The drive in movie theater in Warwick was great. They let me pitch my tent and gave me a radio to listen to one of the three double features they offered, all for free. The next day it rained all day. I slipped on a rock and fell. It was my 3rd or 4th time falling, but it really put me in a bad mood. Walking on slick rocks isn't fun and it can be pretty dangerous. Around 4 pm that day I decided to hitch into Greenwood Lake for a beer. I hung out for a few hours and by the end my tab was $10 because so many people had bought me drinks. A couple in their 60s offered me a couch to sleep on that night because it was supposed to rain all night. They bought me pizza, beer, let me shower, then dropped me off on the trail in the morning after cooking me breakfast. It's amazing how nice people can be to hikers, they were some of the nicest I've met.
My friend Buck flew out to NYC to hike with me, so I went into the city to meet him. I took a commuter train in from Pawling NY. It was surprisingly easy and the train cost me less than $20. He had never been to the city so we spent a couple days checking out Brooklyn and Manhattan. We rented bikes and went to the Battery, Central Park, Grand Central, and Times Square. Then we took the train back out to Pawling and he hopped on the trail for a week. He got to experience hitch hiking and the hiker lifestyle. There was also a fair amount of rain, which gave him a good taste of how difficult it can be.
After zeroing (a day with no miles on the AT) yesterday Buck and I parted ways. He's heading to Albany to fly out tomorrow. I hit mile 1500 today and I'll head into Massachusetts either today or tomorrow. Another friend is meeting me in 55 miles on June 21, so I'm taking it slow until then. Over the last few weeks my pace has slowed considerably. It's difficult to arrange meetings with friends if I move too quick. I enjoy doing long days and bigger miles, but it's also nice to slow down and soak it all in. Being able to share the experience with a friend was certainly worth the slow down. Another added bonus is that I am starting to see people I had passed that are catching up. This has been a learning experience, figuring out what pace works, and I've found that there is much more to this trail than getting it done as fast as possible.
There have been a ton of ticks lately. I've gotten at least 3 on myself. A few days ago I sprayed my clothes with Permethrin, which is supposed to help keep them off. When I hitched back to the trail this morning the woman who gave me a ride was telling me all about the numerous illnesses she got from ticks. It freaks me out a bit, but what else can I do besides spraying my gear? I find it's best not to focus too much on all the things that could go wrong. I don't like snakes either and luckily I've only seen one rattle snake so far. No bears yet, with the exception of the two I saw near Fort Montgomery in a zoo that the AT goes through.
The weather is mid 70s and sunny today. I couldn't ask for any better. After spending so much time in the rain I really appreciate the nice days. On days like this there is nowhere I'd rather be than hiking in the woods. This town, Salisbury, is so close to the trail that I figured I'd stop in for lunch then head back out. Plus I have some time to kill in order to meet up with my other friend. I'm on my third pair of shoes and they are broken in, so my feet feel good. Blisters and wet feet can definitely make the experience less enjoyable. Surprisingly I haven't lost any weight, most people do. I feel great and the easy days lately have given me plenty of recovery time. Now I need to find a way to keep my pace slow to meet my friend so maybe I'll try to find a lake that I can take another zero or two at.
