AT - Day 38
A heavy ground fog hung over the field in front of the shelter. I must have been bushed the previous night. All the hikers ate and left. Moving slowly, I departed last. The up-and-down trail moved pleasantly through a rural area near the CT/NY border. Emerging from the woods to descend along open cornfields in the heat of record-breaking temperatures, I passed the AT railroad station. The trail made a short climb and descent to Dover Road, site of an ancient oak tree and a house providing water to hikers. Nobo Growler and I relaxed on the lawn under maple trees, drinking ice water and letting the brunt of the heat wave pass. During the next 8 miles I took a dip in Nuclear Lake. I could hear but did not find hikers happily swimming there. I spent the night alone at Morgan Stewart Shelter. The Saturday morning pickup of my maildrop at the Bear Mountain post office was now at risk.
At the shelter, somebody had left a collapsible container of water on the front of the floor, which leaked down a board to the ground. Several yellow-jackets buzzed around the trickle, which I took to indicate the drought in the woods.
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