The Hike: A Resplendent Peregrination (AKA: An Expedition into Paradise)

Yesterday morning I looked outside. It was really windy (40 mph gusts) and it looked like rain and/or snow. But I had an itch I just had to scratch. A couple days previous, I got my shiny new Letchworth State Park Geocaching Permit, and it was burning a hole in my pocket. I couldn't let a little adverse weather talk me out of finishing what I had started. It was time to make "The Hike."

Since I started mapping out my geocache on the east side of Letchworth, I had piece mealed portions of the trail as I sought to find appropriate stages for the cache. I had yet to walk out the entire cache from start to finish, as I would intend it to be done once finalized.

I was a little intimidated by this, because there was a particular section of trail that from a length perspective was completely unknown to me. I had estimated it was about 2.25 miles - but it was just a guess based on Letchworth trail maps. In total, my guesstimated hike was clocking in at around 8.25 miles. That’s a long haul. I felt I could do it, but the year is still early and I’m not exactly in tip-top hiking form. So this would be the first time this year (and probably in a few years) that I’ve attempted a hike of this distance.  I was inspired though.  That’s a huge success in and of itself.

I suppose it's time to explain something.  There were a few sources that inspired me to not only blog about my hikes and share my adventures, but also to put together a thru-hike cache like this.

One was Dad.

Another was Cayuga Crew. In September 2007, Cayuga Crew thru-hiked the Conservation Trail.  This is a 177 mile hike from the Canada down to the New York/Pennsylvania Border.  This is a tough trail full of hills and other challenging terrain.  I hiked parts of this with Cayuga in blazing heat and monsoon like weather.  With his spirit and drive, he made it seem almost too easy (especially dragging my ass uphills!)  I remember coming home after a 10 to 12-mile hike in so much pain I could barely go to work the next day.  But I was so proud of myself, that I wouldn't miss a chance to be alongside him on the trail.

Another was the Green Tortuga (AKA Ryan Carpenter).  Ryan is the owner/operator/all knowing grand puba of Atlas Quest - "the" letterboxing website (sure there are others, but this is the best one...haha).  In 2010, Mr. Carpenter hiked 2,650 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada.  That's a hell of a long walk.  While he did that, he blogged about his adventures daily.  That takes serious dedication.  The more I read about his adventures, the more I wanted to have some of my own (although not nearly on such a grand scale!)  So that was part of the reason I started this blog.  :)

Finally, the last person who had a hand in all this mess is Sam Gardner.  This ambitious little critter, got the idea to hike the major trails in the United States back to back - which all told would be over 12,500 miles of thru hiking.  Mr. Gardner started on the North Country Trail.  Unfortunately he only accomplished half of this trail before being knocked off it due to health issues.  Regardless, I found a lot of enjoyment from reading about his progress via his blog. 

So that brings me back to Dad.  Dad passed away in July 2009.  For well over a year I was about as lost as a person could be.  I lost interest in everything.  I really thought I'd never have ambition, desire or drive again.  Only in the last 5 to 6 months did I start to really miss things I used to enjoy doing.  And when I decided to do this...that was a huge step.  I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I wanted to focus my energy on something and make it happen.  Truthfully there's a lot I want to do, and this is only a small piece...but it's a start.  Anyway....as I stared outside into the cold, I felt confident.  I also felt worried. Worried that I would wuss out and put this cache off another day.  But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I had to do it.  It was personal. It was a challenge I wanted to overcome.  I wanted to do it for me.  I wanted to do it for Dad. The last two years nearly saw me destroyed…so to do this after the hell I’ve been though…I needed this. I needed to scratch one into the “W” column.

So it was decided.  It was time for "The Hike."  Lucky for me, I was able to arrange a ride from Brogan to pick me up when I finished.  That would save me a 2.5 road walk back to where I parked.  With that, everything was set.  I was headed for Letchworth.

I arrived at the parking a little before noon, and meticulously made sure I had everything I needed.  Water, GPS, maps, camera, granola bars....after checking and double checking, I was ready.  So I started down the Bear Hollow access trail towards the FLT.  It was a pretty crazy moment - no turning back!  Ironically, the hiking stick I had used last weekend when I was here was still propped up against the trail sign.  I took that as a good sign and snagged it to accompany me once again.  The early going was a mess.  The trail was wall to wall slop, and I probably wasn't 500 feet into my hike before my shoes and socks were muddy, wet and cold.  At least I had my hiking stick right?!?  Haha.

My gear relaxing trailside!

Eventually I was on the FLT hiking south.  The going was a little slow, just because my legs were still tired from Friday's hike.  I gave them a pep talk, and after 1.5 miles they finally started to warm up to the idea of hiking.  The weather was sketchy all day, and at this point the clouds were gray and gloomy.  It wasn't until about 2 miles in that I could hear any kind of precipitation - but at this point it was pretty light.  The first portion of the hike was done - and I had placed my first leg.  I was pleased with myself - I was one-third done!  (Eye roll...haha).  Soon I arrived at the onset of the mystery section of FLT.  I had no clue how long this section would be, but I was pretty determined and I thinking about it now, there was no hesitation.  I dove right in.  This section ended up being gorgeous.  It was also where I nearly ran a trail runner off into the gorge because neither of us were paying any attention.  As hiking hazards go, that's a new one to me!

A view from the "mystery trail."

In told, this section of trail would be about 1.5 miles.  Not nearly as long as I estimated - which was refreshing.  Unfortunately, with that refreshing news came a steady driving rain powered by 20 to 30 mph winds.  This was extremely frustrating...and also VERY cold!  I wore shorts for this hike, anticipating that as I went, I'd warm up to the point where pants would be too much.  In this junk, a windbreaker would have been kick ass!  In the pouring rain I hid the second part of my cache.  I also gave Mother Nature a verbal lashing about her poor choice in weather.  I was just a poor thru-hiker, show a little compassion!

The "what gives Mother Nature?!?!" look.
AKA: My Dangerfield impression.  Haha.

Wouldn't you know, about another half mile down the trail the sun poked out from behind the clouds, the rain stopped, and for the rest of my trek I was treated to sun and blue skies.  Big Mama N must like my style baby.  Haha.  I continued on - and somewhere around the 5 mile mark I realized I had caught a second wind.  I felt really good - and even though the trail was muddy, and navigating around the goo was a challenge, I was making exceptional progress.

A pretty spot to take a break...somewhere around mile 5 I think.

Soon I had arrived at the final for my cache - which was HUGE.  I was well over three-quarters of the way to the finish line. By this time I was noticeably tired, but I was confident that I would make the rest of the journey!  Yaaaaaayyy!!!  I notified my evac team that I was 45 or so minutes from the pickup, and slowly but surely headed down the trail.  I think the last mile was the toughest, but the second I saw the blue blazes for the Sycamore Access Trail, I pumped my fist. I was stoked...I had come so far!

My final...stocked and ready for business.
Notice the green 'Szuchie string' in the cache!

The Sycamore Trail was another slop-filled hike - made more challenging by the fact that it's uphill.  I was moving pretty slow by now, with both my legs extremely tired.  I crested the last hill, with the last 150 feet of the trail leveling out before reaching River Road.  I raised my hands in the air...like an marathoner running towards the finish line.  The completion of my hike was in sight.  As I set foot on River Road, I cheered.  And for a dude who just hiked 7.5 miles, I did about as much celebratory jumping around as could be expected.  I had completed my hike...I had done so much more than finish my cache.  I had accomplished something great.  :)