Today is a bittersweet day. Everyone was up and moving early this morning. No one had to wake the other. We were all awake and tearing down camp. Braveheart was first to pack up and promptly started making her Swiss Mix. She had never experienced Hot Cocoa like this before. And I do believe, this is her new favorite drink.

Shortly before 7am, we were moving out and hiking up West Mountain Ridge. The trail was steep but made of stepping stones that were well placed and solid. Within an hour or less, we were atop the ledges that overlooked many of the ridge lines that we have recently hiked.

The morning was crisp and a storm was brewing. The weather guessers said that we would have significant rain and thunderstorms by noon. We wanted to make sure we were up and off the top of any mountain. So down we went. The trail was about the nicest dirt and forest we have had the pleasure to walk through.

Our next ascent is Bear Mountain. They say that there are many bears on this mountain. Hence it’s name. Never saw a single bear or remnants of any Bear activity. Probably best that way. There were some amazing views as we climbed, including a couple of beautifully constructed wooden benches. We took advantage of the proper bench and sat to take in the views.

Once atop Bear Mountain, we found the vending machines. Chips and Sodas were exactly what we needed. We ate and drank as we listened to the construction workers replacing the roof atop the Observation Tower. They had the tower cordoned off so no chance that we were going to get to climb the up-teen NJ stairs. This did not break my heart as I had already climbed more stairs than I choose to remember.

We headed down Bear Mountain, and I just had to appreciate the crew of volunteers that constructed this stairwell. I’m gonna guess but I’m thinking close to one thousand steps were chiseled, cut and placed on this trail. When I hike day after day, I really need to be more thoughtful of the hundreds of thousands of hours it has taken to complete this trail! It’s mind boggling. The going down was much faster than the climbing.

Once we reached the Hudson River, we followed Hessian Lake around to the Trailside Zoo. Being an AT Hiker, you get free admission into the Zoo. It’s more of a Rescue Habitat for wayward animals. The Trailside Zoo also holds the distinction of being the lowest elevation on the entire Appalachian Trail, at 160 feet above sea level. There were two black bears that are brother and sister. The brother wasn’t too concerned that everyone was gawking at him. But his sister was pretty agitated. You could tell she was looking for a way out. It was sad to see them locked up and not free to eat berries and ferns.

It took us less than a half hour to hike through the zoo. It was quite small but very lush. At the end, we exited and arrived at the Hudson River Bridge. This is where we parted ways. Couch to Trail is heading north. She needs to get to Mt. Katadrin by early August. She plans to jump ahead this weekend so she can guarantee her successful completion. Being she lives in Delaware, she plans to finish up missing segments on weekends. She’s one focused woman and I’m sure she will get it done!

Braveheart has learned so much during these past nine days. She plans to have a friend pick her up and drive her to Albany. From there, she will hike the Empire State Trail and walk home to NYC. This has been in the back of her mind for the past few days and I wish her the best. Both C2T and Braveheart have been great partners. We have incredible memories together. Anyone who has long-distant hiked before understands that we will see one another again. This is a lifelong friendship. So Delaware and Switzerland, I’ll be visiting in the not-to distant future.

I headed into Fort Montgomery with Braveheart. We both had resupply boxes we needed to pickup at the Post Office. We hurried off as we had less than thirty minutes to get there before their lunch break. We followed a vague trail and made it with ten minutes to spare. After getting our boxes, we had lunch and bid each other farewell.

The skies opened up, and the much needed rain came. I decided to find a place to stay the night, and landed at the Bear Mountain Bridge Motel. When I called, there was one room left but the owner wasn’t sure if he wanted to rent it out. He told me the last hiker left with the oddest smell of Citronella, and he couldn’t rid the stench in the room. I’m thinking Citronella is a lovely smell, and it’ll keep the mosquitoes at bay. I’ll take it!

Tomorrow I’ll be back on my own. I have no worries about hiking solo. There’s always people to meet, and other day-0hikers on the trail. My hiking partner Blue will be here within a couple of weeks, and all will be good in my world. I so appreciate the time I had with my Tramily. We covered over 100 miles together, laughed a lot, shared our thoughts and fears, and became good friends. We will always remember out time together, the growth we had, and the friendship we shared. Thank you girls for hiking with me. Much love always and God bless you both.