Day 101
Waywayanda Shelter to Island Pond
Miles Hiked: 23.7
AT Milage: 1363.7
Today I woke up at 5:30am and got on trail at 6:15. I slept really good last night and I was so happy about it. The weather was so beautiful for hiking. The air was crisp and cool. It’s odd to have such nice weather after the extreme heat and pouring down rain with flash flood warnings. After the first 4-5 miles I crossed the state border into NY and immediately hit the highest point on the AT in NY called Prospect mountain. It had the American flag flying on top and it looked pretty cool. I could see the NYC skyline in the distance. At this point long feather caught up to me and I was shocked because I knew he was coming from town but he just woke up super early.
I hiked with long feather for six more miles. We were going to get water from a stream but it looked so gross we had to pass it up. Ever since I left PA, the water has been pretty gross. It’s been brown and weird tasting. I’ve been avoiding drinking it at all costs and getting water from a rare spring or spickets. Luckily trail angels have been leaving lots of water jugs on the trail too. My water filter bag has a leak in it so I’ve been super picky about where my water has been coming from. Don’t worry I’m getting a new bag in the mail soon.
Long Feather and I were taking a break at a road crossing when he left me because he was going to hike about 40 miles to meet his friend who he might go work for a week with. I was sad to see him go. I hiked the next 4 miles alone until I took an hour break at another road crossing when Flamingo caught up to me. My feet were really hurting me today. I can feel the bottoms of them getting tight and all the muscles in my legs have been extra tight lately no matter how much I stretch.Flamingo and I hiked the rest of the day together. NY has lots of technical rock scrambles I had to put my trekking poles away for and often have my knees above my belly button before I could push off the ground on my foot. It was some really hard hiking today. There were so many steep ups and downs that it reminded me of the roller coaster in Virginia. At the end of the day I ran into Long Feather who told me he gave up on his 40 mile days because the terrain was so hard on him he realized it would t happen today. Flamingo, Long Feather, and I all camped at Island Pond in Harriman State Park. We had a beautiful camp site right on the shore. I was feeling so exhausted from the day I didn’t want to move once I got to camp. Hopefully I sleep well tonight.
Happy Trails!
Des Hikes Thru 