So Wednesday was supposed to be a fairly easy day; however, it turned out to be an extra long day. The trail wasn't marked well and Lyle missed his "turn." He realized his error a mile down the trail and decided he would keep heading north rather than turn around and go back. Luckily the weather was good and the trail was what I would call fair. When I called him around 5:30 CT his comment was that he felt "lost." He knew he was still on the AT but wasn't really sure where he was. He thought he would be at the camp site in 15-20 minutes. He agreed to call me when he was settled. I waited for over an hour for a call and it was getting really close to me calling search and rescue. But, I got a call that he had reached the camp site and there was another hiker there as well. They had eaten dinner and set up camp before he called....what a relief! And I was pleased that there was another hiker in camp too. Lyle ended up hiking 17.5 miles. Two more days and he will be out of NY.
Thursday was a long day too. Lyle ended up hiking 18.1 miles and is very close to the NY and CT state line. The trail was pleasant and it was a warm sunny day. The highlight of his day was meeting a young couple from Key West...one of our favorite vacation spots. We can't imagine how fun it would be to grow up in Key West. The couple has retired in the their 40's and will soon have through hiked the AT. They went from Springer Mountain to Harpers Ferry then went up to Maine to hike south. They have a few more weeks and they will be done. Otherwise it was a pretty quiet day. There have been quite a few places on the trail where he is walking along backyards or down a street in a neighborhood. NY has not been as pretty or peaceful as some of the other states. He hears a lot of road noise and industrial noise. It's hard to believe it's the AT.
He had to set up his tent early to try and dry it off before he crawled in. The dew was so heavy in the morning that the tent hadn't dried before he packed up camp. He has lots of company in the camp site tonight. A group of 5 southbounders have set up and are enjoying a campfire. Lyle was tucked into his sleeping bag under his emergency blanket and ready to crash.
His next milestone will be crossing 1500 miles...some place in CT. And what a treat it will be for Lyle to be done with NY as well.
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