McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 9/21/2024 | AT Mile 746.1 | Day Total: 21.6 miles | Gain: 4355 ft

Packed up this morning and headed to the picnic table for breakfast. Last night there was a tent pitched in the shelter with a backpack and sleeping bag but nobody in it or at the camp. This morning I was startled when I was cooking breakfast and I heard snoring coming from the shelter. I guess they showed up late last night. Interesting…

I’ve got a climb right out of the gate this morning. Wasn’t terrible with the cool morning air. The high today is 10 degrees lower than the previous few days. There weren’t any views at the top right away but there were a few along the ridge a few miles later.

Along this ridge I crossed the CT/NY boarder! These past few states have been flying by.

The last view just before I went down was a large rocky slab. Best view of the day. I passed a large group of over 20 Boy Scouts out for a backpacking trip. They were all cheerful. I couldn’t imagine walking up to a campsite and seeing it taken over by that big of a group…

Once again I’m right next to the Housatonic River. I’ve been seeing bits of it for a few days now. The Ten Mile River empties into the Housatonic river right after I cross a bridge.

Just before I ate lunch I climbed up and went directly back down Ten Mile Hill. A 700ft climb hill.

I ate lunch on a rock near a parking area. I had grabbed a bag of water from the stream just before it to filter while I eat. I had a peanut butter wrap and a lot of raisins.

After lunch there was another trail detour for a bridge washout from 2019. It was a mile road walk around to a bridge that crossed Dueul Hollow Brook.

I passed Wiley Shelter on another climb up. There was a well a little before the shelter but it wasn’t marked on FarOut. There’s also a sign warning of contamination. The shelter is old but nice. It’s got a picnic table and stone fireplace right in front of it.

Once on top of the mountain it was a viewless but flat few miles. Super cruzy. I walked through a mile of fields before I got down to NY Route 22. There’s a deli, Tony’s Deli, a half mile down the street that offers camping and obviously food. I was considering camping here but had heard comments about lots of road and train noise nearby.

When I walked up to the deli there was a train flying by and blowing its horn. At this moment it was clear that I wasn’t going to camp here and get sleep as I suspected. Despite this I got an italian sandwich and a Gatorade for dinner. They had some hiker resupply so I got a few food items to get me two more days to a larger market.

Kill Bill left a few minutes before I did. We were both at the deli for a for over 2 hours charging and eating. I spent the better part of an hour surfing FarOut and looking at towns coming up.

The trail crosses the same tracks as behind the deli. It can pick up you up right from the small station directly on the trail and take you to New Your City.

The train station is followed by a long board walk through a meadow. The boardwalk is in pretty rough shape with lots of broken boards but the foundation is sturdy. The sun was low in the sky and shined rays of light into the camera.

It was 3 miles from the road to the shelter for tonight. There were two 400ft climbs to do but they were graded well and easy to get up. On top of the first climb there was another field and a gazebo which was on private property.

As I approached the shelter I could hear a large group (probably Boy Scouts) at the top of the hill cooking dinner. There’s supposed to be a flat campsite right past the shelter so they must have settled there for tonight. The tent options were slim and all had a large slant to them. So I decided to take on the mosquitoes in the shelter tonight. Hopefully they aren’t too bad. All I have to do get set up my sleeping pad and bag tonight because I had dinner at the deli. Evan though I’m 3 miles away from the railroad I can still hear the train horn occasionally.