Hey guys;
I have this recurring memory that haunts me every now and again.
I was hiking the A.T. through Harriman Park NY. I had started at the Harriman train station, hiked the Sapphire trail to the A.T. on Arden mtn, then nobo through the park. My original intention was to hike to Pawling NY and take the train home.
The weather was much warmer (early Oct) than I had anticipated, and my daily mileage was far lower than I had anticipated. On the first day I hiked from the train stn to Fingerboard, but on the 2nd day I had expected to reach West Mtn but only reached William Brien.
3rd day I hiked from Brien to West Mtn.
4th day I hiked from West Mtn to Bear Mtn Inn, and made the decision to cut the hike short.
The right thing to do at that point was to take the bus from the inn back to NYC, but I wanted to try the Camp Smith trail past Anthony's Nose, then down to the old toll house on US 6.
I believed (due to an assumption on my part) that there was a path paralleling US 6 from the old toll house to the Peekskill train station.
I didn't reach the toll house until well after dark. I was wearing my Black Diamond headlamp, so wasn't too concerned about having to cross the highway or walk close to it.
But as I began walking south on the left shoulder of US 6 heading south towards Peekskill, the shoulder gradually became too narrow to walk safely. I set the headlamp to strobe, so I think I was visible alongside the road, but there was a cliff on my left, and I was walking in what amounted to a drainage channel, and eventually even that came to an end.
I crossed the road and walked a short distance on the safe side of the guardrail, but it became obvious to me that I wasn't going to reach the train station this way.
I re-crossed to the northbound side of the roadway and was walking back towards the toll house, thinking I might just pitch my tent in the field behind the building.
Then I happened on some 'trail magic'.
A guy and his wife stopped their car headed southbound and asked me if I needed a ride. They took me to the Peekskill train station.
I keep asking myself what I would have done had the trail magic not happened.
Would I have indeed pitched my tent behind the toll house?
Would I have tried to call for a taxi? Note that this was before Uber or Lyft was allowed to operate in this part of NY. I suppose there are regular taxi services based in Peekskill, and if not, in Tarrytown. The fare might have been as high as $50, but I would have had a safe ride to the train.
There was another option, had I not taken the Camp Smith trail.
I could have made that left turn at the top of the climb from the Bear Mountain Bridge to the Camp Smith trail, and continued nobo on the A.T.
I wasn't sure I could make the last train to stop at Manitou station (about 1 mile west and downhill from the A.T. on Manitou road). Reaching the train station after the last train had passed would have required me to re-climb Manitou road to the A.T. and hike back to Hemlock Springs.
I could have tented at Hemlock Springs. There may still have been enough daylight remaining for me to find the place - it's easy to miss - and pitch my tent. I had enough water and food for the night.
Unfortunately, this was not the first time I made the wrong choice while on the A.T., but that's a story for a different day...
So, what choice would you have made, given the situation I was in?
Thanks
Arden