Crossing the Bear Mountain Bridge I was ecstatic! I was shouting to the ship workers down below as I watched the huge barge float upriver towards West Point Academy. A big ol' American flag hung from the bridge tower. It was a glorious day, and views downstream to Peekskill and across to the Bear Mountain were amazing.
I had been waiting for this day for quite a time. Another familiar place with fond memories of hard work <on the trail> and hard play <state park's Oktoberfest with fellow trail crew>. I get to climb the east face of Bear Mountain via a brand new trail relocation opened on National Trails day June 5th 2010. Working with the Mid Atlantic Appalachian Trail Crew, I had worked here for a total of 8 weeks over the fall seasons of 2008 and 2009. Reminiscent of the WPA's CCC construction projects of the 1930's, Bear Mountain's trail relocation is a modern marvel using some primitive technology with 800 hand-hewn granite steps and over one mile of "stonewall cribbing" that will last for generations. This project is still ongoing, but probably the most exciting one-mile stretch is fresh and open.
The magnificent granite boulder field through which path travels becomes the setting. During the construction, care was taken to do minimal damage to the surrounding environment by using a series of cables suspended upwards of 60 vertical feet in large trees to move the stone material. Tools, resources, and people power used to reach completion were many (see photos...)
Eddie Walsh with NY/NY Trail Conference and Lester Kenway with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club were the master-minds behind the design process. The A.T. Conservancy in addition to hundreds of volunteers were called upon to do the work. This is how we get the work done = PEOPLE POWER!
Neal uses a sledge hammer to drive stone splitting wedges
A final product sample
After crossing the Bear Mountain Bridge, I reach the trailside museum and zoo, officially the lowest elevation on the Appalachian Trail at 130ft above sea level. A nice girl in the visitor center mails my postcards for me. The white blaze actually goes right through the zoo, where visitors may have a peek at animals native to New York. So after saying hi to the black bears and porcupines, I continue past Bear Mountain Inn to the start of the new trail.
I am standing on a boulder that weighs upwards of 2000 lbs which our crew moved and repositioned in 2008. This is part of the walking surface of the trail now. Onwards and upwards.... as I am nearing the site of 2009 work project, I see a large group being led by members of the NY/NJ trail conference. Here I see Chris, who is surprised to see me with backpack instead of sledge hammer, and he offers the group an introduction. All of a sudden I am speaking in front of a large group explaining how great this project is and how they should join forces to help along with the project's completion. Next I approach a family going up the mountain for a day hike with hopes to see the NYC skyline 35 miles away. There is a fresh-Irene-deposited blowdown across the trail. The family members must scramble along the steep hillside to avoid the fallen tree. It involves some trick manuevering for mom and dad, which brings about laughter and good fun. This is where I am overcome with emotion. I finally get to see first-hand the way people are benefiting from this nature walkway. Our hard work has indeed brought much enjoyment for the public. I am so happy I want to cry.
Chris told me below to look for the Mid Atlantic Crew up near the top of the mountain. I reach the "Danger DO ENTER CONSTRUCTION SITE" sign and continue past. Just around the corner are several familiar faces. I hear the familiar sound of hammer on stone. Some one is busting stone into gravel. Here they are! I get to see an old friend from Virginia Tech and assistant crew leader Jeff 'Mr. Intense'; crew leader Chris who just came down from a summer season on Saddleback Mountain, Maine; Neal and Pat, the dynamic stone-stackin duo and long time trail veterans, and other faces new to me. This was a real pleasure so see my trail people, even if it was just for a short minute. I thanked them all for their hard work on the trail, and told them what a great adventure I was having.
Onwards and upwards.... Perkins tower lunch and look to NYC Skyline through haze. Better get going, I still have 12 to camp and it's early afternoon. The rest of the day was spent walking and reflecting on my time working with these great people of the AT community. There was certainly a large measure of commarraderie involved when we were out there. And the physical structure left behind serves as a monument to our accomplishments. I hope so see some of these guys later on in Carlisle, Pennsylvania when I cross by their basecamp.
12 miles later Fingerboard shelter reached well before dark. Full moon happenings: extremely friendly deer in hunting-free Harriman State Park, pilieated woodpecker searching for insects in down rotted log, racoon scurries and climbs the trailside tree looking back at me, pure black squirrels with pointy ears race to gather acorns, hawk sweeps low overhead and takes a nearby perch. The animals are not phased by my presence. They are enthralled in the waxing gravity of the moon's cycle. Did you know that it has been scientifically proven that the (number of times a cricket chirps in a 14 second period) + 40 = the current temperature?
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