From: Fingerboard shelter, NY
To: West Mountain shelter, NY
Mileage: 8.5
Weather: Chilly rain
I left the shelter (pictured) after Cinnamon Girl and Wilderness Hawk, who needed to make 15 miles to Fort Montgomery NY for a hotel reservation. I left before Shirtless, who only planned to hike 3.5 miles to the William Brien Memorial shelter. I decided that I wanted to get to the Palisades visitor center that was 0.4 miles off trail today so I could get water and find an online deal for a room in Fort Montgomery/Bear Mountain for Sunday night.
A short walk led to a large municipal (?) water tank, and trail angels thoughtfully left a few water containers nearby for hikers (pictures) since local springs are unreliable. I decided I had enough water to reach the visitor center and moved on.
It was a pleasant hike despite the rain (pictures), but I managed to slip off a stepping stone while crossing a small stream and soak both feet. I decided to stop at the Brien shelter (pictured) to eat and wring out my socks. However, there was a group of people in the shelter when I arrived, so I only had a cereal bar and some water before moving on.
The trail had a short, steep climb above the shelter, then I realized I still needed to wring out my socks, so I sat down to so. The wind shook fat drops from the trees, which quickly dampened my pants above the knee, and the thermal underware I decided to leave on that morning. The sleeves of my polyester fleece jacket were already wet where they extended beyond my poncho. This would be a problem later.
Apparently, the New York City skyline is visible from Black Mountain, but not today. Just broken clouds on the mountainsides (pictures).
I finally reached the Palisades Parkway, with traffic whizzing past in two lanes each direction at highway speed and had to run across in the rain while carrying a backpack and poles. At least my poncho was a visible orange. I timed my crossing and made it to the median, then spotted the visitor center in the median down the road so I started toward it through the tall, wet grass. Before long, my shoes and socks were completely soaked. When I finally reached the center (pictured), I saw another hiker who told me it was closed due to no power (pictured). So no water, no restroom, no food, and I couldn't get a signal from T-Mobile to make a reservation. A complete waste of my time. The hiker mentioned that Cinnamon Girl and Wilderness Hawk caught a ride from the center to Fort Montgomery, so at least someone benefited from the effort!
I made my way back up the road, where I found the hiker crossing warning sign knocked over in the grass (pictured, motorist target practice?) and turned onto the trail in the median, finding a trail register there so I added my name. Then another death-defying dash across traffic, then a stop to wring out my socks again.
Another climb up a mountain. It was interesting to see rock steps construction near the top (pictures). I almost missed the side trail to the West Mountain shelter, which was missing the shelter sign, but two other hikers set me straight.
It was 0.6 miles to the shelter. I found another hiker at the shelter who just stopped to eat out of the rain. He reported that he saw a mama bear with cubs in area, but they ran off. He left, and Shirtless showed up, reporting a good hiking day. I was tired, cold and damp, so I got into my bivy and quilt early hoping my thermals would dry on me overnight. I left my fleece hanging with the sleeves dripping. However, I was able to get a data connection on my phone and make a reservation for Sunday night!
Then a group of first year medical students showed up on an annual training trip, and seemed dismayed that they could not all get in the small shelter. Not all of them would have fit, anyway! So some had to camp in the rain.
I was reasonably comfortable overnight.
Fog/mist overnight kept everything damp, and even things that were previously dry got damp.
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