Day 87 and 88 will both come out today

Breakfast this morning was not cold oatmeal. Quite the opposite. We ate at my dad’s favorite diner right off the local bike path. Mom, dad, Kate and I stuffed our faces (ok, everyone else ate normally, I stuffed my face) before hitting the trail. Sadly Brett had come down with food poisoning late last night so was unable to make it in today and dad took the day off with mom. So it was just me hitting the trail. 

By the time my parents dropped me off back where I had gotten out, it was almost 11 and I had 22 miles to go. It wasn’t a crazy task, but I also knew I couldn’t dawdle too much today. So with that, I put my head down and started to walk. 

The first few miles were beautiful. I walked through the woods passing metro north’s smallest train station (it’s called Appalachian trail and it’s adorable) and then through a farmers field of purple and blue wildflowers. For both, I stopped quickly to admire, but kept moving soon after. 

As I got to the next real road crossing I saw a hiker sitting on a closed business’ front porch – enjoying the shade and hiding out from the ever warming sun. I waved and he waved back. But then I heard “wait, is that d’art!?” It was giddy-up! 

We caught up for a bit – mostly swapping stories of how hot and humid it had been and what clothes we had sweat through recently. “Is it always this hot in NY,” he asked. I wasn’t sure. I’m not usually outside walking this much. But I think the answer is no. I think it’s been hotter and humider than normal. And if that’s not true, I don’t want to hear it. I want to at least pretend like my home state isn’t this uninhabitable.

He then lamented that not only has the north been hot, it has not been set up for hiker trash like us. And with this I couldn’t agree more. In the south, there were always big box grocery stores in every town. There were cheap hostels and dollar generals. In the north, while everything has been accessible and lovely, it’s been much more “gourmet.” Nice grocery stores and hotels. Delis where the sandwiches are delicious, but cost upwards of 12 dollars. “I just want to buy cheap, ultra processed food,” he groaned. “Is that too much to ask for?” And with that, he headed off to yet another deli while I headed on down the trail. 

A few miles later I saw my second favorite type of sign – a state crossing! With that I stepped out of NY and into Connecticut. Wow. Another state line crossed. But that excitement was soon overshadowed by my absolute favorite type of sign. It read “trail magic.”

I turned the corner and walked down to the parking lot to meet Magic Joe. I could smell the hot dogs and hamburgers sizzling as I got closer. 

Not only was it a delicious meal that lifted my spirits, but it was also the largest collection of hikers I had seen in a while! By the time I got there, there were already 10-15 hikers. And another one or two trickled in after I left. It felt great to sit around and chat with other thru hikers again. I met new people and ran into a few j knew already. I heard about peoples adventures and troubles and just generally hung out. But, alas, I had miles to go before I slept. I finished my food and, without drinking even a single beer, headed off. 

Fueled by burger and dog, I pushed hard the rest of the way. There were some pretty steep hills (both up and down), but they were no match for #GrillPower. It wasn’t until the last mile or two that the exhaustion hit. But boy did it it hit once it did. 

By the time i got to the road to meet my parents, it was close to 8pm and I was a zombie. I could barely string together words. When my dad asked what I wanted i just said “food” and let them figure out everything else. A little beer and some pasta later and I was good as new and we had a lovely dinner before it’s time for me to crash. 

Key stats:

Miles: 22

Elevation gained: 4200 ft

Mile marker: 1473

Percent of the way through: 67%