Some people are just amazing hosts. It goes without saying that Laurie and Kevin are two of the most gracious people I have met on trail. Last night we had this incredible dinner and this morning, Kevin woke up and made French Toast, Bacon, Hash browns that were out of this world, super strong coffee which I needed, and fresh fruit. He told us that he is the Camp Cook for his hunting trips. It’s no doubt that you are well fed in his circle of friends. When our belly’s were full, Laurie drove us back to the trail.

We were on the small ribbon of dirt by 9am and the ground was moist. It was actually very nice with a fresh dusting of rain. Especially since we were inside a grand home, nice and dry and well taken care of. Today was a great day trail wise. it was relatively flatter than days past and there was only marginal rock climbing.

We headed out of Elk Park and within the first hour, we made it to “Lemon Squeezer.” It earned its name because of the crevasse that you pass through. It’s broken boulders that require most hikers to remove their pack to squeeze through. Somehow, someway, we all made it through with a bit of wiggling and pulling. Once you get through this crack, then you are required to climb a rock face. Braveheart attempted and after a few unsuccessful tries, I decided to take the Blue Blaze around the rock. Good call as we all followed suit.

The rest of the day was nice with knolls of grassy fields and minor ups and downs. We stopped for lunch around noon. It was atop a rock and surrounded by Mountain Laurel. The scrub is in bloom, this time of year, with white and pink flowers.

After lunch, we made our way to the only flowing creek for miles and filled up. I would’ve thought with the rain we had last night, that more water would be flowing. But evidently it wasn’t enough to make up for the lackluster Spring. We filled up and off we went. I ran into a group of Asian Men who were all in their 80’s and 90’s. They were out for their weekly hike and covering some miles. They were so jovial and friendly, and quite impressed with us ladies hiking to Katadrin. I was more amazed by the fact they were 80-90 hiking the Lemon Squeezer!

We had a grand day. The weather was nice, not too hot. The terrain was doable, and the ground had only a few rocks. Well, more than a few, but better than usual.

We stopped at William Brien Memorial Shelter, an old stone shelter built by the CCC. The shelter has bunk space for 8 people, and tenting space for many tents. It is one of the oldest structures I’ve seen on the AT. We filled up on Jelly Belly’s and Good & Plenty, preparing for our staircase of granite steps leading up to Black Mountsin.

From the open ledges, there are fine views to the south, including Owl Swamp, Big Bog Mountain, Flaggy Meadow Mountain, and more. What’s more, this is the best view of the New York City skyline you can get from the AT, along with very clear views of the Hudson River. There was a bit of smoke which obscured the view of NY City but you could definitely make out the skyscrapers. It was quite spectacular.

Once we headed down, we had the decision to make. We could take a three mile detour or attempt to bolt across the freeway. I really am not a fan of running in front of 65 mph commuters but I also didn’t desire walking an additional three miles. We reluctantly chose playing chicken on the freeway.

This is completely out of character for me being an Officer of the Law. But I weighed the options and felt if we had a good break of traffic, we could manage. Sure enough, there was a break, we ran and survived to hike another day. It’s really not that bad, as long as you wait for a good opening. We all crossed and within ten minutes, we made it to camp. There is water flowing, which is a welcome sight. We all filled up and headed to the plateau just past the creek.

Homes were built, mosquitoes were active, and we moved quickly. We all sat outside and had our Pad Thai and Cheesy Chicken with Broccoli. Once content, we headed to our respective tents. This was another good day on the AT. I have turned a corner and started embracing the good with the not as good. Praise to the Lord. He is fine tuning me daily.