July 21, 2012

Start: Inn on the Hudson, Peekskill, NY - Old Albany Post Road

Today, we woke up to beautiful weather. It was in the 60s and looking like it would be in the low 80s for the day. That seems like air conditioning compared to what it has been! We packed up, ate breakfast, and took the taxi to where we had left the trail. It was 9:30 and we were ready to do some hiking. We tried a new way of hiking today, which seemed to make us a bit quicker. Usually, I walk behind Brian and he is at least 100 yards ahead of me. I thought if I walked in front of him, it might make me walk faster... And it did! The pressure of having him behind me made my legs move faster. We reached a road 5.4 miles away in two hours. Our pace went from about 2 mph to 2.5 mph (depending on the terrain). We rested for 20 minutes at the road and then we were off again. I was on a mission. At the road crossing, there had been a sign for a snack shack at Canopus Lake. The lake was 3.7 miles away and I wanted a snack. Once we reached the road crossing where the lake is, we found a sign that told us to continue 1.5 miles on the AT and then take the green trail to the lake. I was a bit sad that I now had to go 1.5 more miles, but it was better than doing the 1 mile road walk. At least this was 1.5 trail miles. We reached the green trail and made the right. The trail was terribly blazed and maintained, but we managed. We got to the snack shack! We had yummy food and ice cream/ Italian ices. After giving our feet a nice 1.5 hour break, we set off for the RPH shelter. It was a nice 5 mile hike... Not too difficult. We are spending the night with three thru hikers... Nola, Jean Claude Van Dane, and one other (I can't remember his trail name). Today was a great 16.1 mile day. The weather was perfect, there was a snack shack, and we got some good miles in.

It was also a great day mentally for me. Preparing for the trail, I knew about the elevation ups and downs. What I didn't realize was the emotional ups and downs I would experience. I thought I would love every single second of this journey. In some ways, I do. I feel free and get to experience the simple life every day. In other ways, I have a hard time with the aches and pains (my knee still bothers me a little on down hills and my pinkie toe blisters are horrible!), I get bored or tired of walking, and sometimes I just simply want to be in my living room relaxing... But then I have days like today and all the reasons why we are out here come back to me. Today really was a great day!

End: RPH Shelter, NY

Peace Be The Journey
~Flicka