19 July, Day 9

19 July, Day 9 AT v2.0, 11.8 miles, Wildcat Shelter. By Crocadilly. There is a fine line between love & hate..that certainly is the relationship I have had with New York since I moved here. The countryside is undoubtedly beautiful but there are aspects I have struggled with so as we crossed the border into NY today it was with some trepidation and a slight feeling I was about to face my very own kryptonite! After the storm of yesterday I had a rather disjointed first night sleep in a shelter. The shelter itself was fabulous and we were the only people besides Funnybone there! We said an early goodbye to him as he left on his journey and we took the morning to actually enjoy each others company - the first time we have been alone since I left for the UK in february! We drank coffee and chatted in the early AM sunshine, a welcome sight after the rain yesterday, and two cups each later it was 10am and time to get going! It is not the most pleasant experience donning soggy boots and my fresh dry socks were soon saturated!  It is surprising how comfy my shoes are and I am happy to report my pack gives me no trouble and I am bouncing along now..when deep in thought forget often I am carrying it! We ate up the first few miles with no problem and started off hiking with a former NJ native lady and her two kids..They were soaking up the experience and loving watching the dogs and just full of questions - a great start to the day! We had lunch on some fab rock formations at the NJ/NY border. I don't know whether it was the trepidation of reaching NY or the fact that we were told previously it is rocky hard terrain but I started to struggle and at some points was really not enjoying myself! I think I overdosed on peanut butter products at lunch coupled with a bad nights sleep made for an unsettled crocadillypig! I fell over no less than three times - the first time was quite funny and I ended on my back like an upturned turtle unable to right myself much to our amusement! By the third time which happened on some high open rocks (so glad it was dry as they were treacherous as it was) I was in tears and not happy with NY! Poor NY! The terrain was much tougher than I had experienced and very rocky and I was struggling although keeping in mind it was alot easier going than earlier sections and was a sign of things to come in the future! But I was just not happy for the very first time and I didn't like feeling like this! Ironically I was fine scaling a sheer rock face which involved climbing a ladder - no mean feat when Coping with two dogs and four packs! Skye got to the top and proceeded to jump down again so scaled it twice! They did awesome though and we were all happy to reach the top! We Stopped off for ice-cream - I felt so unwell I could only manage a small waffle cone whilst papa wolf devoured a whole tub! Spirits lifted especially when Pops and others rolled in too! We all headed to a great campsite and chatted before retiring to bed which was most welcome! Just in time because then the rains came!