July 8 and 9

It seems that your body acts much like a bank. You put in some, and you get out some. Sometimes you can get interest on what you put in such as building muscles. You can also take more out than you put in, but you'll always have to pay it back. The only bankruptcy is death.

The day started early walking past the Bear Mountain Zoo and across the Hudson. I played a while in a spring trying to improve it, but sometimes you just can't fix broken. After hiking some more I ran into Domino and Froth at a roadside deli (probably the greatest things about the North are the delis on the side of the roads). They were eating and soon I was too. I picked up some Ben and Jerry's ice cream, a sandwich, and some pizza. It was awesome. Either Domino or Froth said something about a campground that would let hikers sleep for one night for free. All the stories start benignly. It was a little further than I had intended to hike, but I got some strong legs sometimes.

After hiking and hiking, walking along a road for a mile, and getting directions and a ride to a campground from some nice guys, I find Domino and Froth dancing around a table swatting their bodies. Both have rain jackets on and Froth has his camp mattress wrapped around him. I was standing calmly in shorts and a shirt. My secret was Deet. I asked if they had bug spray and they said no... said they didn't believe it would work... seriously? Two hikers that didn't think bug spray worked, really? I said, "Boys, hold out your hands and rub this on your skin". I just made believers out of them.

The campground facilities were alright but the water had "elevated" sodium levels, the showers looked like they were from shawshank, and there wasn't a single soul working there as far as I could tell.

The next morning, we walked out past this swimming beach on the lake at the campground. It looked run down and abandoned, but it showed a little life here and there. It reminded me of Jurassic Park a few years after the incident (you'll have to bear with me tonight. It's all movies.) After getting back to the trail the life stories of these two individuals began to unfold. Domino and Froth (D and F, respectively) both had known each other for ages. They went to school and college together. It was that sort of thing. D had a degree in information systems and film. He'd moved to LA for a year after school, moved to Korea to teach English, and now was here. His stories are absolutely outrageous. He tells them with such vigor. He'll interject noises and spirit hands when necessary. F is more laid back, reserved, but he was a bouncer for a bit while studying economics. Throughout the day we found ourselves saying "No Hobo" when we were being decidedly more homeless than hiker. For example - drinking a large rolling rock out of a paper bag in front of a deli. No hobo.

At the deli, I met up with Hillhiker, Jersey, Breezy, and Connect 4. We had been separated for a bit, and it was fun catching up. I'm camped amongst that old group of friends at 1431.9. Dinner was like stand up comedy as we each took turns just ragging on each other.

Mom and Dad - I think a good place to meet up would be Dalton, MA on 7/16. There is a Walmart close to make the first night easy.