"Good Morning! Beans, back...on a mission to finish (virtual) NY and make
Connecticut before we stop today!"
Our 27th day on the Virtual AT.
66 degrees this morning, and pouring down cold rain earlier.
At least the rain has stopped, but it is cold!!!
The Blaze App says 52 degrees in Maine right now.
(...thinking of knee to chest high fording streams in 52 degrees...which will be much colder by the time we arrive, is daunting...)
Since its completion in 1937 only about 12,000 people have made it on a thru-hike.
Only about 1 in 5 thru-hikers actually finish the trail.
So, let's see what the rest of New York has to offer...and find the NY-Connecticut State Line today!
Come on...
Our first sight along the way
The Taconic State Parkway
(...I have had to fortune to actually drive this in REAL-TIME and is an amazing stretch that winds through upstate NY past mountains, grassy meadows and waterfalls...truck traffic is not allowed and the speed limit is 55 MPH...The Chief Diner remains off the Taconic and 23...a vestige of the 1950's aluminum diners where you can get a burger, fries and a malted or chocolate soda in original surroundings...and it is just wonderful!)
(...ahhhhhhhhhhh nostalgia....but I digress...)
Down Mount Hosner to Mount Egbert.
Past Morgan Stewart Shelter
Which we take a short hike from to find the famous
DOVER OAK
https://youtu.be/NMrzBH8XCac
The Dover Oak is the Oldest Known Oak Tree at over 300 years old, and measuring almost 22 feet in circumference.
I love ancient trees and the several that we have already come across on this hike makes me wonder what lies ahead!
On we go...
Across old Route 55 and up West Mountain
and our very first City Skyline Glimpse
It is funny. Although I am not adverse to big cities...and have spent time in this one real-time...I am very glad, after the quiet and back-to-nature that the AT has provided over the months, to only be viewing it from a mountain-top.
We have been on the trail since June and it is now August.
The hustle, bustle and crowd of NY would be overwhelming now.
You can also see Nuclear Lake
Old article re: Nuclear Lake in the NYT.
and a 1972 article from the Poughkeepsie Journal
https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2014/08/12/dateline-nuclear-lake/13976085/
And I am thinking swimming here might still be a bad idea, okay?
To Telephone Pioneers Shelter
You're Welcome.
Although a privy was built as well...the water situation is iffy here at best. Most reporting a mere trickle from the spring nearby.
Which brings us to the ONLY railroad station along the AT.
"To HELL with this!"
And hop a ride home.
Who could blame them?
(...but this is virtual..so on we press...)
Opening a pack of M&M's to give us the extra energy boost for the next 3 miles we will need to make it to the state line.
Not long now...
Past Hurd's Corner and Leather Hill Road
A brief rest stop at Wiley Shelter
Down Duell Hollow Road to Hoyt Road
And at last The Connecticut State Line
Okay...that is a little underwhelming...
1451.5 miles down and 738.5 miles to go.
Taking a couple of Zero Days...hotel...hot bath...good meals...rest a bit....and Friday we will start Connecticut!
Until then..
Love,
"Beans"
New York Hike
https://youtu.be/uxijAVoHiKI
