Klauks to Katahdin: Busy Bees

Day: 105 (July 8)
Starting location: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Ending location: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center
State: NJ
Miles today: 15.3
Miles total: 1,399.7

Today was a busy day for us on the trail. We woke up early and were hiking by 7:00. We had to trek an extra .5 miles to a visitor center on the Palisades Parkway so we could fill up with water. Once we were back on the trail, we started to climb Bear Mountain. It was difficult, but at least it was cloudy! Today was less hot, however it was much more humid. The sweat was just pouring off of us. Once we reached the top we got to see the Hudson Valley and the Hudson River. It would have been great if it weren't so hazy. After a while we began going down the mountain. The trail had been rerouted to a nice gradual path that was detailed with stone steps. This project must have taken volunteers forever to complete considering it was over a mile long. We later found out it took 4 years.

We reached the town of Fort Mongomery and had a quick bite to eat at the snack bar. We then followed the AT through the Trailside Zoo which is actually the lowest elevation on the Trail (124 ft.). Hopefully it's not all uphill from here! One of the guidebooks describes the zoo as an emotional experience for hikers because the animals that we are used to seeing in the wild are caged. To be honest it was a little sad, most of the animals seemed sickly for some reason.

Next, the trail took us over the Hudson River. It was a large bridge that even had sucicide hotline phones on the sides. We must have been a couple hundred feet above the water.

After hiking for another few hours we emerged from the woods and saw a Shell Station. This was very exciting for us hikers as mini marts carry cold beverages and candy. We both downed two gatorades immediately. It was awesome.

Tonight we are camping at a monastery called the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center. They allow hikers to camp at the ballfields where they have picnic tables and a shower. We haven't checked out the monastery yet, but we will in the morning. However, tonight I will make sure to say a few extra Hail Mary's.