Sunday, August 10, 2008

new york, new england & other new things

still going the right way
new york was very challenging. an array of obstacles besiged us with every climb, such as...


...gargantuanally imposing rocks - like the infamous lemon squeezer,



...giant clusters of mushrooms hiding behind trees and jumping out at us,


...poorly made tents whose zippers have to be fixed by the one and only amazing woman and seamstress, Ravon!,




...scores of real "civilians" invading the trail at Bear Mtn. park which contains a zoo, lodge, massive swimming pool, museum, shoreline on the Hudson and the only tunnel we will go under (spot the hiker - keychain, naked time, burass & chuck enjoying the scenery w/ us and wondering if us hikers were maybe part of the zoo exhibit?),

...nosey cows, and of course ticks, boulder climbs and the beginning of the wet season!

aahh, Connecticut will put things into a new england perspective,

spirit walker is a great man. offered up his house, and hot tub, for a few thru-hikers. we partook in beers and delicious food. the Dr. hikes a lot on sections of the trail, sometimes with his son 'funk', who thru-hiked the AT in '02.
Great Falls, Housatonic river, which we paralleled on and off for some 25 miles,


Mass. already! CT flew by but had some fantastic rivers (due to an unprecedented amount of rain) and vistas.

This is what i mean about the rain. at times it got a little out of hand, as you can see the trail can turn into a brook. we've had around 5 days, between NY and VT, where its been torrential downpour. getting caught in it sucks, and although we've got pack covers, with this much water coming down we might as well have jumped into a lake with our backpacks on. usually the sun will come out soon after to help us dry out...


...and keep us on the path to katahdin.

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