Started day off the with a ride to the trail head from the owner of the Bear Mountain Bridge Motel where we had spent Saturday night. Sweet Pea came in on a bus from New Hampshire via New York City that Saturday afternoon.
We should have went through the zoo, but the zoo was closed. Not only did we miss the caged bears, but also the lowest point on the entire AT.
The climb up Bear Mountain was largely via stone trail stairs. These were some of the best that we have seen…the stone slabs were placed so well and they were quite choosey about the thickness of each slab, making the rise quite smooth. Gained a lot of altitude quickly.
At the top of the mountain, we had expected to get a soda from the vending machine but the power was still out. There were some tourists that had driven or walked up as well.
Rest of the morning’s walk was nice, walking over the ridge and having some decent views (albeit foggy and not terribly clear). We decended to the Palisades Parkway and took the .4 mile detour to the visitors center in search of a cold soda again. Their power was out as well when we walked in, but after a couple minutes it came on, and we were able to get a soda. The power had been out for a full week after the hurricane.
We had planned to stop 9 miles in at a shelter, but we were feeling good and there had been mention of a lot of bear activity at the shelter, so we decided to move on to the next one about 5 easy miles further. We got to the shelter and found our friend Chillin’ hanging out there as well, so had some good company for the evening.
Walked the day at a pretty relaxed pace, a bit slower than we had been walking previously. Beardo’s shin splints didnt bother him too much and Sweat Pea’s back/hip was in good shape as well.
Daily Distance: 15
Trip Distance: 799.4
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