Day 3 - Wednesday, January 13, 2021

The morning temperature was 30° and overcast. I’m surprisingly feeling pretty good. I do not have any blister issues as I did last year. It’s amazing what wearing the correct size boots can do for you. I’m experiencing some minor muscle pain but totally expect that until I get my “trail legs”. In the meantime Ibuprofen is my best friend. I take 1-200 mg tablet before I go to bed and then 2-200 mg tablets prophylactically in the AM with my coffee (Breakfast of Champions 😉). 

Today we are hiking from Route 52 to Long Hill Road which is 7.5 miles. We should do this section in about 4 hours considering it is a somewhat harder section of the trail in Dutchess County which includes a couple challenging inclines and one long decline; combined with numerous rock scrambles. We originally were going to Route 301 but we decided to shorten today’s hike due to the harder terrain plus to align our next 3 hikes more appropriately - trying not to exceed 15 mile hikes until we get a few more hikes under our belts. And besides we are not set on a defined pace “carved in granite”. 

I’m sure we will be frequently modifying our hikes due to weather, where we are on trail in regards to locality, etc. Occasionally we will plan our off trail breaks and stay locally, sightseeing with Jean and Chris meeting us; relaxing and enjoying our time off the trail. This is an adventure not a 7 day cruise where you have to pack everything into a dedicated time slot 🤔.

We began hiking at 9:48 (late start 🤫). 

 


 

At the Ralph’s Peak Hiker’s Cabin, East Fishkill, NY. 

 


There were a few icy sections on the trail where I almost put on my yaktrax... in hindsight I probably should have. 

 

I-84 Corridor. Finished at 1:44 PM. High temperature for the day was 35°. Stayed overcast all day. I drank 1 L of water. Hydrated often getting an idea how long my water supply would last before I would have to replenish. Felt good entire hike. No muscle or knee pain!! 🎉

To be considered a recognized thru-hiker you have to complete the entire trail within 365 days of when you started. So with today’s hike, we completed the re-hiking of the sections that we hiked last year when we stopped due to the pandemic. Turns out, the Appalachian Trail Conservatory waived this requirement and will credit hikes that were completed upto March 31, 2020 once the trail is “officially” open 😳. So much for the cancel culture.

Also, the trail is not “officially” open now so we may not be eligible to be recognized as thru-hikers in 2021. This is no concern to us as we are not doing this to be recognized by the ATC. We will know in our hearts that we did it; feeling all the aches and pains & cuts and bruises. But more importantly, experiencing the highs of meeting new personal challenges and the acquiring of lifetime memories... priceless!

Till next time... Happy Hiking 🥾

😋

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