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.