I ❤️ New York, but it’s kicking my butt!

I am off the the trail due to rain. 😕 Boy, did I need this Zero! The past few days have been very tough for me on all levels-physically, mentally and emotionally.

This motel does not smell like stale cigarette smoke, (that is the one thing I can’t deal with!) I have to wait 5 minutes before the hot water reaches my room, (at least when it’s hot, it’s HOT- especially when someone in another room flushes!) I have to sit out on the picnic table in front of the motel to use the WiFi (at least it’s covered, and at least they have WiFi!) my cell service here is bad, and the calls to Bud keep disconnecting. The dryer was broken, so they had to line dry my clothes (I don’t think they charged me for doing it, and I can’t tell you how glad I am to have clean clothes!) There are some cobwebs and dust in my room, and hairs on the walls of the shower, (but I’m pretty sure the sheets are clean). The handle on the toilet is broken (at least it still flushes.) The decor is probably from the 90’s ( I don’t care about that as long as things are clean.) The AC works. When I arrived, the lady working the desk gave me some ice in a ziplock, and a cold bottle of water when I told her I was dehydrated and not thinking well. The owner lied to me about picking me up from the trail. I paid $12 for a shuttle to take me about 3-4 miles. This room is WAY overpriced! Everything is so expensive here in the Northeast! Most water sources have been dry in NY, even thought they are listed as being ‘reliable ‘. NY is full of PUDS ( pointless ups and downs) which really take a lot of energy. My pack has been heavy with 5-6 days worth of food. As I lose weight, I should be carrying less. Pack weight is only supposed to be 1/4 of your body weight. Last I weighed I was 113. With lots of food and extra water, I think my pack is probably about 30-35 pounds. Too heavy! I’m sure I’ve lost more since my last weigh-in, because my face is looking gaunt. I’ve lost almost all of the fat at my waist, so that will probably speed up the weight loss. They say we burn about 5,00-6,000 calories out here. Not sure if that is true or not.

I’ve had several cries since arriving at the Bates Motel. 😳 I’m not sure why. I’ve felt a bit like I did toward the end of my hike in 2016. I think a lot of it is nutritional, but I think some of it is emotional stress, not to mention the physical exertion. I could really use a prayer or two if you feel so inclined.

I arrived here yesterday after an almost 20 mile day. I don’t handle big days like that very well. Lack of water, opportunity for real food, shelter from rain, and other things drive most of my Big days.

I slept well last night. It’s raining right now, and it’s supposed to rain the next 3-4 days, today being the worst. I’ll be leaving tomorrow, come hell or high water. I have a maildrop in Salisbury, CT, in several days, and will stay overnight (after a full day) there. Not sure if I’ll Zero. Today’s zero was more of a ‘mental and emotional health day’ but I needed it physically and wanted to avoid the worst of the rain.

I’ll try to get in another post, but it might just be a picture dump.

(If you look really closely in the pic above, you can see the sun glinting off the NYC skyline. It’s barely visible. I camped on this mountain, and the afternoon before, it was just gray shapes that you had to strain to see. Those who stayed up until dark said they could see the lights from NYC well. I’ve heard that hikers in 2001 could see the World Trade Center burning from this mountain.)