June 23 - 19.6 / 1,384.4

Blueberries...NY is full of blueberries. I have had quite my fill over the last few days.

I tried to get my day going fairly early. But as always, it took me some 1.5 hours to get going after I woke up. I came to a road crossing with a water cache in the first two miles. I went ahead and drank a liter and refilled knowing the day was going to be scarce with water. The morning climb took me up and over Mombasha High Point. I should have been able to see NYC since it was clear. However, I scanned the horizon and saw nothing.

As I was coming down Mombasha I got to experience my first Wilderness First Responder moment. A couple was coming towards. As normal, I asked how they were doing. The guy said could be better and the girl moaned. I could tell she was limping as she got closer. I asked again and she said she had injured her leg. I told her I was a WFR and she told me I could look at it. She had a stick puncture it about four days ago. Part of the stick got lodged in her leg. She had pulled most of it out, but said part of it was still in there. He leg was definitely swollen and really hard from some type of infection. The wound was already closed so I didn't open it. Their wasn't much more I could have down with what limited first aid supplies I had. I answered their questions and gave them advice on what to do. They were already planning to just go to the next road and get a hitch to the nearest hospital. Smart choice. I hope it turns out well for her, the damage is minor, and that the infection could be stopped. I continued on and came across another water cache. This time I only drank 0.5 liters and refilled as there was only a fourth of a gallon or so left of all the jugs. I wanted to leave the others some as I was the first to get there. I found out later that by the time there others got there, the trail(s) had replenished all the jugs.

I took lunch in the Harriman State Park. I stopped at an overlook to a beautiful lake. I was standing there when I heard a male and female voice. I could only see the tops of their heads behind a big boulder about 50 feet down. I noticed the girl keep messing with her hair. That is when the thought came across my mind that he was probably taking pictures of her and she probably had little to nothing on. It wasn't a half second later that she stood up and sure enough she was topless. I quickly disappeared back down to my stuff further down the hill the opposite direction. It was quite unexpected.

I met a guy, after lunch, who had hiked from Katahdin to Bear Mountain in 1980. He was very friendly. We both spoke about our journeys. He said he wanted to finish the rest of the trail but would have to convince his wife first.

After the park, I went through Lemon Squeezer. As it sounds, the trail goes between two large rock croppings. I carried by trekking poles through first and threw them up. Next, I carried my pack in front of me (couldn't get through with it on my back) and then managed to lift it above my head to above the rocks. Soon after, I can to another rock cropping that had a sign that said "easy way." I knew I couldn't take that. This time one had to literally rock climb 12 to 15 feet straight up. Again, I threw my poles up first. Then, with my pack on, I climbed up. A little scary as I was by myself. A fall could have been a very serious injury.

Nearing the next shelter I came across a girl who wanted to know which direction the Lemon Squeeze was. I pointed her in the correct direction. She worried me as she didn't look to knowledgeable about hiking or what she was doing. From talking with the others, I know she was still looking when they passed her. Hopefully she found it and found her way back to where she started. I briefly stopped at the Fingerboard shelter to check the log. I met Rocket Rod there. He was just out for a few days. He has hiked the trail from Springer Mt. to Greenwood Lake, NY, just south of where I started my day. We talked for a little bit, but I told him I had to move on as a public "beach" was just over a mile away.

The "beach" is really just the edge of a lake with free swimming and lifeguards. The place was packed. I wondered what all the people did to allow them to be there on a Wednesday afternoon. They probably wondered what a guy with a large backpack was doing there. Fusion arrived about 30 minutes later. We spent the next 2 hours doing some great people watching. Eventually, Turkey, Thrasher, and Boston showed up. The lake closed and we all ate dinner at one of the local picnic tables. We got a kick out of watching some kids turn on a facet to fill up their water guns. They would leave and just leave the water flowing out. The parents did nothing about it. Multiple times we would go turn it off only to have them return a few seconds later. Once, Thrasher turned it so tight that they couldn't turn it back on. They tried everything for about 5 minutes before going to get an adult.

Now for the unexpected. I had told Fusion about the topless girl and guy. As I had not really seen the guy, I could only comment on his hat. It was distinct. Anyway, we were wrapping up dinner when a car pulled up. A girl got out to fill up a water bottle at the facet. I looked over and saw the guy in the car waiting. That is when I also saw the freaking hat. I instantly started laughing. Told Fusion to check out the hat. He instantly knew who it was too. Everyone else had no idea what was going on as we were just laughing. The girl got in the car, and they drove off. I then told the story to the others.

We finished dinner and hiked the last four or so miles to the shelter. There I met Little John. He too was attempting a thru hike but had just gotten back on after taking 3 weeks off. He said that he had a stress fracture and had skipped from VA. He was taking it easy until the others he had been hiking with catch up.

Speaking of pain, my left foot is killing me. I don't know if I have pulled something or what. If a rock or a root hits my arch, I instantly have a shooting pain and keep hold any weight. It also kills if I take a longer stride with my right foot causing my left toes to really bend. Feel free to give advice. I might try and get it checked out in Kent, CT in a few days.

Until then, night, friends.