Day One: NY-17 to William Brien Memorial Shelter

On Friday evening, June 14, Maple and I arrived at Bear Mountain Inn, on the west side of the Hudson River, New York. We were booked to stay in the Overlook Lodge. It’s a beautiful Inn, and our stay would have been perfect had it not been for a large group of boys who were loud until midnight. Still, the front desk clerk gave us a generous refund for the disturbance, so I really can’t complain.

Maple and I had a good breakfast at the 1915 Restaurant, and were, afterwards, picked up by Jossie’s Shuttle, and once again Richard, Jossie’s husband, was right on time. We were on the trail by 8:20 in the morning.

In about an hour we arrived at the “Lemon Squeezer,” where the AT passes through a narrow crevice between two boulders. Managing one’s backpack is the only real difficulty here. Almost anyone can skirt sideways and upward through the “Lemon Squeezer,” but if one has a large and heavy backpack, lifting it up sideways with one arm can prove challenging. The key is to get one’s backpack up onto the flat ledge above oneself as quickly as possible.

The AT, as it traverses Harriman State Park, is not at all difficult. There is, however, a lot of flat rock, which may be slippery when wet. Maple and I saw a group of older ladies and a group of young girls hiking the path. Moreover, in mid-June, the Mountain Laurel is in bloom, and the fern is at its peak. It’s really quite a beautiful park.

Our destination for the night, the William Brien Memorial Shelter, does not have a very appealing water source. The spring-fed well there is described by some as stagnant and covered with leaves. Therefore, Maple and I decided to fill up at the stream that is just before Seven Lakes Parkway, which feeds into Lake Nawahunta. There was a large rock in the middle of the stream, where we could sit and pump our water through the filter. We use the Katahdin Hiker Pro. Unfortunately, halfway through the process, the filter clogged, making the pump impossible to use. We spent an hour at the stream, attempting to unclog our filter. (This is the second or third time we’ve had this problem.) We were forced to accept the amount of water we had, though it required that we conserve.

We reached the shelter at about 3:00, set up camp, prepared ourselves a cup of coffee, and relaxed for awhile, prior to making dinner. The tent spaces at the shelter are nicely separated, and the area is quite beautiful. Maple and I enjoyed our stay here. We retired early, and slept well, but were awoken by the rain that fell at scattered intervals throughout the night.

Day Two: William Brien Memorial Shelter to Bear Mountain Inn.

Rain was forecast throughout the next day, but we were quite lucky. Although we had some sprinkles, it did not start raining in earnest until we were most of the way down Bear Mountain. Nevertheless, anticipating constant rain, but finding ourselves in a dry interval, Maple and I got up early and were on the trail by 6:45.

We had three mountains to traverse this day: Black Mountain, West Mountain, and Bear Mountain. It would be a day of significant ups and downs. The phenomenon that really made this day interesting was the rock stairs. I believe that these are created over billions of years, through processes of geological layering and erosion. Not only are they evidence of divine design, but they make hiking much easier. As Maple says, they are proof of God’s love for hikers and that he wants people to hike. We encountered rock stairs on all three mountains, but especially on Bear Mountain. Of course, I am aware of the argument that these stairs are of human design, but the incredible amount of physical exertion required to build such stairs is entirely foreign to human nature, which is fundamentally lazy; therefore, I stick to my belief.

Maple and I got a good view of Perkins Memorial Tower from West Mountain. Maple said that it looked to be twenty miles away. Fortunately, it wasn’t. We arrived at the tower just before noon. This was Father’s Day, and the top of Bear Mountain, as well as the bottom (at Bear Mountain Inn) was crowded. From the top of Bear Mountain to the bottom the AT was graded and graveled, so it was really quite easy, though a little hard on the knees, going down.

We arrived at the Inn soaking wet and thirsty, but after changing into dry clothes in the restrooms, Maple and I rehydrated ourselves at the Hiker’s Coffee Shop. We high-fived our backpacking success, and were soon on our way home.