pick up the pace tomorow.

Some of the pictures in this blog are from the internet, particularly those after the lemon squeezer.  Any pictures I took after that died with my phone.  These internet pictures pretty accurately reflect what I saw.

June 6, 2021

Another hot and humid day with temperatures ain the 90's again.  Packed up camp and headed down the trail.  Hardly a mile had passed when I got to the lemon squeezer.  The trail enters a short rock tunnel and on the other side squeezes through rocks.  It’s tight and many need to take their packs off to get through as did I.

After getting through the squeezer the trail turns right and heads up a rocky climb.

There are only a few scenic views as even the tops of the mountains here are tree covered but the forest has its own charm.  Before long I passed Fingerboard Shelter and it’s bear warning signs. 

Despite the rumors people did camp there last night.

I took a detour at Alden Valley Road down to Tiorati Beach.  It was three tenths of a mile but it’s a recreation area with a beach, showers, drinks, tap water and ice cream.  It’s a great park with lots of families picnicking.  I swam, showered, drank Gatorade and had ice cream.  Then ate lunch with two other hikers before filling up water bottles and heading back to the trail.

It was great to get the tap water as the water has been sparse and sketchy along the trail so far.

I decided to stop for the night at the William Brien Memorial Shelter.  Including the detour I covered about 9 miles today.  The heat is really slowing me down.  Even My phone has been quirky in this heat. It’s been hard to swipe up different apps including guthook.  I had to do a hard reset twice today.

There is a spring fed well near the shelter.  It’s small and hard to find but fortunately a hiker let me know how to find it.  The water was cold and refreshing.

I was tired so after eating and hanging my food bag I was off to bed.

June 5, 2021

Dave and Matt dropped me off where Lakes Road intersects the AT in Warwick.  The trail dipped down from the road and ran through a marsh area.  I walked on boards for a couple hundred feet and then into the woods.  The day was hot and humid.  Temperatures would reach 90 but in the early morning the shade from the trees kept things more comfortable. The heat and humidity would become oppressive later that morning. 

The trail crossed over a couple streams which were easy to walk over on intermittent stones. Crossing over a second stream I followed what I thought was the trail. What initially looked like a well traveled path began to dwindle. and white blazes were nowhere to be seen.  NY is a little sparse with their white blazes and at times it would take some reconnoitering to determine where the trail led.  I checked Guthook and found I was veering away from the trail so I backtracked to the stream.  The trail takes a sharp left turn after crossing the stream and follows its rocky bank to a waterfall and then climbs rock steps up to the top.  I didn’t see the marking for the turn but with Guthook’s help I found the way.  Guthook came in handy again when the trail, while following the stream, suddenly took a left and crossed over it without much warning.  There would be a couple other areas that could have used some more blazes but fortunatley my meanderings were shortlived and guthooks got me back on track without to much ado.  The hike started great, lots of different features including marshes, streams, waterfall, forest and mountain.  

Once past the falls the trail became a constant trek up and down steep rocky mountains or hills; not huge climbs but steep enough at times that I needed to use my hands to rock climb.  It became a grueling up and down afternoon.  The descents could be tricky as well.  Apparently switchbacks are not popular in the North.  My pace was slow but this was true for two other pairs of hikers who leapfrogged me along this section.  The heat and humidity was extracting its toll.  My Perspiration was so extensive that my clothing became soaked with it.  You would think I had been under a hose.  I would dry some when I stopped only to remoisten when I picked up hiking again. 

Saw four snakes along the way.  Three garter snakes and one black rat snake, all non venomous.  There are timber rattlers in the area but I didn’t see any.  This garter snake is hard to see in the picture.  He is in the top center slithering to escape my intrusion.

I started the hike without using my knee brace but by noon had reverted to using it.  The extra support was really helpful.

Around 3 pm I came down to the road crossing (NY rte 17) where the AT enters Harriman State Park.  The two pairs of hikers and I got trail magic there.  A guy had water, Gatorade and snacks.  We made it just in time as he was getting ready to pack up and leave as we came to the road.  He provided some historical information about the area while we ate and drank. His generosity was fantastic.

One pair of the hikers was doing a day hike and their car was parked nearby to take them home.  The other had friends pick them up at this road juncture to stay overnight in a nearby town.  I headed into the park.

My initial goal was to get to Fingerboard Shelter.  It was shut down last year due to aggressive bear activity but they installed a bear hang and reopened it this year.  It still had warnings posted I was told.  One hiker I talked with said he heard that most were avoiding this shelter.  

Being tired and worn out by the heat I opted to seek an earlier camp.  Found an awesome camp site at Island Pond Outlet.  Beautiful tent sites with a great view by the side of the lake. Went swimming in the lake to cool off before dinner. There were about 7 other tents nearby.  

Generally I tie my Ursack food bag to a tree or, when available, use provided bear hangs. Given the warnings about bear activity nearby I decided to hang my bag.  First time for me to use the PCT method to hang mine as there were no bear hangs or boxes.

Temperature dropped sufficiently to make it comfortable to sleep on top of my bag.  Sleep came easy.

June 4, 2021

Traveled to Warwick, NY to meet up with my brother in law and his brother (Dave and Matt) to hike the NY section of the Appalachian trail.  They started hiking a few days ahead of me in NJ.  

The plan was for me to drive about 3 hours to Meadowlark Farm B&B in Warwick where I will leave my car and Dorothy will shuttle me to Bellvale Farms Creamery which is close to the trail.  I will either meet Dave and Matt there and hike about 2 miles to the Wildcat shelter or just meet them at the shelter that night.

The drive to Warwick was pretty easy.  Most of the driving was on Interstates 90 and 84 which were pretty good.  Got to Warwick around noon and was getting ready to be shuttled to the trail when I received a text from Dave.  He fell and injured his ankle and was in the process of getting off the trail.  Bummer!  It was fortunate that I hadn’t gotten shuttled to the trail yet so I was able to drive and get them as they got off the trail.  Dave and Matt were making their way down the Village Vista Trail from the AT to the little Village of Greenwood Lake. With his injury, it would take an hour and a half or more before they could get to the village so I had plenty of time.  The Bellvale Farms Creamery is on the way so I stopped there for some ice cream and checked it out.  

Nice place, great views and good ice cream.

Greenwood Lake Village is small and looks like a resort town.  It’s on the north tip of a sizeable lake.  I found the trail head and waited in the car for their arrival.  

It was overcast and threatening to rain.  A drizzle started and turned into a downpour.  It rained hard for maybe 20 minutes then stopped before Matt and Dave emerged from the trail.  Both were soaked and Dave was hobbling.  He had wrapped his ankle.

We decided to get their cars and stay in a hotel that night.  They are both getting off the trail and will head home. I left my car at the B&B.  They will drop me off at the trail in the morning.

We had a steak dinner at an Outback restaurant which was a stones throw from the hotel. Then off to bed for an early rise in the morning.

May 13, 2021

This is a buffer day in case I got delayed.  So I have time to kill and wandered around town.  It’s a small town.  Population of less than 1,000.  Main Street is about three blocks long.  There are outfitters, adventure guides (biking and kayaking) a dollar general store and thrift shops. There is a diner, sandwich shop and maybe two other small places to eat.  It’s limited as you would expect for a town this size.  It is a good hiker town but I think its main commercial activity is from bicycle activity on the Virginia Creeper Trail and from kayaking activities.  It’s a big outdoor recreation area.

It’s a beautiful day today.  Warmed up nicely making my wanderings about town very enjoyable.

Some pictures of Damascus:

This is where I had dinner.  











Odie, the hiker yearbook guy showed up and was shuttling people around.  I saw him last time I hiked in 2019 in Hiawasee, GA.

They are starting to set up for Trail Days festival which starts tomorrow.  

Hikers are pouring into town for the festival.  Ran into Pork Chop, Pops, Nero, Fourth Quarter, Gourmet, Rose, Craig, Random and others I’ve hiked with.  They are hanging around for the festival.  I’m heading home.

Got my duffle bag to pack my things for the plane ride back home.  I have a shuttle arranged to get to the Tri Cities Airport in the morning.

This has been a great adventure but I’m looking forward to getting home.  Hike on.

May 12, 2021

Only 6 miles to Damascus.  Unfortunately it’s raining when I wake up and it’s cold.  If it was much colder I think it would be snow. 

Do I wait out the rain?  Last time this happened the rain outlasted me and I had to pack up in the rain. Ugh!

But as I contemplated my situation the rain stopped.  I hurriedly packed my things.  There was a brisk cold wind which was drying my tent.  Luck is on my side and I was able to pack up a reasonably dry tent as well.  It was still promising rain so I donned the rain jacket and took off. 

Rain recommenced shortly thereafter but only for about an hour.  

It’s cold and my hands are getting numb.  The gloves are carefully packed at the bottom of my pack so I’m not stopping to unpack them.

Along the way

I cross the Tennessee/Virginia state line.  I have completed Tennessee.


And then...




Found my way to Crazy Larry’s hostel.  

Crazy Larry

Got a bunk, took a shower, talked with Deirdra on the phone and then went in search of food at the Damascus Diner.

Damascus is a small town. The Main Street is about two or three blocks long. 

This section hike is now complete.  I am here a day early.  My flight home is on Friday morning out of Tri Cities airport so I have time to explore.  Need to arrange a shuttle to the airport.

Trail Days starts on Friday but I am anxious to get home.