Day 66: Caesar Brook Campsite to Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite

Today's Miles: 17.0

Total Miles: 726.3

I tried to do as much as I could this morning while still curled up in my sleeping bag. I headed out before everyone else, just trying to get moving so I could warm up. There were some hills to start off with, which helped warm me up quickly. I had to pass a brook and a road, but of course went the wrong way at the road crossing. I saw a blazed trail to the left, so I decided to follow that. Apparently this was the bypass trail for the brook. I learned this after going about a half mile, so I made my way back to figure out where the trail really went. I saw Crunchmaster by the trailhead, and he said they had done the same thing. They just figured out before making it that far down. This always messes me up for the rest of the day, and I was in that weird mental jam the remainder of it.

There was another walk along the river, a flat section for about 5 miles. It made my feet pretty tired, so I found a beach to take a lunch break at and soaked my feet in the water. There were a lot of people out, being the weekend and an absolutely beautiful day. After the river, I had a very steep rock scramble up towards St. Johns Ledges. It was difficult, but a little fun and equally distracting. I still had a few hills to climb, and it was getting pretty late. I wanted to make it past the New York border, but decided to stop at the campsite a mile before. I would have night hiked if I could have caught up to everyone else, but I decided this would be the best option. Good thing, because I ended up rolling my ankle and falling with most of my weight on my foot. No bueno. I saw 3 raccoons about a mile before making it to the campsite. They all ran up a tree and stared at me with their masked eyes as I passed by. I'm hoping they stay where they are and leave my food alone tonight. The campsite is quiet, and I'm the only one here right now.