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July
30, 1983 Saturday (778.4 mtg) From
Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal
We
got up early this morning and headed down, away from the summit
to avoid being caught stealth camping. At the base of the mountain
lies Bear Mountain Lodge. A fancy building that I did not feel comfortable
visiting in my hiker-garb. Besides, it was too early for it to be
"open" anyway. The lodge was an impressive structure,
and I marveled at the architecture as I passed by. The trail soon
crossed the highway and went through the entrance of a small zoo.
However, I had arrived too early and it was not open yet. This is
one place on the actual trail that you cannot walk through whenever
you want.
I walked
the road around the zoo, and found a sign nearby that reminded me
of my hometown: Highland, IL. I posed next to the sign and covered
the last "S" while Tim Platts took my photo for me. I
had five miles to hike today to reach Greymore Monastery, my goal
for the day. With that in mind, and the morning just beginning,
I decided to walk down the road to the town of Fort Montgomery to
utilize the post office (Tim may have accompanied me). I sent a
few post cards to various people including Chuck Winchell, a hiker
I had met in 1981, and one to Grandma and Grandpa Strackeljahn.
Outside the post office there was a fund raiser bake sale. I bought
some cookies for the road and unable to resist them, ate a few even
before I hit the road back to the trail.
I crossed the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge, a toll bridge
that used to cost hikers 10¢ to cross, but this year they had
ceased collecting the fee from pedestrians. The crossing marked
the lowest point along the Appalachian Trail, being 64 feet above
sea level. Anthony's Nose rose abruptly on the opposite side of
the river. I followed the trail up the side of the nose, but chose
not to take the side trail to the tip for some reason. I am sure
the view would have been magnificent. I was too excited about going
to the monastery I suppose, and as a result, arrived at NY 9 and
the entrance to the facility by noon. I had to wait until four o'clock
before being allowed to check into a room. I spent two hours in
a nearby Bavarian Inn to take up the time, which seems ridiculous
- I could have hiked on and covered many miles that day, or at least
spent some time on Anthoy's Nose and seen the view. But Greymore
Monastery was an institution on the trail, a "don't miss"
kind of place. It was the place where hikers were welcomed and allowed
to spend the night in a private room, do laundry, shower, have dinner
and breakfast, and not have to spend any money! How could I miss
this?
Around two o'clock I walked up to the monastery and chatted with
one of the friars for a while. Just before 4 pm, Tim, John, Marcel,
and Paul arrived. We all selected our rooms and were able to get
cleaned up before the 5:30 meal. Bruce, Terri, and Eric rolled in
just as dinner was being served, and were unable to clean up for
the meal. Every day of the week they have bountiful meals with various
menus of home cooked items. One day of the week they feature cold
cuts. Of course today was the day for cold cuts! I made the best
of it by eating large amounts of the various cold cuts and cheese.
One particular friar seemed to be in charge of the hikers, Father
Boscoe I think was his name. He continued urging us to go back and
have some more food. He did not want us to go hungry. I certainly
was not hungry after all the sandwiches and desserts that I consumed.
I spent the remainder of the evening making phone calls to my parents,
Jim, Glen, and Dave Szabo. While talking with Mom, I instructed
her to send me two days worth of food to Tyringham, Massachusetts
including granola bars and junk food. I proudly told her that I
had traveled 1376 miles so far, and only had 767 miles to go!! We
talked for twenty minutes (cost $5.06).
Back
in my room, I moved my bed closer to the lone window, which I opened
to allow the breeze to enter and blow over my body. The temperature
was still in the 90's. (notes
from Mom)
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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