Dates ........ TUE SEPT 21, 1999
Miles ........ 16.6 miles
From ........ NY - TELEPHONE PIONEERS SHELTER
To ............. RPH shelter
Weather ... (dark) RAIN ALL DAY started 65, humid, rainy - ended rainy, windy, cold 42 degrees

TUE SEPT 21, 1999

NUCLEAR LAKE - SPLIT ROCKS

HIKED ALL DAY IN THE RAIN. At first I was so warm I had to take off my rain gear - I was getting soaked from perspiration and glasses were fogging up. The rain then felt refreshing and I hiked in shorts until my noon break. Then it turned sharply colder and I could not get warm, even when hiking, so I put on my rain parka for warmth. All the vistas were walls of gray mist - no views today.

Nuclear Lake was very pretty and pristine, the AT running along its northern shore. Supposedly, the area, once contaminated, is now safe. It sure is beautiful, even on a rainy day. Hike through West Pawling, cross Rt 55 and old Rt 55, pass by Morgan Stewart shelter, only one mile from NY's infamous Green Haven Correctional Facility, cross Interstate 84 on an overpass, skirt a housing subdivision, cross Rt. 52, skirt another subdivision, then traverse the ridge along Hosner Mountain, paralleling the Taconic State Parkway. Love the smell of auto and diesel exhaust fumes. At the end of the traverse, ENTER CONSTRUCTION ZONE HELL. Its dark, cold, windy and pouring rain and the trail markers have been superseded by yellow construction equipment, concrete forms, mud, more mud, and chaos. Salvation is in the form of a handwritten note lying in the mud, its ink all washed away by the rain, allegedly directing you on a detour to RPH shelter - the guidebook AT route being obliterated by construction of a new bridge.

Standing in the middle of a dark road, water streaming off my face, in a stream of mudwater running down the road, looking for a hint of the AT or its shelter, a nice car pulls up, its window rolls down and a man asks if he can help me. No, he knows nothing about the trail or shelter but thrusts a ceramic mug full of hot coffee out the window saying "Here, you need this more than I do - just leave the cup under the underpass when you're done." Instinct directs me across the 4 lane highway, truly taking my life in my hands, and down the hill. Trying desperately to shield the map from the rain, I navigate to and find the shelter, Dodger, Sasquatch and Soot already there. I am thankful for my little Maglight and that this day is over. This last bit of adventure took the fun out of the day.