I’m setting big hiking goals for 2018, but I still want to reach some smaller ones before the season ends. The New York section of the Appalachian Trail runs 90 miles, and up until this trip, I’d hiked about 73 of them this season, the only section left being a 17-mile stretch outside of Harriman State Park running south to the New York / New Jersey state line. Being that I was going to be fairly inland (off the Hudson) in NJ when I finished the AT, I planned to yo-yo the route back to the Harriman area in order to take a train back to the city, totaling approximately 40 miles over two days.
Relying on public transit, I took the NJ transit train to the Harriman station, and used the 2+ mile Sapphire trail to connect with the AT. The earliest train to Harriman arrives around 10:30am, much later than I’d like to start the trail, especially late in the Summer when the days are getting shorter.
By late August, most of the thru-hikers have already passed through this area, save maybe for a few SOBO’s. I think I saw three people on the trail the first day, two of them I think were thru hikers. Unlike hiking in Harriman State Park, hiking a section of the trail here seems to be less attractive to day hikers, and other overnighter backpackers. It’s less accessible to those without cars, and it’s less advertised online / not advertised at all. It’s also fairly dry out there this late in the season. What are usually considered reliable streams have dried to a trickle, have transitioned to standing water, or are completely dry.
Excited to finish up NY, I was making good pace against nightfall. Aside from accidentally getting off trail for a quarter mile or so, things went smoothly on day 1. My mistake was a side trail that ran down to a service road. The trail became increasingly steep, alarming even with my familiarity with the AT as an up-and-down’er. When the trail disappeared in the tall grass amongst pipelines, I checked Guthook’s and saw that I’d scaled down on the wrong side of the hill. Despite being only a quarter mile off trail, retracing steps, especially when they’re uphill, is a shot to morale.
I found two water sources throughout the day, the 2nd one around the middle of the hiking day. By the time I was within an hour of sunset, I was down to a half liter of water, a little less than I like to camp with when I need some for hygiene, snacking, and hydration during the night. Pretty soon, I was going to be walking a ridge for the next 6 miles to NJ, where I figured there’d be little chance for water. So I checked my maps and saw that there was an .8 mile side trail running downhill into Greenwood Lake where I could visit a market. I surely don’t mind gatorade on trail either. When I got to the base of the hill around 7:15pm, one of the first things I saw was a baseball field and some other pieces of a public park. Next to the ball field was a water hose connected to a functioning spout! I chugged a liter, and left with two more back up the hill before anyone cared to bother me. By the time I returned to the ridge, dark was really coming fast, so I found a flat spot and made camp.
I was going pretty spartan on this trip, sleeping only on top of a pillow and my 1/8″ foam pad cut to torso length, with my feet on my pack, which I stuffed with my food and rain shell for padding. I slept better than most nights on trail, and better than all of the night’s when I’ve used an inflatable pad. Some insulating leaves on a fair summer night—with a low in the mid 50’s—will go far paired with a bare foam pad. This was also my first night out with a new pack, which served me well.
Shortly after I set camp, some bands started playing at the base of the hill on Greenwood Lake. I didn’t mind too much, and they wrapped up around 10:00pm. I was out cold by 10:15pm, until I woke up around 3:30 with some pain in my tail bone. I threw my fleece under there and slept until a half hour before my alarm around 5:15am. I was on trail around 6am or a little before, and caught the morning light on the ridge.
As I mentioned, I figured there’d be no more water on the rest of the trek to NJ, but thankfully I found one with a little flow, drank plenty, packed a liter and a half for cold soaking my breakfast, cleaning up after an impending #2 ; ) , and general hydration.
Shortly after climbing down vertical rocks off the ridge on a man-made ladder, I made it to the marker:
I turned around and began walking towards Harriman. A couple of miles in, I bumped my head on a downed tree that was pinned in the “Y” of another tree, the edge elevated 6 ft into the air. Knocking me to the ground for a moment, I checked the top of my head for injury. Thankfully, I seemed just fine outside of a few hairs lost. As I was returning to my feet, I heard some frantic rustling nearby. Rather than the usual squirrel or deer, it was big ‘ole black bear traveling in a north easterly direction, exactly where I was going, and was going to cross the trail. The big guy didn’t see me, and by the time that I gave him a “hey bear,” he was only about 50 feet away. He stopped, we made eye contact, and like we always want, he turned around and ran away. I think we were both headed to the same water source. Not a mile or so afterwards, I stepped right over a sunning rattlesnake. After giving me a rattle and drawback, I retreated my step and respectfully detoured.
My original plan was to turn around and hike back from where I came. However, the night prior when going to sleep, I noticed some pain in my right knee different than the more normal mild soreness. It felt more like an injury. Day 2, I hiked to NJ, and then back about 3 miles when the pain in my knee returned, but much worse. Walking flat, climbing up, no problem, but even the slightest downhill became unbearable. I’d never felt this pain before, and I’ve never really had any real trouble with my knees. I’ve sprained my ankles countless times over the years skateboarding, and have to be careful with them on trail, but my knees have alway felt strong. I think I could have hiked out, but it would have been an excruciating day, and I wasn’t going to make my train at the pace I’d slowed to due to the issue. So when I arrived at the side trail to Greenwood Lake, where I’d descended day 1, I descended again, but in a great deal of pain this time.
Once I hit the base of the hill, I almost forgot about my injury all together walking on flat roads. I grabbed a gatorade, found a cab service, and made my way to an alternate train station where I caught one midday train back to the city. It’s been a week since my trip, but I’ve still got the knee pain when going down stairs or a steep hill, which has resulted in me cancelling my plans to hike the Catskills over this Labor Day weekend. Perhaps it’s an IT band issue, or something worse. I’m hoping for the former, and am stretching and strengthening the area. And I’m looking forward to getting back on trail to cover some more miles before the winter snow sets and I find myself greasing up my keyboard with french fry oil with a big beard and yearning for a cruise trail out west.
Trey French 