TRAIL MAGIC

AT Day 085: Saturday July 1, 2023

Mile 1434.5+ 23 miles/37 km

Total Distance Hiked: 1457.5 miles/ 2345 km

Shanandoah Campsite – Campsite 

A:4304 ft /1313 m  D: 4134 ft /1251  m

How prescient that we should come across the Telephone to the Wind yesterday. Late last night we got news from home that our cousin has lost her cancer battle. And yesterday we were sending love on the wind to our dear departed. Hammer and I stayed awake and cried some, long after hiker midnight. 

Today was another hard start to the day. The campsite we had was great and we had it to ourselves. We were especially pleased after passing the popular RHM shelter about a mile further along. It was exposed to a lot more traffic noise. 

Traffic noise  from the Taconic State Parkway and the  Interstate 84  which we crossed  was a constant for most of our morning hike. It drowned any bird song. For hours we hiked to the sound of zooming traffic. The trail rolled  up and down meandering over ridgetops  without views. At times it felt like we were going around  in circles and not making any progress.  The smoke from the Canadian Wildfires was in the air, burning the back of our throats when  hiking up hard ascents. 

It was a head down getting the miles done kind of day with me trying not to go into a meltdown. It was hot and very humid and we were covered in sweat. Hiking felt really hard this morning.  

We stopped for lunch by the side of Cross Depot Hill Road, which the trail crosses. A quite road without any traffic. Stopping for lunch is always a highlight and we hoped for a bit of a mental reset.  We were passed by two hikers, one of whom we met yesterday. His name was ‘Slim Pickings’, he hiked with a guitar strapped to his pack. He stopped for a chat. It was nice to share our  thoughts on today’s hike.  We are all in the same boat. 

After lunch the hiking was more of the same. Water sources were a bit scarce, some were dried up and some were too close to Nuclear Lake. The lake got its name from an accident at a nuclear research lab which used to be on the shores of the lake. A che bymical explosion in 1972 at the lab blew bomb-grade plutonium across the lake.  When we passed, there was a couple paddling a canoe and fishing  in the lake.

We were getting low on water towards the end of the day. The trail passes a plant nursery on Route 22 which was closed but did have a spigot at the back. We hoped to pick up water here before heading up hill through some farmland.  Approaching Route 22 we passed a huge wetland on boardwalk. A couple of snakes scurried off the boardwalk as we approached.  Mosquitos were having a go at US but the Deet insect repellant was still doing its job. We crossed a train track with an AT train stop. How nice it would be to just be whisked away to New York city, which was only 78 miles away from here. 

On the other side of the tracks  we met Slim Pickings with his Dad ‘Rusty’. And we received the most unexpected and welcomed trail magic. Cold drinks, beer, sandwiches, watermelon and choc chip cookies. In addition to feeding us, Slim and Rusty treated us to an impromptu guitar duet. It felt surreal. They played so well, we wished we were in a quite nightclub to really enjoy the sound of the magnificent vintage guitars.  Nevertheless it was magical even by the side of a busy road.  Amazing how a bit of trail magic can turn your day around and really lift your spirits. We stopped for almost an hour grazing and listening to guitar music while traffic on Route 22 passed by. Slim and Rusty were from New Jersey and they were going to find overnight  accomodation somewhere nearby. 

Hammer and I headed across the road and uphill over some pastureland. About 2 miles along we found an established dispersed campsites. Rain is expected through the night and tomorrow. Rolling thunder could be heard in the distance as I was finishing this post and hiker midnight approached. It was nice to fall asleep to the sound of Fourth of July fireworks somewhere in the valley below.