We left the Mongaup forest early this morning. During the night Darren was bitten by a snake so the night was extremely disturbed in terms of rest. We heard from someone along the route that today was going to break 100 degrees so we were racing against the sun as well as the terrain.

The moment we picked up the 97 we headed straight uphill and it was that way for most of the morning with most of the canal lost among the steep drop from road level to river level and much private and inaccessible land.

The road not only climbs steeply but twists and turns rapidly and the souls of our boots were not protecting us well from the small inclines and declines. We reached Hawk’s Nest (64) on NY97 at around 11am and we stopped at the small parking lot to admire the view.

Sparrowbush was the next town and the road was downhill on the approach but the gradient changed relentlessly and our feet took the brunt of it.

As we approached the town several locals pointed us in the direction of the local deli and store and we headed off the road and on to Main Street in search of much needed liquids.

Like a mirage to a desert wanderer there it was. With a great, big, loud, Pepsi cola sign swinging outside.
By now it was clear that having made good time we might be able to make it to Port Jervis and beyond to our half way point in the trip, Cuddebackville.

The condition of the canal here is much the same as before and we are by now accustomed to its haggard decay. There are no more locks on this stretch until beyond Port Jervis and so we took off in pursuit of this seminal town documenting what sections of the canal we could find.

Upon walking into Port Jervis we felt an overwhelming sense of having come a long, long way. The town is a geographical and psychological turning point in our expedition at the half way point. However after a brief stop we set off again with Cuddebackville only another 6 miles away.

For the next few miles we trudged on in the most delirious conditions so far. It was far too hot to be walking in open sun with such heavy packs but we were determined to reach the museum.

Onwards towards the hamlet of Guymard but being by now completely disorientated we continued on further than we needed to and with every step moved further and further away from our destination. If only we had known. Eventually we realized and feeling very despondent we could do nothing but head back the way we had come. It was only a mile in the end but that meant two miles of extra walking to retrace our steps to Cuddebackville and our campsite for the night, the museum director Seth’s back yard.

Today we covered 17 miles of the canal in total, nearly twice our expected daily distance; in 100 degree temperatures and we are well over half way through the entire journey.