On 6/12 I did 9.1 miles after resupplying in Unionville, NY. On 6/13 I did 19.8 miles to Prospect Rock. On 6/14 I did 17 miles to just south of NY 17. On 6/15 I did 22.6 miles after crossing the Hudson River. On 6/16 I did 16.6 to Fahenstock lake. On 6/17 I did 21 miles to Nuclear Lake. on 6/18 I did 20.5 miles to Schaghtoke Creek. 6/19 thru 6/21 I zeroed in Kent, CT with a good friend. On 6/22 I did 11.6 to Hatch Brook. On 6/23 I did 19.6 just outside of Salisbury, CT. On 6/24 I did 21 miles just before Great Barrington, MA. On 6/25 I did 7.8 miles after resupplying in Great Barrington, MA.
Well I thought the nicest thing I was going to say about New Jersey was thanks for not being Pennsylvania; I planed on having my steel toe boots mailed to me since I figured I'd be walking through refineries, and the first few ponds and lakes I came across I scaned the water expecting to see dead bodies and sunken cars. Surprisingly New Jersey was really nice. The trail was very well maintained and there were a ton of rivers and lakes scattered along the trail; There were also great views all along the way, the first since VA. I even saw a bear in New Jersey without incident. It turns out the bear and I have a lot in common, we both like to go for long walks through the woods, we both get very angry when were hungry, and we both like our stomachs rubbed. The only negative thing I can say about New Jersey is the mosquitoes. I was walking through Wallkill natural preserve and slaping the mosquitoes off of me thinking nothing of it, I look down at my hand a couple minutes later and it was tripping blood from all the mosquitoes I had killed. They have mosquitoes the size of 50 cent pieces and that's not an exaggeration. I have made it all the way to New Jersey without using DEET but these mosquitoes require chemical warfare. New York was more of the same beautiful views, and the terain has started to get slightly harder with a lot of rock scrambles. I crossed the Pallisade parkway just 34 miles outside of NYC, if there wasn't a sign stating the proximity to the city you would never have known. I definitely hit a low point in New York. Actually it has been my lowest point of the entire trail; Right before I crossed the Hudson River I was only a hundred twenty four feet above sea level, I guess it's all uphill from here.
Question, in any of my blog posts did it sound like I was starving? I know I mentioned I had lost a decent amount of weight, but nothing to be alarmed about. I have had three very crazy resupplies. Benjamin Franklin struck again, this time he sent 14 pounds of dried fruit and jerky with some other treats. I should mention some of the other treats were anchovie paste and caviar. We sat around the camp and tried the caviar and anchovie paste. We all agreed it was pretty terrible in fact Clifford ended up puking from it. Also included in the resupply was a frisbee, which I will definitely be throwing in the fields and taking all the way up to Maine. One of my former bosses met me at the New Jersey high point state park. Now I've worked on and off for for him for almost 6 years, and have a ton of great and creative names I could call him, but since there's a chance I will someday work for him again I'll just leave his trail name to Mr. Ed. When he met me at the state park he opened up the back of his car and it looked like he just went to a whole foods store and told them to fill up the entire cart. There was so much food I actually had to turn some of it down. Mr. Ed also believes in supporting Kentucky's local economy which is good since 2 days after we met up it was National Bourbon day. I also had a great resupply from Seabass in Kent. Among the resupply was some good Irish Whiskey and socks. Now socks might not seem all that special but after 1,500 miles they were heaven.
I celebrated my birthday on the 23rd of June. Along with the Irish Whiskey, my good friend sent me back on the trail with freshly made cookies and scotch to share. I felt like Santa Claus bringing joy to the thru hikers passing out baked goods and liquor. I had quite a few disciples following me down the trail that day.
Funny Story: I was getting water at a shelter and when I returned I saw Hawk. Hawk and I have been running into each other throughout the entire trail and he is a joy to walk and talk with. I got excited when I saw him and went "Shit! Hawk!". As I yelled his name he was in the process of telling his name to a few hikers he never met. The timing was perfect, and all of a sudden the shelter started calling him ShitHawk. I hope the name doesn't stick or else he might not want to walk with me anymore.
By middle Connecticut I had completed 2/3 of the trail. As far as the physical movement on the trail goes I could break it up into 3 stages. I will have to say the first third I was trying to figure out how exactly long distance hiking works and was constantly testing out routines and different ideas; the second third I found my rhythm and moved like a slightly inebriated machine across the states. For the last third I want to change it up a little bit. The corner stone of my routine was my map and watch. I have now stopped wearing a watch and will base my decisions on how my body feels vs. time or mileage. I will no longer set an alarm, eat at specific times or walk predetermined mileage for the day. Instead I will wakeup when I'm ready, eat when I'm hungry and walk until I'm tired. I hope this change will allow me to be even more present on my final leg.
Found some free white gas. Not really supposed to use it in an alcohol stove.. but it has made cooking more exciting
Celebrating national Bourbon day under a waterfall with some Makers.
Frizzle is very patriotic. We could see the skyline of NYC from the here.
First steam crossing of the AT. Many more to come, I guess they couldn't afford bridges.
Hawk and I drying out on my BDay
1500 miles in
when did I get so grizzly?
He was so friendly
View close to Mt. Everett