July 22 – Rain, Snacks, and Scenic Views: A Bear Mountain Adventure

Nancy drops us at the trailhead, and we’ll be walking all the way back and over Bear Mountain, past the inn, the zoo, and across Bear Mountain Bridge. We start in Harriman State Park and hike on. We run into a guy I haven’t seen since before Trail Days. I might be butchering his trail name, but it’s something like Menerier. We talk about the last time we saw each other. It was on a dam south of Damascus, and it was set to rain. He reports that I “was not happy about it.” That sounds about right. He’s alone when we first see him, but we later run into him again.

The next time we see him, we are at the first shelter, checking out the cool rock structure. This is a few minutes after I think I heard a bear in the woods nearby, but we couldn’t see it. When Menerier and Turkish Delight arrive at the shelter, he jokes that it was him, but he was too far away. We leave first but are passed a short while later in a long stair section on the way to a viewpoint. We meet Menerier along with Ms. Sparkle and Turkish Delight. They’re hanging out, so we crash their party. Sparkle recognizes Flamethrower from way back in the Smokies. I haven’t seen Turkish Delight in a long time too, so we catch up. Menerierr has been on the trail since Key West. By the time he got to Springer, he had already hiked 1,000 miles. He’s going all the way to Nova Scotia. I’m a bit worried about how he’ll fare in the late-season cold weather, but he seems like a tough enough guy to handle it.

Turkish hikes on first, then Flamethrower and I make our exit, but not before chowing down on a few protein bars and spending some time debating with the other hikers the merits of the OG AT that crosses the Palisades Parkway (as you play Frogger with the cars), or the detour with a safer crossing that is a bit longer but is now the “official trail.” The problem is the detour doesn’t have any water on it. And the OG trail has multiple streams. We all say we’re going to take the OG, but not everybody does. There is a big imposing sign sending us the other way, plus the trail is blocked by debris. The first blaze has been painted over, and the trail hasn’t been maintained, so the brush is encroaching on the trail, and there are a few tree falls. That said, lots of folks use this path still, which is obvious because of the comments on FarOut about the shelter, views, and water sources.

We hike on and pass the 1,400-mile mark before the detour split. There are at least three 1,400 signs made variously of rocks or sticks. Later, we even find one that says 1,406 at the correct mileage. No idea what that was about.

We get to the road and play Frogger. We wait till the road is very empty and run into the forested median with lots of time to spare and disappear deep into the woods before the first side of traffic even gets close. Then we make a similar move on the other side. It’s easy. We are in no danger. We hike on. The other side of the road is still blazed, although they changed them to white with red circles and then white with orange squares. We fill our water at the second water source, then hike on. The trail was laid out very nicely, and it was still in good shape. There were comfortable switchbacks and an overall nice trail.

We pass the turnoff for the shelter. This one is 0.5 miles away, and its water is 0.3 miles beyond that. We have no intention of going that far off trail today. So we continue on. There are plenty of great viewpoints at the top. Flamethrower and I hang out on one and eat cherries while enjoying the stunning view. We’re passed by one of the groups from earlier but are told the other went the other way. When we get to the point where the trails merge, we see that person resting on the ground. They report not wanting to waste their time just waiting, so they are taking a nap while the other is still trying to get here.

We keep going, first downhill, then back up. My foot really hurts, and I almost ask Flamethrower to road walk it with me, especially after the first section that was a bit rocky and wet because a thunderstorm came in. We’re slackpacking today. Flamethrower has her rain skirt and uses it like a poncho. I have my brand new tarp poncho, so I get to test that out.

My new poncho went on super easily. I just popped it right over my head. It was very big, but that helped keep me dry. It was a bit too big when the wind blew, and it blocked my ability to see my feet. It was actually short on my arms and lower legs, which made for an awkward wetness that made me feel wet all over, but I knew it was isolated to a few areas. Overall, I think it was better than its predecessor, although it could be improved by a waist-level pull string. It’s also almost 7 ounces lighter than its predecessor, so that’s a serious perk. Is it perfect? No. Does it at least seem to get the job done? Yep. We’re in our gear for about an hour. Despite the big holes on the side of the tarp, it still gets a bit sweaty on the inside. I’m glad to be out of it, but I always am when it comes to rain gear.

Back to hiking. When we come across that road, I wanted to road walk because everything is wet, and my foot is on fire. But I also wanted to hike this mountain pretty badly, so we stay on the trail. Then the trail delights me by itself becoming an old paved road. This only lasts until they force us to go up a few hundred well-constructed rock stairs. The level of maintenance on this trail is amazing and is getting better the higher we get. I only wish the tall wet vegetation had been cut, as it’s directing water down my legs and into my brand-new shoes—of course, it’s basically a rule that it must rain if you get new shoes. As we hike, we come to many great viewpoints with smooth, now wet, rock.

We finally summit and see a large climbable tower and lots of cars/people. I always hate mountains that people can drive up, but the atmosphere is very different than it would be if people had to earn that view, and there is always more garbage. We visit the tower, and we take some pictures and sit to rest (until my foot stops hurting).

Then we head down. We have 2.6 more miles, and the first 1.3 miles have 1,000+ feet of descent. I’m expecting this to be nasty, but it’s even nicer than the trail on the other side. Beautifully cut stone stairs and pea gravel landings to soften each step wow me. My feet are very happy about this. We make good time.

We get down to the split, and there is broken caution and danger tape that appears to have previously blocked the trail. We hesitate but go through where it would have been blocking. There is no mention of this in FarOut and no signs. Perhaps somebody thought it was funny. Nothing was wrong with the trail.

We get down to the inn, use the bathroom, then head to the trailside zoo, losing the trail briefly as we walk along the lake. Unfortunately, we discover the trail-side zoo is closed, and we have to take a blue trail. I’m super sad about this. Maybe we can go back. I was looking forward to hiking past some animals, although I think the ‘zoo’ is tiny.

Anyway, then we cross the road again. This is the big road between the zoo and the traffic circle. The comments on FarOut tell us that even though there are button-activated pedestrian flashers, cars take those as suggestions, and we’ll still be playing Frogger. As we approach, traffic is rapid and constant. Then, as we arrive, there is a lull and we don’t even need the flashers because nobody is there. We use them anyway, though.

Nancy has already arrived on the other side of the bridge to collect us, and she texts to say she’ll meet us on the bridge. We hike on and meet her near the far side.

Somehow, Flamethrower loses a rubber tip for her hiking pole near the end of the bridge. We both like using these because they hold better on rocks and they don’t dig into the ground. The problem is they can get pulled off when stuck under a rock or root, and if they do survive, they’ll eventually develop a hole, and the sharper tip of your hiking pole will poke through and clink on things. The sharper tip of the hiking pole is good on frozen ground, but I don’t want it scraping up rocks and digging holes in the ground with each step. They are also great at skewering leaves, so you get those stuck on your poles. Still, most people out here seem to prefer using the sharp tips. So we can often find new ones in hiker boxes. I had just found four a few days ago in a hiker box. Then I lost one in a rock field, and my other tip developed a hole. I also got six sent to Nancy’s house, so we’ll have replacements and even an extra one or two.

We have two plans for the night: dinner and Walmart. Given the fact we just hiked 15 miles, we can’t go anywhere fancy. We end up at Table 9, whose door reports “neat casual attire.” Welp. We go on anyway, and nobody says anything. We are seated near the back. Tara orders an appetizer of nachos, and Nancy gets edamame.

I almost order calamari, but then I decide that despite saying I don’t want anything foofoo for dinner, I’m ordering a 10 oz strip steak combination meal that also has a salmon filet. Both proteins are offered individually, but for some reason, they are only appealing to me in combination. I order them both rare.

When the nachos arrive, I eat a few before Tara even gets back from the facilities (tramily privilege). Then I’m given all the jalapeños, so I’m in heaven. I also eat a few of the edamame beans. I didn’t know I was hungry, but now I’m apparently going to eat anything not nailed down. I try to take it slow and wait for my healthy food.

My food arrives, and it’s cooked right. Hooray. I devour the salmon. Clearly, my body needed some omega fatty acids. Then I take on the steak. I even eat some of the fatty bits I would have previously discarded. It also came with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables. I eat some of those but end up bringing them home in a to-go container. When we get up, it’s a hilarious hiker hobble to the door. Good times.

Then we leave and head to Walmart, where our scent, hobble, and messy clothing will not stand out too much. Nancy needs something for Pennsic, and we’re going to top up our snacks. I buy a few medical supplies, new earbuds, and a box of bars, as well as some gummy worms and some cookies for the house. The next day, I take the earbuds with me hiking but don’t use them. I forget them in my pocket, and they go through the washer and dryer. Miraculously, they still work afterward. Not bad for $10.

We get back to the house minutes before hiker midnight. There is a lot of yawning. I jump in the shower and rinse the dirt and grime off my body. Then I’m heading off to bed, where I pass out almost instantly. I wake up in the night with a headache, take some ibuprofen, and eat a cookie, then go back to sleep.