7/10/01
Early morning sunshine greeted Phantom and me as we packed up our gear to start the hiking day. From the shelter it was a quick three mile hike to the Appalachian Trail railroad station where we could catch the train to NYC right from the trail. There we stopped for the first break of the day and enjoyed a soda and cookies, left by Desperado, the trail angel. The next mile took us through an open field and the heat was already stifling as Phantom and I trudged up the exposed climb back into the cover of forest. We continued hiking to the Wiley shelter where we stopped for lunch and to write in the last register in New York. In midafternoon we crossed the border into Connecticut. The first climb in CT was steep with no switchbacks, a sure reminder that we are in New England where almost all mountain climbs and descents follow the profile of the mountain. After conquering Ten Mile Hill we reached Ten Mile lean-to (shelters are called lean-to's in some states). There we stopped to catch our breath and get out of the heat for a few minutes. I was really suffering from the combined effects of some undiagnosed sickness (sore throat, nausea) and the heat. We paused to listen to my weather radio since the cumulus clouds appeared to be growing rapidly. From the report we learned that strong storms were forecasted for the afternoon and evening as well as the potential for additional storms overnight. With distant thunder already rumbling, we quickly filled our water bottles from a hand pump then continued north. The climb up Schaghticoke Mtn. was difficult and steep. From the top we could see a storm fast approaching so we hiked at our fastest possible pace to try and get lower before the lightning began. We covered 2 miles of extremely rugged terrain including an open exposed climb over Indian Rocks. Just as we reached the Schaghticoke Mtn. campsite, in a gap just below ridgetop, the storm reached us. There was no rain but lots of lightning hitting the ridge and top of Schaghticoke where we had just been. We spread out and waited for 30 minutes until the storm moved a little east before we resumed the hike.
We finally made it to Mt. Algo lean-to around 7:15 p.m. The deeply wooded shelter area was already dark as we quickly set up camp and retrieved water for cooking. The only other soul at the shelter was Lone Wolf who disappeared from the shelter, leaving his gear behind, after we arrived. The mosquitos were thick and relentless in their pursuit of our exposed flesh, so we quickly made it into our tents after a fast dinner. It was another challenging day with heat, terrible bugs, storms, and rugged terrain. So who said hiking the AT is just one big party? It's gotten really challenging and there aren't many of us around to comfort one another through the tough times. Today's highlights include two things. First, we saw three bald eagles soaring high above us this morning as we hiked. Second, we crossed the two-thirds mark on the journey. I'm also thankful that I bought that free standing tent. What an important piece of equipment to have with the insects so thick and relentless. It's nice to have another state behind us on the journey. Here are today's stats: low 65, high 87. Sunny, then p.m. thunderstorm. Today's mileage: 21.4; cumulative 1,477.1.
