More Wildlife

I climbed on top of this mountain that I didn't know the name of. The view was so amazing I thought, okay, so maybe NJ isn't so bad. Just then I nearly stepped on a Timber Rattler. He coiled up and hissed. Not in the mood for pictures at all. In fact he was a bit of a drama queen if you want to know the truth. I looked up the name of the mountain for this blog post. It's Rattlesnake Mountain. I wonder how they come up with these crazy names for things.

A hiker just passed by and I told him to watch out. He told me he just saw two bears. Hmm, maybe no night hiking tonight.

The Tortoise

This footlong tortoise was the highlight of my day. Not that the pizza wasn't fantastic, but after hiking 19 miles of flooded trail that got as high as knee deep, with moody gray skies, relentless rain, and lightning cracking overhead, I was starting to feel low. It didn't help that I was soaked to the bone and the temperature dropped into the 40s. I had my head down plowing through the miles when I almost had a head-on collision with this guy. He helped to put a smile back on my face.

I made it to the Mashipacong Shelter after dark, happy to have a roof overhead so I could dry off and sleep, but the leaky shelter was full of hikers.

This morning I ran for much of the first 7 miles toward food in Branchville, NJ which seems to hate hikers. Rude business owners, silent unfriendly stares from locals, and I even got flipped off by a passing motorist for no reason.

So far NJ has been a hard state to love. There is one more day to turn that around, I'll be in PA tomorrow.

Annabel's Pizza

No cash, my debit card expired and my bank failed to send out the new one. Luckily I was able to resupply on pizza at Annabel's in Unionville, NY, the only place in town that takes credit cards. Their pizza is so good it should up the resale value of nearby homes.

New Jersey Border

I'm in New Jersey now. I've actually been walking along the state border with NY for a couple days, so I go back and forth. New Jersey is where my chances of seeing black bears increases. They say there is one bear per square mile in some parts. Coincidentally, bears can smell strong odors from two miles away. Don't worry, I don't believe there has ever been a bear attack on the AT. You only need to worry about my food supply.

So far, New Jersey has been wet, muddy, and mosquito infested. Foot bridges and bog logs have been washed out from flooding, so I've spent the days sloshing through water and trying not to slip on roots and rocks. If I try to slow down and avoid the water, by walking over stones, the mosquitoes swarm in numbers unlike any other state so far. It hasn't been an ideal couple of days, but surprisingly I still love it. It sure beats the cubicle life.

Bridge Out

I forgot they had some flooding in the area. Just a couple tropical storms or something, I don't know. Time to break out the crocs and get wet.

On My Own

The second half of my journey started out foggy and wet. I'm being drizzled on by the leftovers from last night's rain getting blown off the leaves above me.

I wonder what the next three months will be like. What will I see and do? Who will I meet? It will undoubtably be different than the previous three months, because I've come to realize the experience of hiking the AT isn't formed by the wilderness or the seemingly endless miles of trail, but by the people you meet. I'm incredibly sad that my friends are gone, but also excited by the unknowns ahead.

AT Day 29: The Mahoosuc Notch

AT Day 29: The Mahoosuc Notch, a set on Flickr.

Click thumbnails to enlarge photo and read descriptions.

AT Day 26 - 28: Hall Mountain

AT Day 26 - 28: Hall Mountain, a set on Flickr.

Thumper Going Home

Due to lack of funds, Thumper has decided to go back home to Kentucky.  She didn't leave unhappy though. She got on the bus excited that she'd soon be seeing her family again after three long months in the Appalachian mountains.  I met her and her sister (Sixgun Wild) on day two of my trip, so it's hard to imagine the AT without them.  I've never been closer to people I've only known for three months. We had a hell of a time and a lot of laughs. They were a huge part in making this trip the best time of my life.  I don't even want to think about how this trip would have been different if our paths didn't meet.

I will miss you both so much!  I know we'll see each other again. You are family now.  Please don't forget to call or send me the occasional text.

  

A Backpacker's Life List by Ryan Grayson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.   

The Hudson River

Fall is here, the leaves are changing, and I'm 800 miles into this trip. I'm still far from Georgia, but I'm not too worried about it. I'm sure the snow will be beautiful in the Smokies.

Trailside Zoo

We saw our first bears today, at the Trailside Zoo. Thumper showed no fear and even found the courage to taunt them (pictured). "S'up brah? Whatcha gonna do?" she said fearlessly, even as they sniffed the air at our food bags from inside their spiked iron cage.

The zoo on the AT had fewer exhibits than I imagined, but it was much nicer than expected and beautifully maintained. As was the whole Bear Mountain State Park. As beautiful as this area is, it seems a bit like wilderness for people that don't really like real wilderness. The graded trail of meticulously carved stone steps took us to the Bear Mountain summit where vending machines kept soda and water at just the right temperature to quench your thirst, without having to rely on streams like some wild animal. You can still see wildlife of course, properly caged for easy viewing and safety.

Anyway, we climbed to the top of the tower on the summit where we are sleeping for the night. Sssh, don't tell anyone. I'm quite sure this isn't allowed.

From Bear Mountain Bridge

This picture was taken yesterday from Bear Mountain bridge. Just passed the bridge, the AT goes through the Trailside Museum and Zoo. It's a small zoo with only native species, but I've been kind of excited about it for days. We spend so much time in the woods that I look forward to anything out of the ordinary.

The night before this we hiked until 11 PM just for the promise of a 24-hour convenience store with soda and junk food. I would say we were drawn to this gas station paradise like our own kind of Mecca, but as I told Thumper, "Actually no, this will be so much better than Mecca. They have soda." I couldn't have been more right. They sold a damn-fine Philly cheesesteak sandwich and had the nicest gas station restroom in the state, hands down.

Since the zoo was about to close, we decided to go into town and see it in the morning. Plus town had beds and a shower, and as much as I love living in the woods, I was really looking forward to not smelling like a corn chip's foot anymore. That required two showers.

Dover Oak Tree

This is the largest tree on the trail at 20' 4" around. It is estimated to be over 300 years old... In other news, poor Sixgun got the Giardia. She was feeling really sick for days and decided to go back home. Who can blame her, Giardia does not make for a fun time in the woods. We decided to meet at the AT train station on Saturday and take the 2 hour train to Grand Central Station in NYC. We hung out in the city all night, slept for 30 minutes the next morning in Battery Park near some hobos, then said our goodbyes at the port authority bus terminal. I'll admit it.. there wasn't a dry eye between us. We will miss her so much. Thumper and I are back on the trail now, nearing Stormville, NY, going for a 20 mile day in the rain.

Hope you are feeling better Sixgun!