with the forecast calling for rain , and a 5 mile walk from 94 into the shelter, coach lou and i agreed to meet around 10am-10:30. i knew it was around a 2 hr drive, so taking into account traffic, left home around 7:30am, and of course ,didnt hit any traffic, and got to greenwood lake around 9:30, when i got a text from lou he was in greenwich, so i had about an hour wait.then i got a text from rasty regarding hm, logged on, and saw her diatribe about the unholy triumvirate.my only comment about this whole matter is that i love hikermom and wish her well.
anyway coach lou showed up around 10:45 so we went and had breakfast, then because of the rain, decided we would park at wawayanda park hq instead, as its only a .2mi walk to the shelter, get there before the heavy rains were due, and hike to 17a the following day.
this is where experience and superior navigating skills got a little funny. first we missed the turn into the park and drove about 5 miles too long, turned around, found the clearly marked sign and turned into the park. pepe was riding with us, and i blame the heavy scent of skunk as a distraction.
we checked in with the park police, who asked us our agenda. we figured we'd hike in the .2, stay for the night, hike back to the car, dump the unnecessaries(sleeeping and cooking gear) back at the car, and slackpack to 17a.
armed with maps, guidebbooks, and compasses we marched down the blue blaze, past a steel privy, till we hit the at intersection. the guidebook said the lean to was 275 ft. on a blue blaze off the trail, so we continued on the path, until after a 100 paces or so, realized it wasnt the right blue blaze., turned around, and returned to the intersection, we turned se on the trail, went about 100 yards and again realized we had to have gone too far.2 loud claps of thunder and we were suddenly caught in a downpour.soaked, we again turned around and passed the intersection, figuring there was only one option left. soon enough we found the blue blaze to the shelter. when we got to the shelter, i could see that steel privy on the blue blaze less than 50 yds away on a faintly marked blue blaze, now realizing we would have stayed dry if we had caught the right trail to begin with. when we got there, the shelter was occupied by 3 day hikers from pa, out to do the section we would do on sunday..
pepe came out to entertain us, while i caught up on the ensuing drama taking place here.
we ate some snacks, laughed that every time coach and i have hiked together it has rained.the heavy rains had stopped, the day hikers left and we snacked and snoozed for the rest of the afternoon.mad some dinner around 5. i tried one of those marie callender boil in a pouch meals, pasta alfredo, and was unimpressed. was a bit chalky.
a little while later coach broke out the cheesecake, saying if we didnt eat it now, we'd both be asleep, as pepe was really starting to stink up the shelter.
anyway coach lou showed up around 10:45 so we went and had breakfast, then because of the rain, decided we would park at wawayanda park hq instead, as its only a .2mi walk to the shelter, get there before the heavy rains were due, and hike to 17a the following day.
this is where experience and superior navigating skills got a little funny. first we missed the turn into the park and drove about 5 miles too long, turned around, found the clearly marked sign and turned into the park. pepe was riding with us, and i blame the heavy scent of skunk as a distraction.
we checked in with the park police, who asked us our agenda. we figured we'd hike in the .2, stay for the night, hike back to the car, dump the unnecessaries(sleeeping and cooking gear) back at the car, and slackpack to 17a.
armed with maps, guidebbooks, and compasses we marched down the blue blaze, past a steel privy, till we hit the at intersection. the guidebook said the lean to was 275 ft. on a blue blaze off the trail, so we continued on the path, until after a 100 paces or so, realized it wasnt the right blue blaze., turned around, and returned to the intersection, we turned se on the trail, went about 100 yards and again realized we had to have gone too far.2 loud claps of thunder and we were suddenly caught in a downpour.soaked, we again turned around and passed the intersection, figuring there was only one option left. soon enough we found the blue blaze to the shelter. when we got to the shelter, i could see that steel privy on the blue blaze less than 50 yds away on a faintly marked blue blaze, now realizing we would have stayed dry if we had caught the right trail to begin with. when we got there, the shelter was occupied by 3 day hikers from pa, out to do the section we would do on sunday..
pepe came out to entertain us, while i caught up on the ensuing drama taking place here.
we ate some snacks, laughed that every time coach and i have hiked together it has rained.the heavy rains had stopped, the day hikers left and we snacked and snoozed for the rest of the afternoon.mad some dinner around 5. i tried one of those marie callender boil in a pouch meals, pasta alfredo, and was unimpressed. was a bit chalky.
a little while later coach broke out the cheesecake, saying if we didnt eat it now, we'd both be asleep, as pepe was really starting to stink up the shelter.
its all good