Turtleback’s bizarre first 12 hours in New York

Halloween edition

Meeting the Cow Posse of Pawling, NY

At the end of a 21 mile day, I thought the worse was over. Only a few pastures to pass through and then a short road walk to camp next to Tony’s Deli. The hike from the Mount Algo Shelter was pleasant meeting some day hikers and seeing an occasional bird or squirrel. The sun set and I had to finish the last few miles in the dark. No problem. Stepping onto the field and following the trail, I took a deep breath. “No bears or dangerous wildlife all day. Now I’m back in civilization,” I said to myself. Then suddenly, I saw a pair of eyes and after a few moments saw it was a deer. “No problem, that will be the last wildlife of the day,” I thought.

Coming to the first barbed wire fence, I climbed the stile, a wooden ladder over the fence so humans can cross. When I reached the top of the stile, about twenty sets of eye balls came into view. A small herd of cattle gazed at me wondering what I was doing in their field. A few of those cattle stood directly on the trail on the right side of the pasture. After a few minutes of trying to reason with the cattle, I sat o the stile and turned off my head lamp. They continued to stare at me, but finally got bored and moved off the trail. I cautiously moved around and reached the other stile at the end of the pasture. After climbing, I walked though a wooded area and thought the worst was over.

Climbing up the next stile into the adjacent pasture, a new herd of cattle greeted me. My feet hit the ground and a few came directly at me as some kind of welcoming party. Somehow I found myself at the top of the stile again. Not sure if I jumped with my pack on or ran back. In a matter of seconds, the entire herd of about 25 cows was at the bottom of the stile. I backed down and retreated with two of the cows putting their heads under the stile trying to lift it. In retrospect, I think the cattle thought I was their to feed them. However, it was dark and I was tired after a long hike. Finally the cattle settled down and laid on the field. Had the herd to the left and half to the right leaving a wide path up the middle. Being out flanked by the cattle I thought, maybe I can go around either side. However this did not seem like an option. Noticing the wide path in the middle, I thought about that option and thought if they crowd me again I would be surround by the herd. Ei a life long Penn State Football fan, I remembers in times of uncertainty, Joe Paterno always ran straight up the middle. However, each cow was four time larger than any college lineman. Being stuck with stubborn cattle in front of me and the late hour, I had no idea what to do. No YouTube video, backpacking article, or workshop prep prepared me for this moment. So I called 911 to ask for advice. Soon I was talking with the Pawling Sheriff’s Office. I told the dispatcher of my situation and asked, “does this happens often? What do you advise hikers to do when surrounded by cattle?” Expecting to hear from advice, the dispatcher informed me that I was the first ever call on this topic. After talking for a few moments, the dispatcher stayed on the phone with me while I sought resolution. After a few moments of gentle pleading, some cows on the left flank moved to te right and created an opportunity. I began walking around and one cow still thought I was there to feed it. Using my best teacher’s voice, I demanded the cow to stay still. As I walked around, the conversation with the dispatcher became much more humorous. As I got around the cows, I looked back and noticed the entire herd was still watching me with much curiosity. The dispatcher asked, “have the cows moo-ved yet?” I laughed and said. “Yes I’m safely around. This call is going to wind up on some bloopers show isn’t it?” Laughter erupted. I made it to the last stile and away from the cow posse of Pawling.

The Thing That Ate My Shelter

After camping in the field next to Tony’s Deli, I woke up to a busy New York traffic noise. Soon I met the Godzilla of upstate New York. The lawn crew began cutting the field around me. I packed up my belongings and put them on picnic table. Soon the young man drove by with the industrial strength riding lawn mower and it caught a wayward tent string. In a NY second, the mower sucked up my tent as I stood there and mouth dropped in shock. The tent died a quick death in the blades of the mower! The crew apologized and bought me a new tent which I ordered later that day. When I told the other hikers what happened and that I was dependent on shelters for a few days, they got to the next shelter and told me that it was full when I arrived. Calling their bluff, I said nice try, I knew you would do that. Then, I told the story of the lawnmower that ate my tent to the other campers who hadn’t heard while sitting around a campfire.

Something weird was definitely in the universe for Turtleback and hope you found his tales moo-ving.