June 26 – Now This Is the Trail

Post date: Jul 1, 2012 11:34:20 PM

With an early rise "Five Pair" exited the shelter area before 6:15am and hiked inside the 800 miles to go point. The experience today of hiking would have met her expectation of the Appalachian Trail prior to the beginning her thru-hike. The trail included varied walking surfaces, pretty views and abundant wildlife but did not include the dreaded rocks. "Five Pair" encountered a bear, deer, rabbits, and a snake as she hiked down the pretty tree lined pathways.

As "Five Pair" worked her way around Bear Mountain, this portion of the hike included a distant view of the New York City skyline.

After that view, "Five Pair" and "Alpo" hiked through Bear Mountain Recreational Area and as they exited the park spotting a closed concession stand. "Five Pair" turned on the best thru-hiker charm she could muster and knocked on the back door. With the door opened, the worker told her that the stand closed five minutes ago but upon observing the sad looking thru-hiker, advised her they did have two cheeseburgers and one hotdog left over and that they were available to her. The courtesy was quickly accepted and "Five Pair" and "Alpo" were soon both enjoying the benefit of the interaction.

Thereafter, the two hiked past the 1,400 miles hiked mark and onward to the campsite at the Graymoor Spiritual Live Center. There they met "T", a female hiker from Kentucky, "No Trace" and "Unbreakable", husband and wife hikers from California, and met up with "Dace", "Honey Badger", "Wolverine" and "Uhaul".

1,404.1 miles complete/780.3 miles to go