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| Manorville Hills |
Although there was rigorous terrain, it was still beautiful to walk through... aside from the ugly frog that jumped into our path, the butterflies were fluttering around, birds were singing, and there was nothing to distract us from this amazing goal we have set for ourselves.
We have passed several large rock formations along the way ~ I learned while reading about this area that they are called glacier erratics.
According to Wikipedia, a glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics take their name from the Ltin word errare (to wander), and are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometers.
They have become a scenic part of our route, and often a place for us to take a quick rest. We do not want to sit on the ground, as it is covered in ants, caterpillars, and other interesting wildlife, so Rosa and I welcome these glacier erratics whenever they come up on the trail.
About three miles in, we encountered other hikers walking towards us! This was quite a treat, as we were excited to see others out here, doing what we were doing. We began chatting, and they are actually training to hike out west this summer in Oregon. I couldn't help but share my story of my family almost doing that exact thing this summer. I went on to tell them about Scarecrow, and how this Paumanok Path journey actually came to be for Rosa and I. They LOVED our shirts that we had made up with the trail logo on it. We told them to inquire at East End Screen Printing, where we had ours done. Best of luck to you both on your Oregon Adventure this summer.
For most of the trail today, we were less chatty because of the rigor of the trail. I know I was out of breath quite a few times during the ascend and descend of some of these hills. It didn't stop us from stopping for a selfie, reapplying our bug repellent and clearing the sweat from our brows to move forward. There were a lot of fallen trees in the pathway today, more than we have seen thus far, but nothing that we couldn't walk over. And although we found (and felt) a few ticks crawling on us here and there, they were not as intrusive today as the mosquitoes were. HOLY NOLY. They were buzzing around, trying to land, and I know I was messy with mosquito guts as I squashed them on my sweaty arms. A shower was never more welcomed than today after this leg of our journey. They had not been an issue up until now, but as we rounded the corner, I saw why they were present all of a sudden.
As beautiful of an area as this was, it was a stagnant body of water with mosquitoes hovering EVERYWHERE. We could not wait to get past here either - but needed to stop and capture the visible beauty and serenity of the area. Nothing else really captured our eyes for the remainder of the trail, with the exception of the ups and downs of the trails, and this tree. It at first looked like a nest of some kind, but as I got closer, I wasn't sure of what it was. I took a picture anyway, as it was definitely a bizarre sight for us. By the time we were passing the 8 mile mark of hiking for the day, we were shot and just looking for our exit. We were tired, hot, sweaty, and couldn't wait to see County Road 51 - it would mean the conclusion of our day's hike, and the last of the hilly, rigorous portion of the trail.
We decided, as we heard cars very near by, to follow the blue blaze out to the road and end for the day. We chipped away at another 8.33 miles, which makes our new total 29.16 miles done on the Paumanok Path. We have a little over 95 miles left, and cannot wait to get back out there to complete more of this beautiful portion of Long Island. Our trail angel Scarecrow picked us up on County Road 51 and brought us back to Manorville Hills to collect my jeep. Another successful day!
You can check out our progress on the map below:
You can check out our progress on the map below:
Until next time,
Rosa & The Thruhiker's Wife
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