Over the course of the last three or months since then, i feel like i have been riding a emotional roller coaster in every direction, including upside down. All of these feelings have combined to add to a sense of overall alienation which i was already feeling before election day, so what can i say, it has been a double whammy.
Considering i live in New York which is such an enormous urban jungle, at times i feel anxiety from having to deal with crowds of people on a daily or near daily basis. I am a country boy, so living in the big apple sometimes really gets underneath my skin. When i start to get these feelings of being completely buggered out by the city, I often begin to daydream of other places,and adventures which I could be having.I live my life for adventure, and when i am thinking of having an adventure, or whether i am actually having one, i am always excited by the prospect. It makes me giddy to think of the endless possibilities that exist in this wide world which we live in. In this regard, i am like many great Souls and minds who came before my time who must have felt the same way.
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Long path in the Catskills in southern New York
This photo was taken during a particularly epic moment of my hike!
All i will say more about the Long Path at this point is that it is extremely beautiful,and well worth the time and effort it takes to finish.Hiking the long path definitely left its mark on me.Despite the impact that the Long Path had on me, my thoughts for my final excursion of 2016, drifted in another direction. I had spent time hiking on the NY-NJ section of the Appalachian trail over the summer also, so i decided that my final trip of the year, would be to complete the New York section of the AT. As the final weeks of school ticked off of the calendar, my sense of excitement about the upcoming trip began to grow, and found myself hoping that the unusually warm New York winter weather would continue. I began to prepare for my trip , by purchasing a new goose-down sleeping bag, to replace my old one, which was quite old. I thought that even though the winter was warmer than usual, i would still be hiking in NY in the winter time, which can prove bone-chillingly cold and snowy at any moment during the winter. So of course getting a new 0 degree bag would be a good idea. By the time i took my final exam on December 16th, i was more than ready to get out into nature, despite the chilly air. I finally decided that i would begin my final hiking trip of 2016 on Christmas eve, i figured that the trail would prove to be quiet, and i probably would not see anyone else on the trail. The final plan i decided to go with would be to take the Metro-North train to Pawling, NY which has the only direct train stop on the entire AT. In fact, the train stop is actually called "Appalachian trail"!
 Finally, after months of anticipation, i was feeling ready to be back out on the trail for a while, My initial plan at the beginning of the the hike, was to hike from Pawling, all the way to Delaware water gap, PA. A few days before Christmas and my plan to depart, much to my dismay, there was a snowfall of a couple of inches! This gave me something to consider, as to whether it would affect my trip or not, luckily for me, after the snow, warm weather returned and nearly all of the snow melted in NYC. After checking the weather, and deliberating on all possible contingency plans in case of sudden bad weather, i decided to go forward with the plan for the trip. One thing that i did before leaving New York, was ensure that i had a excess of triple AAA batteries for my headlamp, because i knew that i would be hiking during some of the shortest days of the winter, which invariably meant i would be hiking during the dark most days. Christmas eve morning finally came, and instead of rising early to open gifts, i got up early to catch the Staten Island ferry, and made my way to Penn station, where i would board the train to Pawling. I will admit, it felt a little strange to be doing something so alien to most other folks, instead of being home all cozy enjoying presents and holiday cheer, i knew i was going to be outside in cold chilly air hiking in the woods. Regardless, i felt happy about my decision! I was ready for everything that hiking alone in the mountains in the winter would entail, and most importantly, as soon as I reached Pawling, my contact with civilization, would become tenuous, at best. I finally arrived at Penn station, and in a mad rush i reached the ticket agents booth, and told them i wanted to buy a ticket for the Appalachian Trail, they must have thought i was out of my mind! Maybe, they were a little right! Regardless, i found the track where my departing train was berthed, and settled in for a pleasant ride upstate. Along the way, i noticed that although all the snow had melted from the prior snowfall in NYC, north of the city, snow still covered the ground! Oh well i thought, i was prepared. The train stopped in Southeast new york station, en-route, where i had to transfer to a much smaller, very short train which would take me to the AT. I noticed that surprisingly enough, i was not the only hiker heading to the AT, as i noticed a couple of other hikers also with backpacking gear on the train. After the Transfer at Southeast, the train sped along and finally arrived at the AT stop just before noon, my fellow hikers and I, disembarked from the train, much to our collective relief. I had a friendly conversation with them before we parted ways, the other folks told me they would be hiking north, towards Connecticut, so we would not be sharing the trail because i had told them i would be going South. I quickly noticed that the amount of snow in Pawling was drastically more than i had anticipated, but i gathered my courage, and proceeded. I was attempting to make good mileage before dark that night, and it was supposed to become bitter cold, with temps in the teens. I soon realized that i was in store for at least a couple days of very difficult hiking conditions! I will continue with the story about the rest of the trip in Part 2! |
