New York is no joke! I got up this morning and took off for the State line before breakfast. It was only 4 miles. Snowman and I ended up there and having breakfast on the NJ side before crossing into NY. It immediately turned into hand-over-hand rock climbing. We took our time as the rocks were still wet with the rains but nice and dry where the sun was shining. We stuck around helping each other on some of the steep declines. One section required me to drop my poles below, turn to hold onto a crack in the rock as I then slid my feet carefully on a very smooth and steeply slanted rock face. I then held Snowman’s poles while he did the same. Some sections are good to have another person help. After it calmed down a bit, I turned on the afterburners and took off. Before I knew it I was back into the rock climbs and one of them was a straight up climb on a rebar ladder. Many times I felt like I was crawling in the downward dog position using both hands and feet while balancing my pack above me on my back. It was slow going for sure. I only did a little over 16 miles but I feel as exhausted as a 20+ mile day. I was happy for the hot dog stand and Bellvale Farms Creamery for some ice cream. It’s so awesome to see businesses put a sign above their outside electrical outlets saying, “hiker charging station” and a spigot for water. It’s good business sense because while we charge our batteries, we are eating their food. I found a nice little stealth spot further than I planned to go, which should make tomorrow a tad easier considering I have a lot more big climbs ahead and the “Lemon Squeezer.” So far I’m on track to make it through the Trailside Zoo on Sunday before they close and then have Jason pick me up to take me in to NYC.