Miles Hiked Today - 17.5
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 1423.5/2,193 (64.91%)
Fort Montgomery (1406) to Stealth Tentsite (1423.5) - camp
Total ascent - 3,919’
Total descent - 3,299’
Total States Completed - 8/14
**No Rain - a little cooler today - especially in the morning. Turned really hot in the late afternoon
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Coming to you live from my tent - my very hot tent at a stealth Tentsite somewhere in NY. I’m about 35 miles from completing New York and entering Connecticut.
Today turned out pretty good. We ended up going 2-1/2 miles further than projected - finishing with a 17.5 mile day. We had 2 large climbs this morning - but luckily - the heat and humidity were bearable early. The afternoon turned brutally hot again - but we had the large portion of the day completed before it got too bad. We got into camp at 4pm
It’s nice to get into camp early, get the tent setup, eat, collect water - and be laying down by 6:30pm. It will be a few hours before I’ll be able to sleep (when things cool down) - but resting is always good.
After the early morning climbs - the trail went by a convenience store. So - we took a nice 30 minute break and grabbed a couple Gatorades and some snacks. Caruso and I have been hiking together for a few weeks now - we have similar goals in mind for getting to Katahdin. We also both like to start very early in the morning to avoid the heat - so it’s been a good partnership to this point. We walk together for a little while early - but I usually go ahead of him and we reconnect again at water stops. Sherpa Mike has been in contact with us daily. He’s back to almost 100% - which is astonishing. He’s actually only 1 day behind us due to our Zero in Fort Montgomery. He’ll likely catch back up to us in Great Barrington, MA in 6 days. That would be awesome - hopefully things continue well
We didn’t really run into anyone else today - some section hikers - but we were mostly all alone out there. The trail has turned noticeably smoother after the Hudson River. Everybody was telling us things would get better after the first 40 miles of NY - hopefully that continues.
Summer hiking in the deep woods is not great for a very fair-skinned feller like me. Sunburn, bites everywhere, poison ivy rashes — it’s not the most pleasant thing in the world. You know what I wish I had the most - a lawn chair. Man - getting done with a hike and being able to just sit down in a comfortable lawn chair would be nearly Heaven. I end up sitting on some rock or log or the ground - with bugs crawling all over me. It’s never comfortable and you usually end up causing pain somewhere in the body. On this hike - I’ve come to appreciate the small things for sure. Give me a nice flowing stream to collect water and a lawn chair - all good stuff! (an ice-cold cooler filled with your beverage of choice and a radio playing some old country music wouldn’t be so bad either)
Well - Here’s to continuing strong on my journey. Everyday I’m looking for inspiration - today it’s from a former walk-on football player at Norte Dame:
“Your 5 foot nothin’ 100 and nothin’, you barely have a speck of athletic ability - and you hung in there with the best college football players in the land for 2 years. And - you’re gonna walk outta here with a degree from the University of Norte Dame. In this life, you don’t have to prove nothin’ to nobody but yourself. Do you hear me”
Keep it strong out there!
Very cool history here
Sunrise over the Hudson River
Walking over the bridge
Hudson River
Sign at convenience store
Walking toward the bridge
Cool history
Location of the inoculation station
My favorite of the day
Really weedy trails today
Break location
Very nice
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