As I write this post, I am lying in my tent just outside of Kent CT, waiting out an overnight rainstorm. The last couple of hiking days in NY were relatively easier than earlier in the state so I was able to get in some relatively high mileage days (for me ) in the range of 17-19 miles. In my last post, I forgot to recount an important event from my time in NY, so I’ll start there.

Shout-Out to Mary Karb and Family

Mary Karb is a college friend of my wife Michele. Months ago when Mary heard of my plans for hiking the AT, she let Michele know that her home was close to the trail and that she was willing to assist me when I was in the area. I followed up with her and we made arrangements for her to pick me up on a Friday off of an exit on the Palisades Parkway. Meanwhile on the day before the planned pickup, Luna and I got caught in a nasty early morning thunderstorm—-thunder, lightening, high winds, and heavy downpours. I tried to erect a makeshift shelter with my tent fly, which helped, but we both were getting pretty wet. Luna was curled up on my lap shivering. I made a call to Mary asking if she could pick me up at a different location and a day early. She said give me 20 minutes and I’ll come get you. What a relief. And Mary and her family members, husband Billy, two children, and son in-law could not have been more gracious hosts. While there, I was able to take care of the 4 big thru hiker needs, laundry, hot shower, phone charging, and food consumption. A nice warm bed and a good nights rest just added to the visit. We ate takeout Italian food at night and Mary even made me a bag of Gorp for my hike. Thank you so much Mary and family, true trail angels. Luna even got along well with Mary’s daughter’s dog Lilly shown below.

Visit from Michele

I had one more hiking intervention while in NY. Michele my wife drove down on May 27 to pickup Luna. We stayed in a beautiful inn (Curry Estate) just off the trail in Hopewell Junction. Unfortunately, Michele arrived exhausted from a trip to Phoenix and then there was a widespread power outage due to a storm. The inn had no backup power source. We opted to stay there anyway. Once power returned, we looked for a nearby restaurant where we could celebrate our upcoming 20th anniversary. Given that it was a Monday and with the power outage, we kept striking out. In the end, we drove to Fishkill and ate at the Red Line Diner. Not exactly a romantic candle lit dinner, but we had a good meal. The next morning Michele dropped me back on the trail and drove away with Luna in tow.

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