AT Day 33 Fingerboard Shelter to West Mountain Shelter

Miles: ~9
Total: 381
Deer count: 26



Today we broke camp slowly and took our time hitting the trail because we planned to hit up the pond on Arden Road. It is run by the state and they have showers, picnic areas, a nice little waterfront, and a little office – all made out of stone. The girl in the office let us charge all our electronics as we took advantage of the bathrooms and the blazing sun to wash almost all our clothes.
After hanging out for half the day, watching the motorcycles pass and our laundry dry, we cleaned ourselves up and got back on the trail for our “easy” seven miles.
Well, cleaning up was almost in vain, as we had a few fair climbs in humid weather. Then, after crossing the Palisades Parkway, we had ~600 foot climb in a half a mile distance – a decent slope to contend with! We were almost out of food (making our packs pretty light), but we had to carry extra water from the bottom so it made it tricky.
The Shelter was then another .6 miles from the trail – another ancient stone structure in disrepair, with maybe the most trash we’ve seen yet in a shelter. Great views though! We decided to camp and made our dinner on one of the cliffs to try and watch the sun set over the mountains. It was a little tricky to find a good spot but we ended up seeing some really gorgeous colors on the clouds as it went down.