Wow today was killer. New York is not an easy state. The whole day consisted of nonstop climbs then immediate descents. Most of them were very steep and rocky. We were lucky that it was not wet out, as many of the sections in today’s hike would’ve been very dangerous if there was any rain.
We hit a pretty big mental milestone today as we walked over Interstate 87, a highway that we’ve driven many times, but have never walked over. For years I wasn’t even aware that the Appalachian Trail crossed I-87, or at least never really thought about it. It was just within the last year when I finally figured out where the trail crossed and took the time to notice it when we drove under it. It was gratifying to finally get east of that highway. Tomorrow we’ll hit another big milestone… crossing the Hudson.
One of the more interesting spots on the trail today was a spot called the Lemon Squeezer. It was only about 2 miles beyond the I-87 crossing, but you’d never know you were that close to a major highway. The Lemon Squeezer is a giant split boulder that you squeeze through, followed by a shimmy up a channel, then a difficult climb up an almost vertical wall. Of course there’s an “easy” way around all of that, but where’s the fun in that? Even with tired legs, we went for it, and made it through.
We pit stopped down at Lake Tiorati for a bit in the late afternoon. It was a little bit of a walk off the trail, but worth it. We took a dip in the lake, and got some sodas and ice cream from the vending machines. We tried to order some pizza with a few other thru-hikers, but no one delivers to the lake. Seems like a missed opportunity.
We made it to the William Brien shelter this evening, for a total of 19.5 miles today. It really was rougher than we expected, so our next few days we’re planning to be a bit more conservative. The trail had definitely gotten interesting again, but with that comes some difficulty, and with that comes the need to take care of ourselves and not try to keep putting in big miles.
One last thing, we had a few wildlife encounters today. One was a deer who gave us an intense stare down. We thought he was going to charge us for a minute because he didn’t immediately run away as we approached. He finally took off when I raised up my trekking poles. The second encounter was with a giant timber rattler, right in the middle of the trail. He gave us ample warning of his presence, so we stood back and let him cross the trail in peace before moving on. Just goes to show that there are still poisonous snakes in the wild within 50 miles of New York City.
