Pawling, NY...library: Well folks a lot has happened in the past week and a half or so and I'll try to cover a few things here in bullet point format...me fave:
* Pennsylvania, New Jersey and now (almost) New York are states of my past. That's 9 states down and 5 to go (CT, MA, VT, NH and ME). That's 1435 miles down and 743 to go. 350 or so to Mt. Washington. Maybe 40 nights or so left out here. Countdowns are strange to think about.
* After all my talk and search of moonshine in the south, my first day in New Jersey I happened upon a few hikers that did Hardcore with us back after trail days and they had just driven up to Delaware Water Gap from Tennessee with a mason jar full of goodness. So I finally had my first moonshine and it was wonderful...didn't have a whole lot of bite to it really - much much smoother than Virginia Lightning. Anywho...that was 2 points for New Jersey.
* Saw my first rattler my last day in Pennsylvania. T'was about 5-6 ft. long and mildly terrifying - particularly with the startling manner in which it makes its presence known. I don't have a picture for you. Cool story, huh?
* Had first 'might be close to death' moment on a ridgeline in New Jersey when a thunderstorm rolled across the ridge and lightning started crashing around us. Greenlite did the old walk 30 yds behind me trick which I later determined was because lightning would probably on strike one of us instead of both and the other could go for help. Sweet. After one particularly terrifying crash, we managed to get down off the ridgeline and crouch under a rock overhang until it passed. Certain death averted.
* Mama Kath came out last Wednesday to Friday to hike with us!! She was ready to attack mountains and ogle at New Jersey vistas with her rockin' external framepack and ski poles. She braved some wet rocks, pouring rain, a lotta muck and a hellspawned cloud of mosquitos on the ridge where we camped - we couldn't even really get out of our tents - and all in good spirits. Our second night we were lucky enough to be hosted by the former mayor of Unionville, NY - a trail angel who takes hikers into his home and offers showers, dinner, breakfast, beer, bunks, laundry and inspirational motivation. There were probably 25-30 or so hikers there that night - this guy is a saint. I'll let Mama Kath tell a bit more about our stay at the Mayors - she's going to attempt to write her first blog post evaaa!
* Kelley came out and joined us from Friday to Sunday to help us celebrate the great birth of our nation, to cross the NJ/NY border and to bring the spirit of Camp McKee to the AT. She endured some mighty rocky trail, more rain, sparse water...and still managed to be excited about being out there even when all I can do is complain. Kel, Greenlite, Sir Richard and I spent the Fourth in Harriman, NY at the American Budget Inn (Americaa!!) watching Neil Diamond and drinking Busch Light. It was both magical and patriotic. Kel also got to experience the excitement of hitchhiking as we tried to get from the trailhead to town. A pickup truck, a charter bus and a mile of roadwalking later we saw that glorious 'motel' sign...score. All in all it was absolutely wonderful to have Mom and Kel come out and share in the experience with me - to be able to sigh knowingly when I whine about bugs, mud, rocks, so on and so forth.
* Onward into upstate New York - Harriman State Park was absolutely beautiful and it was mindblowing just how close to NYC it really was. From Shenandoah Mtn and Bear Mtn you could get a fairly clear view of the Manhatten Skyline. My friend Hustler who thru-hiked in '04 says he saw the view of the NYC Skyline and six hours later had a bear come into his camp...quite the trip. We saw a huge train of Japanese tourists out on a hike in Harriman State Park and though we had a bit of a language barrier all we could really make out was him asking if we were walking to Maine and telling Sir Richard and Greenlite that they looked like Jesus. Guess that's all we really needed to catch. To continue the Jesus theme, we camped in the ballfield at Graymoor Spiritual Life Center, a monastery not too far from Bear Mountain, NY that lets thru-hikers camp and use the outdoor showers. Good fun. Ms. Fieseler made a trail reappearance last night near Stormville, NY to meet up for dinner and tell tales of Belize !! Most wonderful.
Hope to have Mom and Kel do blog posts about their experiences soon!! Just turned dark and started hearing thunder outside which is no way for Connecticut to introduce itself but that's life. Stopping briefly in Kent, CT tomorrow and probably hitting Massachusetts by Thursday night. Now it's pouring. For the love of God. Think that about sums it up. Thanks to the nice library man that just told us to bring our stuff inside even though it smells of hiker funk. Nice folks here in Pawling. A few people have asked about the next maildrop and if you're interested in sending anything, I'll be stopping at the post office in Dalton, MA in 6-7 days. You can mail to:
Kim McKee
c/o General Delivery
Dalton, MA 01226
Hold for Thru-hiker ETA July 14
Now it's hailing. Oh cruel world...
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