For the past 35 years I had been dreaming of getting back on the Appalachian Trail in NY. In 1987 I hiked from Bear Mt., NY to Caledonia State Park in PA/MD line - 320 miles in 18 days. I was using this hike to prepare for a mountain climbing trip to Peak Lenin in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan Russia. My intentions were to return, however responsibilities of a new family and running my own business just did not allow that. But now being empty nesters we had time, so we painted our faces blue and took off to Bear Mt, NY on September 13th, 2021.
We parked our car at the townhall of Kent Ct. They allow hikers to park there for free. We hired a driver to take us south to Bear Mt. NY, an hour away by car but 60 miles by the trail.
The Rocks
This was my wife's first time on the trail in New England. It had been so long ago, that I forgotten about all the rocks. NY is, shall we say, blessed with them. So it was a good thing we had trekking poles to help with going downhill. Between "old knees" and rocks we didn't make over ten miles a day. When you are continuely watching your steps it's hard to make a good pace.
One thing I did love, were the rock walls that were appeared randomly in the woods. They were property boundries from years ago. They must of taken a long time to construct as they were very long and thick!
The Bugs
I had planned the trip for the fall so it would be cooler and that there would not be any bugs. Wow, due to the hurricanes that had come through, the mosquitoes were terrible in places. We had to wear our rain coats with our hoods up in 80 degree weather. To say it was miserable at times, would be an understatement. My wife hates bugs and she just tried to out hike them, which doesn't work! I had to continuely ask her to slow down and take a break.
For years I used to pack a bug net, but took it out of my pack because I never used it. Of course, I didn't have it on this trip when I needed it.
The Packs
Ok, we are not ultra light backpackers, so we overpacked! It's easy to do. I took way too many clothes and too much food. I even took a laptop, just in case! There are stores and restaurants near the trail so food should not have been an issue. Normally fall is a "dry" season and streams you use for water have dried up. We carried more water than we needed. Sometimes we "pack our fears" and they can be heavy.
The Trail
I love the anticipation of seeing new areas on the trail. When you see "Shenandoah Mountain", "Nuclear Lake" or "Ten Mile River" on the map you start to wonder what it will be like, or why they named it that.
There are not any long climbs in NY like in the south. If you climb 500 feet up a hill that might be the highest climb for that day. In the south, a 2000 foot climb is normal. What is normal in New England is that the trail goes straight up the hill, no switchbacks like on other sections of the trail!
I did enjoy the views when they came along. NY is not known for having views due to it being the lowest elevation of the AT.
We did get to see the Dover Oak, one of the largest white oaks on the Appalachian Trail at 20 feet in circumference.
Outdoor Shower
There was a business close to the trail that allowed hikers to take a free hot shower behind their building. The only issue is that there was a train track 50 feet from the shower. Good news is that the train was going at least 90 miles an hour and the passenagers probably couldn't see anything as it zoomed by... I hope!
Where y'll from?
We heard lots of "northern accents" while hiking. One funny story is when we came across a group of hikers that had started at Mt Katahdin ME. They heard us talking and asked us "where y'll from". We told them North Carolina and they said they where so happy because they were from Alabama and had not heard a "southern" accent since they had started hiking!
Finishing at Bull's Bridge
We finally made it to Bull's Bridge. Bull's Bridge is a single-lane vehicular wooden covered bridge across the Housatonic River in the town of Kent, Connecticut, close to the state border with New York. The first instance of a bridge at this location was constructed by Jacob and Isaac Bull in 1760, which gave the bridge its name.
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