This past weekend was a beautiful one for hiking! Bright blue skies without a hint of rain. Birch and I took an Uber from Canopus Lake to the Bear Mountain Inn and began hiking north by around 9 am. Unfortunately, the famous section of the AT through the zoo was not open, so we took the blue trail and crossed the bridge over the Hudson. After a short hike along NY-9D, we began our steepest ascent of the trip, up about 1000 ft to a peak known as “Anthony’s Nose” (supposedly named after a pre-revolutionary war sea captain).

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Along the way, we ran into “Marmot”, a 70-year-old women who had thru hiked the AT about 30 years ago, and was now completing the north half of the trail, having done the south half last year. Marmot was enthusiastic and tenacious and was a great reminder that anything is possible.

Although the map shows many loop trails along the way, I really didn’t see them until we got to about 1 1/2 miles from the Graymoor Center. We crossed US 9 by a convenience store then quickly made our way to the Graymoor ballfield where we set up camp. The ballfield included plenty of picnic tables, water on tap, and even a shower. We settled in and relaxed, having the entire afternoon to read and enjoy the weather. Although we had heard that the center’s bells were loud, we actually enjoyed listening to them during the afternoon. We didn’t hear them at all at night.

In the morning, we awoke to quite a few more tents set up in the area. No one seemed particularly outgoing or friendly at 6 am so we quietly ate breakfast, broke camp, and got on the trail.

Our second day was much hotter than the first. Although there was not much elevation, we were sweating in no time.

The hike from the Graymoor to Canopus Lake felt like walking through a time machine. Old stone walls, the remnants of Revolutionary War era homesteads, seems to be everywhere. At one point we passed a plaque that marked where George Washington had inoculated troops against small pox. (Who knew that inoculations were possible then?!?)

It was at about this point that Birch and I hit a big milestone – our 1,000th mile on the AT! We were so excited! A hiker named “Digs” took our photo and gave us a fist bump, sending us on our way. We still needed to complete another 5 miles to get to our car.

We filled up with water at a pump station. The ascent to the Three Lakes Trail should have been super easy but the 90+ degree weather was a killer. We really had to take our time! The last two miles were very easy and we arrived at our car tired, but happy with our accomplishment.