START TIME: 5:06 AM 
END TIME: 9:40 PM
Jen reached RPH Shelter a little before 7 AM and Canopus Lake by a little after 9. The next stretch was 12.1 miles and while she hiked it, Melissa, Steve, and I went back to Steve’s house to do laundry, take care of trash and recycling, shower, watch the men’s Wimbledon finals, and—wait for it—sit in the hot tub. That’s right. While Jen was trudging through the mud and drizzling rain all morning, we were lounging in a hot tub and listening to music.
In addition to watching Djokavic beat Nadal and getting blasted by the super-strong jets in the hot tub, Steve’s wife Mary Ellen made us the best chicken burgers in the world and we loaded them up with red onions, spinach, and avocado. She made a couple for Jen to eat on the trail and she also whipped up a fruit smoothie before we left. We were only at the Fellers’ place for a couple hours, but it was easily the most relaxing and rejuvenating 2-hour stretch of the trail. Of course, I would have loved for Jen to have been there, but she was taking care of business.
She reached NY 9 around 1 PM and we walked across the Hudson River Bridge and through the Bear Mountain Zoo together before she and Steve headed up Bear Mountain to the Perkins Tower. Melissa hiked down with her to Seven Lakes Road and then Steve hiked the final 5.1 miles to Arden Valley Road. It rained most of the day, but Jen maintained a solid pace and avoided any major falls in the slippery conditions. Thanks for all the encouraging messages and the continued thoughts and prayers.
FOOD: Jen’s been drinking a lot of chocolate milk recently. She’s also been eating a lot of whole milk yogurt and Greek yogurt with honey. She’s been asking for more hand-held snacks (granola bars, pop tarts, candy bars, cookies, etc.) and less potato chips, trail mix, and other snacks that come in little pieces because the hand-held snacks let her focus more on the terrain and less on eating. She has been drinking Pepsi Throwback because it uses real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.