So nice sleeping in an actual bed at a real house. Even better than a hotel room, no question. John made French Toast for breakfast and supplied 100% real maple syrup to go with it. Delicious. After we ate he gave us a ride about 15 miles to the Fort Montgomery post office so we could get our boxes and then drove us back to NY where he had picked us up last night. Combined with all that he and Susan did last night, and all without asking for or expecting any payment, their generosity was incredible.
The weather had turned, there was hardly a cloud in the sky when we started hiking. We were entering Harriman State Park and the scenery was spectacular. It’s definitely starting to feel farther North. Trees in the park were spaced out quite a bit, and the forest floor was covered in grass. Rocks decreased in quantity and climbs were a bit more relaxed than the last few days.
With a lack of shelters and well places camp sites and scarce water we were only planning on about 10 miles today, but that gave us the opportunity to spend a few minutes swimming at the lake. The water was a bit cool, but very refreshing after hiking. Being a Saturday the place was packed with non hiker types. After the swim we hit up the vending machines nearby for an icecream bar and cold drinks. With that leisurely break complete we walked the last few miles to the shelter and found one of the dirtiest shelters so far. I’m sure it sees a lot of use from people up for just a day or two from the city, so it’s hard to keep clean. Luckily there was plenty of room outside to camp and it was perfect weather for it. Closed out a relaxing day with another nice treat – Miranda and I watched Moonrise Kingdom on my phone, possibly laughing too loud at times as other people tried to sleep, but it was still over by 10:15.