Sandy Schmandy...

   When I got back on the trail it was just north of the Hudson. I got to cross the Bear Mtn Bridge and then climb Bear Mtn which is a super-touristy mountain in that it has mostly stone steps up and down each side, and also the paths on the top are such fine packed gravel that we can safely call them 'practically paved.'
   From there I went Northwest. Not my decision. I just followed the 2x6 inch white 'blazes' that I have been trained to follow, and that's where the trail took me: along the NY/NJ boarder. When I cut back into NY, briefly, before I was supposed to cross NJ for reeelz, I entered Unionville, NY. Just to be clear, this is day 4 of me being out on my own and lemme tell ya... boy is it lonely to suddenly be, well... alone.
   ...But I digress...
   As I was entering Unionville every day-hiker that I encountered, when I told 'em I was through-hiking, warned me about hurricane Sandy and said I should find a place to 'hole up' for a couple of days.

   {sidenote: lots of people hiking the AT last year had to skip entire states (though usually just Vermont) 'cause hurricane Irene made so many of the trails impassable.}

   So my options were to hike out of town, or find other means of transportation (even people passing me on the street, not in conversation, would see my backpack and say things like, "You don't want to be out there this weekend" or, "Best get on out of town now." --When I read it back, that one sounds more threatening than it was meant. You see, there are no places to rent a room in Unionville. The night I was there I set up my tent outside the local bar. It was kind of nice actually... no worries about driving home. No lost keys to contend with... just stumble on out to the tent and you're good: a service more bars should offer :))
   So I made the decision to skip a bit of trail (Lindsay: keep your eyes peeled for a picture of me on that Segway ;)). While it's disappointing to me that my adventure has changed it's track, I'm also still totally excited that I'm getting to do this at all! Most of the other southbounders are a good 200 miles south of me already, so that's a big factor. Also I've been hiking in damp/overcast weather for four days now and am getting 'diaper rash' on the inside of my arms because my t-shirt never dries. So the idea of hiking out of Unionville in the HOPES that I stumble across a hiker-hostel soon (where I can wait out the storm) seemed like a long shot.
   So I started to look into buses/trains which, apparently. If I'm trying to get 150 miles south on the AT (well into Pennsylvania) I'll have to go through New York City, where I have friends I can stay with.

   ... So I did.
I holed up in NYC for the duration of the hurricane, trying to fatten up while also trying to respect the generosity of my hosts and not eat them out of house and home. We were so fortunate! We never lost power, we ate well every night, and it was like an extended weekend for the people who live here (but a weekend on hurricane-watch house arrest is, I'm sure, no exciting ride for someone who LIVES in the city) so we just watched movies all day and played Bananagrams and crosses between Telephone and Pictionary.  My new favorite way to make chocolate milk is half milk, half heavy cream (try it, it's lovely), and I've eaten a pint of ice cream two nights in a row (though I'm sure I'll be back to 'constantly hungry' within a few days of being on the trail). As I sit here typing it's Wednesday night. Holloween!! I got to walk around in NYC today and see a  boatload of costumes. The friends who are so generously letting me occupy / stink up their space went for a walk this evening with one of their dogs dressed like a shark :)
   Tomorrow morning I'll take a subway to Penn station to catch a bus at 9:00am to Philadelphia, to take another train to Harisburg, PA. Then I have to figure out how to get to Duncannon, where I'll pick up the trail. AAAND where I"ll get the package my lovely sister sent to me! I didn't get to open it (they wouldn't have let me 'bounce' it forward for free if I had opened it), and I can't wait to see what I'll be snacking on for the next few days :)
   I'm distracted right now, so this is the end of this post :)