Wetabuck, NY (USA)

Weather was iffy again so I decided to head northeast, towards Connecticut. I'd hiked in the area near Wetabuck (NY) a few years ago and figured I'd tie a few sections together on both sides of the border. When I arrived at the trailhead on NY-22 in Wingdale (right next to the Metro-North Appalachian Trail station), it had started to sprinkle. Undeterred, I put on my poncho and started NOBO (0930). The first few miles were cow pastures but then I entered a hardwood forest. Mud was a big factor - in several places, I felt like I was starting off the American Ninja Warrior course... I had a LOT on my clothes by the end of the day! With the drizzle and my short sleeved shirt, I went between hot (with poncho) and cold (without poncho). Saw lots of people today: most were day hikers but I did see some people that could have been NOBO flip-floppers. Lots of them had well behaved dogs, a rare experience for sure. There wasn't any chit chat with anyone, though - the roller coaster and slippery terrain took a lot of concentration for everyone, I guess. Saw a huge area of very tall trees that had all fallen (roots included) in the same direction - must have been an amazing storm... I turned around at the shelter and headed back to my car without a break. It finally stopped raining for good and I made good time on the backtrack. By the time I crossed the pastures again, the cows had gotten very close to the trail - they watched me all the way across the field. Before I was done, I also got to watch a nearby groundhog become perfectly still, I guess because he thought he was blending into the vegetation. When he realized that I could see him, he ducked into his hole and peeked out a few times, tentatively, to see if I'd left. I checked out the railway station option - a train stopped and picked up some hikers as I was finishing (1430). After 11.5 miles I still had energy left, so I decided to reposition for some more miles... AT Today = 5.70 miles / G.T. AT = 916.06 miles