Day 67: Ben’s House to Ten Mile River Lean-to (24.5 miles)

July 18, 2004 - Got about 5 hours of sleep last night. Left Ben’s house around 9:30 and stopped off for donuts before getting on the highway. Only took us about an hour to get back to the trail rather than 2 hours. Ben hiked about 7 miles with me. It was nice having someone to hike with. Then we said our goodbyes then Ben turned around and ran back. It took him no time to go 7 miles, probably did it in about 40 min. I then continued on with my hike. The 1st day after a zero day is the hardest because you’re used to not hiking. I had such a great time at Ben’s place and I could have stayed a week but I had to get back to the trail, so close to finishing. The longer I would have stayed the harder it would have been to get back to the trail. Made great time today and made it to the shelter before dark. Finished up with my 9th state, NY, and started CT. As soon as I crossed the state line there was trail magic of candy bars and cokes. That hit the spot. It’s starting to rain now but it’s been like this most of the day. 24.5 miles today, not bad for starting at 11:30.

Train stop that takes hiker into New York City