so thursday morning i leave my house at 5:30am to beat the rush hour traffic over the throgs neck bridge, as im getting on the southern state parkway entrance ramp, the traffic report says theres an accident at exit 13 with 3 lanes closed as i stare through the windshield at a sea of brake lights in front of me, and too late to detour. by the time i got past the accident i was in the middle of the morning rush , took me over an hour and a half just to get into the bronx. hit some more traffic on the hutchinson pkwy , but finally let out as i got on 684 north, took it to the end, and drove north on 22, a beautiful country highway that passes through pawling and runs by farmland and ranches. didnt end up getting to jug end until 10am, what should have taken 2 1/2 hrs tops. i pull into the turnout, and as im getting my kit together a car pulls in 20 ft away, a lady comes out, we exchange brief "mornin!"s, and she heads off on the trail with a day pack. i finish fiddling with my gear, lock up the car and head down the trail after her. about 5 minutes later i catch up to her by a huge moss covered boulder where she had stopped to rest for a second. i said hi again, she looked at me said "you look familiar, any chance you're on whiteblaze?"I'm hikerboy, i said.she laughed."i thought so. i dont post much but i loved the cafe and enjoy reading your stuff. i'm susiecruise!" susiescruise,i said, i know you! we laughed, she asked where i was headed, told her sages ravine. she agreed it was a magical place . she lives up there in the area, and hikes that stretch pretty regularly. we chatted a bit more and then we both headed up the jug. 15 or 2 minutes later i looked back and she was gone.
its all good
