Friends - Catskills circa 2006/2007

There is always a first hike. My first hike was in the Catskills of upstate NY, during my time at college. I have no memory of what exact trail it was or how many miles we hiked. There was an outdoors club I discovered and I asked my apartment mate to go with me. So we met down at the rec center with a small group of other students and gathered into this rusty old van to drive out to some mountains. There was no gear. It was a hike in jeans and cotton with a school backpack packed with a sandwich for lunch. Why would a walk in the woods require anything else? Trekking poles? Gaiters? Wicking shirts?? What are those? What I remember of this hike is resting at the lunch spot looking out at the only overlook and being there with my friend. I remember when everyone else was tired lugging ourselves slowly up the hills, my friend was energetically running ahead with the excitement of a little kid in disney land anxious to get to the top. Sometimes in a walk in the woods, what we remember the most is who we spent those miles with. The other details are faded memories. We did one more hike that year, deciding to blow off writing our papers for our class due the next day to go hike and bowl. It was a good decision :)

The next hike I did wasn't for another year or so. And it was a real "hike" without jeans or cotton. I learned. But in the end, a hike is a hike, no matter the gear or preparedness. Sometimes it's better to just wander and see where you end up. :) And bring your friends for the ride too.

NY/CT border - Appalachian Trail

Location: Appalachian trail Railroad Station to Ten Mile River Shelter 741.4-731.7, Out and Back
Mileage: 19.4
Wildlife: bugs! gnats, mosquitoes, spiders, worms, bees
Views: not many on the trail, the shelter has a nice scenic river

For this trip I did a solo backpack into the Ten Mile River Shelter just about 3 miles over the CT/NY border. GPS coordinates for parking: (N41 35.629, W73 35.224) This is just about 10 miles in and out, making it my longest backpack trip so far. On the way up to the start point I stopped in at the RPH shelter to drop off some food goodies for the thru-hikers: apples, almond butter and brownies :). The RPH shelter in NY is one of the rare shelters where you can actually order pizza from. It's in the middle of a neighborhood and looks to be in someone's backyard. See pictures below...

Here are some pages from the log book if you've never seen one...

For the majority of the hike to the shelter I hiked alone. I did run into my first southbounders here. There were a few of them. There isn't much scenery and it is mostly wooded trails close to neighborhoods. The beginning starts in a nice open field. This section of the trail also goes through the Pawling Nature Reserve, where some of the trail is not very well maintained. There were constant gnats and mosquitoes buzzing persistently near my ears no matter how many times I swatted them away! You will want a headnet for this time of the month. At the Ten Mile shelter there is nice river to sit and relax at. It is advised not to drink the water from the river however. There is a water pump near the lean to where water is accessible. It is along the walk to the pump that I discovered in an unfortunate way that there was a hornet's nest. I felt a sharp pain near my ankle like a needle stabbing into me. I never felt anything like it before. It was quite painful. I didn't realize what it was until someone later pointed out in the log book that someone had previously written watch out for the Hornet's nest on the way to the pump! I then decided to move my tent farther away from the nest to the other campground. I met 2 thru-hikers there named Wet Bag and Olive Oyl who had been hiking together for about 1,000 miles. Olive Oyl is a vegan which I thought was pretty awesome and she was also the first female thru-hiker that I had met so far. Wet Bag's dinner for the night consisted of ramen noodles with peanut butter, crackers and cheeze its mixed in. It was the most unusual dinner I'd ever seen lol. He had also gotten stung near the water pump. Olive Oyl's dinner consisted of avocado on fresh bread with garlic and other spices. That is one of my favorite foods as well. Another hiker at the campground was there from Maine on her first night. She was section hiking from CT to NH only with her dog. The Ten Mile Shelter has plenty of room for tenting, but is a little close to the road if you are seeking more solitude.

skyview on the way there

Filtering water

Border

doggie

 I have to say as a beginner the second day towards the end was quite tiring. My pack weighed in at about 24 pounds, which might be a bit much for one night. I also took my first fall, which happened in the last mile. Most likely due to tiredness. Luckily, no harm was done, besides a small bump on the knee :)

On my way out on the second day, I met Craisin, who accompanied me for 3 miles. He had thru-hiked the whole trail the prior year in only 4 months! He now still does section hikes and volunteers with AMC. I have asked many thru-hikers, what is it that made you do the hike? Has it changed your life?...etc etc. Many questions...in search of answers for myself. Many times, one of the answers given resonates repeatedly. The work in one's daily life is not fulfilling and thus another challenge is sought out in the form of the Appalachian trail thru-hike. This would be one reason I would pursue the trail as well. But I suppose I will only find the true answer for myself if I do the work myself and hike the trail too. How will hiking the trail change one's life? You won't know unless you do it. But as Craisin acknowledged, it is a positive change. It changes your outlook in life, who you are and how you present yourself to others. Many times I will hear and have witnessed in myself and others, how one's trail personality is quite different than one's every day life personality. The wilderness has that calming effect on you that allows oneself to relax and be more open and friendly to others as well I think. It will change your outlook and perception of the world. Give it a chance.

An appropriate fortune?

Let's do a Gear List!

I've the time to write out my gear list and wanted to get it down before major backpack trips.

Here it is:

Basics                                                                                                    
Backpack: Granite Gear Leopard V.C. 46 Ki - Women's 2lbs 12 oz
Sleeping Bag: Mountain Hardwear 32 degree Down Phantom 1lb 7 oz
Matress: Neoair 12 oz
Tent:  Lightheart Duo - Wedge  2lbs+1.5oz wedge
Stakes: stakes
Tyvek Footprint: Tyvek 5 oz.
Water Filter:  Sawyer Squeeze Filter

Cooking
Stove: MSR MicroRocket Stove 2.6 oz
Pot: Evernew Titanium Pasta Pot 4.1 oz
Fuel Canister
Utensils: Spoon .4 oz

Rain gear
Jacket: Marmot Wm's PreCip Jacket 11.4 oz
Skirt: Rain Wrap 3.2 oz
Trash bag liner or pack cover

Outerwear
Jacket: Patagonia Nano Puff  11.1 oz
Hat
Gloves

Clothes
Thermals: Patagonia capilene 2 for summer
Thermals: Smartwool for colder temps
extra pair of underwear
extra pair of socks
Crocs for camp shoes

Wearing
Shirt
Shorts
Socks
Underwear
Sneakers: New Balance Minimus

3 water bottles

Toiletries 
hairbrush
mirror
Dr. Bronner's soap
hand sanitizer
tweezers
scissors

First Aid kit
band aids
mole skin
aspirin

Misc.
book
journal
camera
swiss army knife
headlamp
Seat: Z-Seat

Food
bagels
apples
pumpkin seeds!
pasta
olive oil
garlic powder/red pepper
dried veggies
avocado
snack bars
anything you want!

"People are more important than miles" - Spider

Location: NJ/NY Appalachian trail
Campground - Pochuck Mtn Shelter at mile marker 1346.1 with 839.8 to go
Mileage: 4 miles saturday backpacking into campground, 3 miles sunday backpacking out, 15 miles day hike
Total: 22 miles
Elevation: About 2,500ft
Sightings: lots and lots of bugs in the summer season. Daddy long legs were the most plentiful. Every where you looked. Lots and lots of mosquitos. Centipedes. A baby deer, Frogs, mushrooms. Some bugs sneaked into my tent as I awoke to see a daddy long legs next to me :) Needless to say I have plenty of mosquito bites.

This weekend I did an overnight. I would like to first recommend the following book: The A.T. Guide A Handbook for Hiking the Appalachian Trail. It is extremely helpful in planning hikes with regards to parking, water sources and shelters. You will want to get the most updated version each year. I parked along Oil City Road in New Jersey. (N41 17.005, W74 31.562) This parking lot is also for the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, which is a nice open field. It is then about a 3 mile hike to the shelter with a little bit of up hill once you get towards climbing Pochuck mtn. Right before the uphill climb to the shelter there will be a water source trail off to the left just a short ways down.

This was my first overnight I was attempting alone. I am really glad I ran into some true thru-hikers. They offered helpful advice and company for the majority of the hike and overnight. I am always happy to see people who on their way to Maine, coming all the way from Georgia. I am always amazed no matter how many I run into. The first two that came along were Turbo and Matt. I say Matt because I can't recall the exact trail name. He mistook me for another thru-hiker named indigo from afar and also has quite the sense of humor. Matt is doing a fundraiser for diabetes for his trek. You can Donate here.  Both were in their early 30s. They accompanied me for the rest of the short hike up to the water source where we ran into 3 more thru-hikers! Red specs, Spider and Spider's friend visiting for the week. I camped with them at Pochuck mtn. shelter. Here is a picture of all of them!

Matt, Turbo, Spider, Friend, Red Specs

Red Specs is here all the way from Germany. Since I have been having some trouble setting my tent up, Spider was nice enough to help me out and showed me how I had been putting the stakes in incorrectly. They are supposed to go in slanted as opposed to straight in. I also learned to make sure I'm on complete flat ground next time, as I slid all night into the corner of my tent. Oops. Here is a picture of my tent.

Lightheart Gear Duo Wedge

There were more thru-hikers already at the actual shelter, so we had set up camp with our tents. All 3 set up a campfire and broke down branches to make some benches. We then set up to cook dinner and read aloud from a book that was left behind Barjack. It was a really good first overnight. It was definitely better than what I had been expecting. Which was to be alone in my tent listening for noises of bears prowling with fright. Instead what I found was this great sense of community within the network of the trail. The Appalachian trail is an entirely different world than the everyday life you might live in an average suburbia with a 9-5 lifestyle. The sense of community can be found in many towns in America. But on the AT it is different in that you're with people who are all there with the same goal and similar mindset. Spider talked of many things that stuck in my mind and will probably stay with me forever. He was very helpful with a caring spirit and advised that "People are always more important than the miles." It doesn't matter how fast you go. What matters is the people. He also said "Hiking a week with someone is like spending half a lifetime with them." This is entirely true. You can really get to know someone when spending day in and day out with them. When you backpack with someone for any length of time it forms a bond that lasts a lifetime. I'm not so sure spider is an appropriate name for ad-man spider. It was thrown upon him from outward appearances without getting to know his soul. I then had to rush out the next morning to meet my hiking group I was day hiking with the next day. I'm sorry to say I did not get the chance for a proper good-bye. I think they are all well on their way to finishing their hike.

Breaking trees for benches

Reading and eating time

Red specs starting a fire

The next day I then returned to my car and met the hiking group up at the lot on NJ94 to hike 15 miles to Bellvale (Mile markers 833.3-818.3. It started off with a few hundred feet of uphill climb then leveled off to only little uphill and downhills for the remainder of the hike. It is along this portion that you will cross over the NJ/NY border. If you are an ice cream person, there is a Bellvale Farms Creamery just down the block on the road at the end.

View

Bee hive - picture by hike leader

Mushrooooom

Border. Yes, that is a motorcycle tire there. It is accessible by bike apparently.

Only 819 miles to Maine. Let's go!

Our hike provided by hike leader

One last picture:

Weird looking spider?

I didn't want to come back home after my night out in the woods. I wanted to keep trekking with everyone else, despite my aching feet. It is an odd kind of ache to yearn to be somewhere. I understand the driving force behind all those hikers out there. I hope to join you someday. :)

-Angela

Geocaching - Muttontown Preserve - Long Island

This post will feature Geocaching! Geocaching is an outdoor activity using a gps to hide and find containers of  "treasures." There is a log book where you sign and date that you've been there. If you decide to keep one of the objects found, you must replace it with something else. In today's case I didn't take anything, but left a keychain of my own. :) I think this is a great activity if you have young ones that you want to try and encourage to get outside more instead of couching it in front of the tv and video games. The geocaching app is $10 to download to your smart phone. It will give you gps coordinates and a description of what you are looking for. You can also see the most recent logs which will help to confirm that the cache is still there if it was found recently.

For just a hike, trail run or nature walk itself, Muttontown preserve is a great place to explore. You will likely see horses here as well, as horse trails are a part of the preserve. This time of year, there were a ton of mosquitoes which shortened our adventure to just this one cache. There is also plenty of poison ivy here so be careful!

This is how it was hidden.

Our find!

Log Book

Enjoying the open space

Feeding the horses

Sundance and April

The "Ruins"

Eek Graffiti :/

Links:

https://www.geocaching.com/

Preserve

Watch this!

Appalachian Trail

Flashback Friday - High Point, NJ - March 11, 2012

This Friday's post is looking back on New Jersey's High Point. At an elevation of 1,804 ft it is one of the lower ones of the states. This was a short hike along the Appalachian Trail, maybe about 5-6 miles out and back, linked with the Monument Trail. It was not strenuous at all. Again, you can drive up to this high point, so the top has many tourists and families visiting for the view and tends to be less hikers.

Almost there!

Link:
High Point