“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man: true nobility is being superior to your former self.” – Ernest Hemingway
Our second section hike in New York taught me a few things; bugs love sweaty people, hiking in heels is a thing for some people and while curing syphilis with malaria might seem like a good idea, just not getting syphilis in the first place is the better route. After our previous section hike of NY on the Appalachian Trail, I decided to shift my workouts and training to be more hiking-specific. I live in a very flat area, so this takes some creativity and gym equipment to do. March’s section was very tough on us, especially packing full packs again. In the weeks between the hikes, I started running again, spent time on the stair master, and I created a workout I can do at home that I really enjoy (3 times of: 100 box step-ups with a sandbag on my shoulders, 24 lunges with the sandbag, 22 push-ups). I was curious if after having trained more for hiking, would the second hunk of New York hurt less? We were out for 2 days, day one was 13.8 miles and day two was 10.2 miles. On this trip we spotted so many creepy crawlers including snakes, spiderwebs, toads, inchworms, caterpillars and so many millipedes they became the unofficial section mascot/spiritual guide. According to SpiritualityShepherd.com, “The millipede serves as a spiritual guide by reminding us of certain qualities and characteristics that can help us navigate our spiritual paths,” and sometimes even the physical path you’re on at the same time. The website outlines 4 specific examples of this guidance.
May 18th –
“1. Millipede as a Symbol of Patience and Perseverance: The slow and steady movement of the millipede reminds us to remain patient and persistent in our spiritual journeys, even when faced with challenges and obstacles.”
We met Jon, a shuttle driver I found on FarOut at South Highland Rd (1421.1) early Saturday morning, which is a lot harder to spot than most “parking” on the AT. We got a ride up to our starting point for the day, NY Taconic State Parkway (1434.9) and headed south. Less than a mile into the hike we passed by RPH Shelter, which looks more like a campground than a shelter with its brick siding and able flat tenting spots. It reminded me of the shelters back in Maryland and not at all like the “tent sites” we never ended up spotting on the last section north of the Route 84. We saw a few tents up, some people starting to rise for the day’s hike and continued over a small bridge and then up an almost 1,00 foot climb. As we started to make our way up I thought about the time I had devoted to training to see if it would pay off. The climb still burned my calves and left me out of breath, but I was a little better off than I had been a few months prior. We continued under some power lines and along a short stretch of rolling hills until the last little steep 300 foot up to the summit of Shenandoah Mountain where a spray painted American flag greets you with “USA, in memory of Sept 11.” Going south on the AT in New York there really weren’t many open viewpoints until Shenandoah Mountain. The graffiti art reminded me that life is unpredictable and not to take moments like this for granted. I spent a few moments mentally reciting a gratitude list and capturing the landscape, and feeling after a long climb into my mind.
Only two miles south of that we walked out of the forest and onto the side of a slope to get a view of Canopus Lake. The trail descends a bit to go around the lake, but you don’t ever get very close to it, other than a road crossing. Walking around the lake we did need patience, because not only did we spot millions of millipedes, we also dealt with insects. Ken was in the front and took down all the spider webs, and I was the mosquito and fly magnet. One fellow decided to stick by my right ear for the rest of the day’s hike! We saw many section hikers that day, and a good number of them were wearing bug nets over their faces and I was a little jealous of those things, especially since the flies really like CO2, so after a few feet up an ascent when the sweat starts forming and the breathing begins to get heavier, here come the happy flies to add to the discomfort.
“In today’s rush, we all think too much, want too much, and forget about the joy of just being.” – Echart Tolle
After leaving Canopus Lake behind us, we passed a sign post with a rotary telephone attached to it. We stopped to read about this “Telephone of the Wind,” and Ken took a few moments to converse with a good friend, Anthony, who passed away two years ago in a car accident. It was the second time in the day that we were reminded of the unpredictability of life. We spent some time talking about Anthony, people in our lives with cancer, Parkinsons and what we can do to continue to stay in good health. Taking the time out of our schedules to complete these trips isn’t easy, and it is expensive when we platinum blaze, but they are also so good for our mental and physical health. It is so important to not allow the comfort creep to take over, nor let too much time go by without spending time in nature getting that quality shinrinyoku. It’s the time we need to slow down, appreciate the world, and be grateful that we are still here enjoying the show. The last part of the day we slowed down a bit, despite mostly ridge walking. We had one other 400 foot ascent, but it was a lot of forest walking after Canopus Lake back to the car.
“2. Millipede as a Representation of Groundedness and Balance: With its numerous legs firmly planted on the ground, the millipede signifies the importance of being grounded and finding balance in life. It encourages us to stay connected to the earth and maintain harmony in our physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects.”
After we got back to the truck, we still had most of the afternoon left. We stopped over at the hotel and rested a bit before heading out to Newburgh to grab some dinner. We drove through a very rough part of the town, but as soon as we got to the waterfront, it looked more hospitable. Newburgh sits on the banks of the Hudson River, with train tracks running along the water’s edge. Across the river the Taconic mountains stand, verdant in mid-May. We were going to eat at Hudson Taco, a very crowded restaurant with outdoor dining and views of the river, but the wait was too long for two hungry hikers, so we went next door to The Pizza Shop and had an amazing dinner. We ordered the eggplant pie which was amazing. The Cherry Pepper Relish gave a bit of a kick that encouraged us to eat a slice more than we needed to. We walked along the water after dinner, hand in hand, and I was thankful that we were able to combine a backpacking trip with a weekend “vacation” and spend quality time together.
May 9th –
“3. Millipede as a Reminder of Self-Healing and Regeneration: The ability of some millipedes to regenerate lost limbs symbolizes the power of self-healing and regeneration. It reminds us to embrace our inner resilience and potential for renewal, encouraging us to heal and grow on our spiritual journeys.”
“There is a hole, an emptiness in us all that we strive to fill. If it doesn’t get filled with something noble and elevated, modern society will quickly pump it full of garbage. That has been true since the beginning of the age of mass media, but the garbage pump got 100 times more powerful in the 2010s. It matters what we expose ourselves to. On this the ancients universally agree.” – Jonathan Haidt
Sunday morning we once again met Jon, this time at US Rt. 9D (1410.9) and he dropped us off at South Highland Road. We had to get back to Maryland early for a dinner with friends, and luckily we got to the parking allowed along the side of the road before 7 am when there were only a handful of cars. We had read on FarOut that Anthony’s nose was off the trail, but also that it was a very popular weekend spot. In fact one review read “If on a weekend, expect the entire state of NY on the mountain, too.” Our goal was to get to the end before the masses showed up. We started with a descent, followed by a short but steep 500 foot climb to the top of Canopus Hill, a tree covered section that felt like forest walking. We continued along the ridge only stopping once for a photo near Denning Hill since we had to keep a fast pace. In fact we saw many day and section hikers out that day and really tried hard not to stop for too long and get wrapped up in conversation. Coming off of the ridge, we saw the Appalachian Market, but didn’t stop in. After crossing the road and walking along a boardwalk over a marsh, it’s another ascent. This reminded me a lot of the same scenario after the train station near mile 1454.
The climb up after the market brought my bug friends back to my right ear. To distract myself, I started to tell Ken about Julius Wagner-Jauregg. He was a Nobel Peace Prize winning Austrian psychiatrist and neurologist who attempted to cure advanced stage syphilis with malaria. Ok, maybe that is a touch over-simplified, but he did inject patients with malaria to try to induce a high-grade fever. He noticed that when patients developed fevers, sometimes other illnesses would go away. He was the first doctor to understand that fevers, while uncomfortable, are the body’s defense mechanism against illness. This cured about 60% of patients and killed a few. Thankfully I do not have syphilis, nor any other kind of infection that would require the use of fever-inducing inoculation, but I have been feeling isolated. Ken and I talked about how working from home has so many benefits, but the big downside is the human connections I miss from working alongside others. I found myself going over my self-imposed time limit on social media almost everyday, craving connections with others. What started to happen was that I was actually feeling worse and worse about myself, and even more out of touch with others. I decided the week after I got home to continue to reshape not only my exercise habits and keep them more centered on hiking and endurance work, but also I deleted my social media apps from my phone. The digital detox has done wonders for my mood, and I no longer get reminded several times a day through algorithm feeds that I pose like an elder millennial, my style is out-of-date and if I really want to lose belly fat, all I need to do is sign up for this regimen and my life will be perfect.
4. Millipede as a Symbol of Adaptability and Flexibility: The millipede’s ability to adapt and maneuver through different environments signifies its flexibility. It reminds us to embrace change, be open to new experiences, and adapt to different circumstances in our spiritual journeys.
The fast pace served us well to get home in time to at least shower before dinner, but it didn’t save us from sharing the trail with the entirety of NY near Anthony’s nose. After climbing back up to around 900 feet, where most of the ridge walking hovers around in New York, there are rolling hills that started to wear us out. I was tired, and sweating, covered in bug bites and talking to the friendly bug in my right ear about my thoughts on a social media detox when we got to the South Mountain Pass Road, a mere 2 miles from the truck. It was at the bottom of a climb and it’s when we started to see people, everywhere. On the way up the last 400 foot climb of the day, I had to stop and eat. I felt nauseous and tired and a little close to losing my mind. We made it to the top, and decided to skip going out to Anthony’s nose because it was so damn crowded. Although I really wanted to see this landmark, we agreed we would tack it onto the next section hike. The climb down to Route 9D was very steep. We passed all types of people. One woman was in a dress, heels, and filming herself on a GoPro. A few teen girls commented that we looked “So official in your backpacks,” as they strode up in sports bras and water bottles and I thought about shoving them off the side of the mountain, but briefly. Instead I asked the bug in my ear to go after them, my time in the woods had come to an end.
-Liz
Insects!