Sunday, June 27, 2010

Making good progress

I just crossed the Hudson River in New York. I left the Mayor's Out House Hostel Friday Am and got in my first 30 mile day. The Mayor cooked a great breakfast and had coffee, so that gave me a great start. They did laudry for hikers, there were 8 of us total. A great guy who gave us a pep talk on finishing the trail. He has not hiked any of it, he just wanted us to acheive our goals. What a neat guy. I passed a farm where I was able to get some fresh fruit, it was really good. I've seen a few more bears, I have officially quit counting them. I also saw a huge turtle in the trail, with a shell about 15 in long. I've run into some interesting folks. A few scout troops. I like weekends because I see more people. Most recently, a father/son out for a backpacking trip that had run out of water. It was the 15 year old son's first trip, and his dad was not handling the situation well. I gave decided to give them 2 liters of water and hike to the next shelter where I could get more water. Saturday was a 23 mile day, so I've covered quite a bit of ground (141 miles) this past week. It has been fairly flat, so I'm expecting the pace to slow some as I hit some climbing. Harriman State Park in New York was a beautiful Park. I've left most of the people that I was hiking with, and I'm one day behind a large group that I met early in my hike when I was doing shorter miles. I hope to catch them soon. I passed a road on Friday that had a sign that New York City was only 36 miles. West Point (US Military Acedemy) was not far from where I crossed the Hudson today. I hope to catch them soon. The body is holding up great other than feet blisters and some scratches and bites.I have noticed my backpack (a Six Moons Designs Starlite) is beginning to tear on the hipbelt, so that could cause problems. I hope to be able to repair it soon, it is thick material so I will need a heavy duty needle and thread. Everything else is working well.

Several have requested the ability to post comments. This feature was not activated when I set up my blog, because I knew I would not be able to reply often or at all. After several requests, I have activated that feature, so you can now leave comments. Thanks for your interest and encouragement!

3 comments:

JHMcKnight said...

Ethan, Gary and I just got back from sea kayaking on Fontana Lake and saw the AT cross right over the road at Fontana Dam. You'll be there later this year! miss you man

Anonymous said...

Troop 31 from Ramsey ran into Sam Saturday evening June 26 in Harriman Park. Sam and Paul and Steve and I enjoyed the conversation. I wanted to let his parents know he's a great young man. He looked well, other than needing a hair cut, which he said not us. He's a great young man and a fine example of an Eagle Scout. We wish him well and hope to follow his blog. Be safe Rocky!
Troop 31 Ramsey, NJ.

Mark Moody said...

To Troop 31, thank you for the kind comments, we are certainly proud of him. A large part of what he is came from scouts, just like you are experiencing with other youth that you are serving with Troop 31.