Flip Flop Hikers: Sprout Day 58 (Tuesday, May 24th, 2016)

We hiked 14 miles today. Some spots were easy hiking and others were steep and rocky. We took our time early in the day because the rocks were wet and slippery. The rocks in this section of New York are huge and not too bad for hiking unless they are wet. It's easy to slip and fall.

At the top of bear mountain was a memorial tower. There were a lot of pictures and paintings describing what you were looking at and gave a lot of information about the history of the area. I was happy to get to the tower because there were vending machines! We had a can of coke and some Pringles as soon as we arrived! At the bottom of bear mountain is a little zoo that the Appalachian Trail goes through. They had some of the local wildlife on display but the main attraction is the bear cage. They had two bears in a fenced in area. I kinda felt bad for them. It looked like a small space for two big bears but I guess all the animals were disabled in some way and wouldn't survive in nature, or at least that's what the sign next to the bears said.

Seven miles into the day Bubbles met up with her cousin Nate, his wife Jenny, and their daughter Anna for dinner and to just catch up and hang out. It was very tempting for me to go along with them, but for now I have one thing on my mind, walking the trail. I finished the next seven miles and caught up with her later on the evening. She got dropped off at the Spiritual Sanctuary where we were camping for the night.

A little over a mile from the sanctuary is a gas station/deli... It was amazing! They have really good food and all the cold drinks you could ask for. I ordered a double cheeseburger, steak fries, and washed it down with a Powerade! It was a nice treat right before camp and it was great because I didn't have to bother with cooking. I got to camp, set up, and hung the bear bags as soon as I got to the camp spot. I was able to take a shower (there's an outside shower right by the pavilion and camping area.) It was the coldest shower I've ever experienced but it felt amazing, especially after a long hot and humid day. I washed some of my clothes in the shower too. It's funny how happy a shower, even an ice cold shower, can make you feel!

Mountain Man and Karma were already at the sanctuary along with a few other people. I was happy to see Rabbit, Keebler, and Lost and Found. A little later in the evening a guy named Blues Brother showed up. This is the guy who put out a shelter fire in Pennsylvania a couple weeks ago. He said he showed up and saw some guy acting weird leaving the trail coming from the shelter. When he got there the place was on fire! There was a broom at the shelter so he went 300 ft down to the water source multiple times with the broom and slashed it on the fire until he got it under control. I can't believe someone would come out and catch a shelter on fire. It was a local who obviously had something wrong in the head! Blues brother is a hero! He explained it pretty well, he said he just did what anyone else would do. When you arrive at a shelter, that's your home for the night. He said anyone would put a fire out especially if it's your home and the next home is 15 miles away! I love all the different people we have met and love listening to their stories and experiences.