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I made a dash of 8.7 miles into Kent, Connecticut, today. It was a good climb up Schaghticoke Mountain (1446.2 miles) and back down to the road where I caught a ride into Kent. In town, I resupplied first thing, hoping to see Pacemaker and Nightrider, but no- … so I ate lunch at a diner called Carralee’s. I hung out in town asking hikers there if they had seen my friends. With no luck, and tired of waiting, I stood on the street corner looking for a ride back to the trail. Suddenly, I see Pacemaker walking into town; Nightrider was shortly behind. “Where have you been?” I asked. Apparently, they didn’t leave the train station until late and only walked a few miles after their dinner. I was planning to hike out of town, but since they needed to resupply and the grocery store closed at 6:00pm, we chose to camp on a church lawn. We had to get permission from the pastor, who had no problems with us staying the night. We met a cool NoBo (northbounder) hiker tonight named Arms. He struggled whether to stay or go, but finally he left to hike a few miles around 6:45pm. Hopefully, I’ll see him again! Pacemaker, Nightrider, and I camped on the lawn as well as Vagrant, Sweet Leaf, and Spare Pocket, all NoBos (but an older crowd). It’s going to be a good night to camp—clear skies and slightly cool. It’s very damp though. Bugs are manageable but annoying, nonetheless. I pitched my bug bivy in hopes of avoiding them. A bug bivy is a light weight, see-thru material bag that I can crawl in to sleep.
We were up and out of Kent at 10:15am. We had to hike .04 mile back to the trailhead because we had no luck yogi-ing a ride. It was tough climbs today over 17 miles; although a nice, level river walk helped, the ascents were BRUTAL! I loved it!! I received trail magic from a reporter who worked for “the Hartford Courant,” Steve Grant. He brought sodas, juice, snack bars, and granola. We ate while he interviewed us. I will let you know about the article when it is printed. No rain today but it was windy. We are sleeping in the shelter- Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to (1468.6 miles). I’m here with Baloo and Arms, both new NoBo faces, as well as Pacemaker and Nightrider. We made it to the shelter at 8:30pm; in bed by 9:30pm. Bugs are awful tonight. I hope I can sleep. We’re trying for Salisbury, Connecticut, but with us, who knows!!
Last night at Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to was miserable!! It was hot and muggy. The biting insects drove us all crazy!! With me, I would cover up completely in my sleeping bag, thereby preventing the insects from biting any exposed skin. But, in a few minutes, I was so hot that I’d have to toss the bag off to prevent my body overheating. But then the bugs would launch an “all out assault” and I began smacking my legs, or my neck, or my elbows—nothing worked!! It was hopeless. In an effort to retrieve some sleep during the night, which I might say I sorely needed, I pitched my tarp in the dark about 1:00am. It had come to this after 4 hours of attempting to sleep in the shelter! I laid under a “half-properly pitched” tarp, finally away from the skeeters!! PEACE!! But then the thunder came, followed by a mixture of hard and soft rain. I knew I hadn’t properly pitched the tarp for rain and so I got wet, little by little. Trying to fix it now was useless. The sun was going to be up in 3 hours and I still hadn’t gotten any good sleep!!! I “woke up” at 7:00am to fog and mist. Everything was damp. My clothes had not dried out, nor had my boots or my pack. I walked around camp like a “zombie”, thinking “These are the times you grin and bear it.” And so we hiked!! Not far, but we hiked!! We made it about 8 miles to Falls Village. We showered at a hydro-electric plant there. The shower head was outside along a building wall that was overgrown with vines; we had a difficult time finding it, but when we did, it was VERY refreshingly cold!! We had our mid-day break then- I ate a lunch of hummus and sprouts wrapped in tortillas. Funny- I have a few people sprouting on the trail now- I won’t mention names!! We used the library in town and avoided an afternoon shower. The librarian was very kind to us; she let us use the phone and laptop internet. We had only hiked a block out of town when we decided to eat dinner. We ate on a picnic table under a tree overlooking the river that powered the hydro-electric plant. It would have been quite a place to camp but regulations were posted “No Camping.” I would assume- because in past years, thru-hikers have camped there- that somebody, somewhere, screwed up a good thing. Nearing 8:30pm, we hiked out to find a spot to “stealth camp.” A mile or so later after a short climb, Pacemaker, Nightrider, and I found level ground and made camp. I pitched the tarp, expecting rain and bugs. I needed sleep….and to sleep, I went...
An easy 6 miles into Salisbury, Connecticut, today?—NOT! The plan was to be up early- by 6:00am- and hike into town. I think it was the loud, “crash, bang” thunder I heard over my watch alarm clock that caused me to stop my alarm beeping and roll back over to sleep. It wasn’t raining yet but the distant thunder told me different. I was right. In a short while, the rain was coming down. I was so happy to be warm, dry and comfortable. I was glad to be sleeping good, too, after 2 nights of poor sleep. I slept until 9:00am when Nightrider woke up. The rain had calmed, and we hoped it was done and over with for the day. Typically, it takes about 30-60 minutes to break camp and start hiking. Sure enough, about 10:15am, we hit the trail, right on our usual schedule. But just as soon as we started walking, the skies opened up a “mean stream.” The trail became muddy rivers and puddles; the rocks became slippery and dangerous. All this while the “crash bang” thunder echoed through the forest around us. Thankfully, I didn’t see any lightning. We walked this way until town. No breaks- only short “catch your breath” seconds in between steps. Arriving at the road, we had another 4/10’s mile to get to town. We didn’t even attempt to thumb a ride. It made no sense to try it- we were three wet, stinky hikers in the richest state (so they say) in the country. We found a bench under a canvas canopy in front of an ice cream shop called Bev’s, but then opted for the larger porch the town courthouse offered. There, we semi-dried out. All my clothes were soiled and wet, but there was no place in town to launder them. The outfitter here is insufficient for hiker’s needs. I am in the market for another pair of boots; my boots have over 1000 miles on them and I am in need of reinforcements! The post office and library were fine though; I mailed home some small items I’m not using and checked my E-mail. I should say my E-mail is not working properly; if I do not respond, please bear with me. It will be operational soon! Anyway, we ate lunch then hit the bench in front of the ice cream shop- I even had some raspberry sorbet in a waffle cone! Janell took care of us real good. We yogied a ride back to the trail head then hiked another 4.5 miles to Riga Lean-to where we are spending the night. I was planning to sleep in the shelter but as I am sitting here writing this, I am defending my body from the “Flying Devils;” so I’ll camp instead to protect my precious blood from the devils’ desire! I’m still with Pacemaker and Nightrider; also a SoBo (south bounder) named Combat. On that note, I am tired of “combating” the flying devils, so goodnight! (10:15pm) Oh! Before I go… Good news! First, we hit the 1500 mile marker! A big, big, YEAH!! Second, we are completing another state tomorrow: Connecticut, down- Massachusetts, up!! Only 4 states remain: Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The latter 3 are the toughest states, they say, but are the most beautiful. I can’t wait to take pictures!! Stay connected!!....
I was slow to get going today after the rain last night but I slept okay. I was sleeping on my side in my liner bag in my bug bivy under my tarp and the Flying Devils still bit me about 9 times on my left butt cheek, among other areas! The entire left side of my butt felt like a giant, itchy welt when I woke up at 8:00am. I did not hurry to leave the shelter. I managed to hit the trail near 10:00am with Pacemaker. Nightrider slept in. Shortly after entering Massachusetts (1491.6 miles), it began to rain. At this point, it didn’t much matter- it’s been raining for several days now so nothing is dry anyway. However, despite the rain- or maybe because of it- the hike this morning was AWESOME! We had to climb Race Mountain (2430 feet- 14995.5 miles) in the pouring rain. It was a steep, rocky ascent but once at the summit, it was easy walking. There were great views of the valley below through the grey rain clouds. The trail was so beautiful in that moment. I could look out and see the storm clouds heading toward me. The wind was strong, too, so the clouds moved quickly across the ridge. The rain was falling almost sideways, it seemed. It continued to rain as I descended Race Mountain to the base of Mt. Everett (1497.3 miles). Since Mt. Everett mountain range is the second-highest on the A.T., the ascent was also a steep, rocky climb. The rain did not stop. Instead, it came harder!! The rocks caused the water to flow like rivers with a strong current. I have never seen anything like it so far and it is hard to describe. I met Pacemaker for lunch at Hemlocks Lean-to (1498.4); we had each done these last miles at our own pace. Here we waited for Nightrider so we could be together when we crossed the 1500 mile point. It wasn’t too long before he arrived. “The Jug End” – 1500 miles of walking!! Still, to me, it doesn’t seem real. We got some great, funny pictures here, and took a moment to rest, then moved on. After all, Maine ain’t comin’ to us, right?!! We hiked another 6.5 miles to US 7 where we tried to thumb into Great Barrington, Massachusetts. With no luck, we began walking the 3.1 miles to town. Meanwhile, the rain was making it’s way toward us. We had to seek shelter under a tent belonging to a metal shop off the road giving us about a 30 minute delay. In town we tried to find a hotel room to dry out, but there was no vacancy anywhere. We managed to resupply and do laundry, then got a ride back to the trail head about 12:30am. We walked up the trail about 1 mile and set up camp. It is 2:00am now and I am finally getting to lie down. The total for the day was 18.9 miles. However, if you include the “road walking” I did, the total was over 20 miles easy. I would say walking the road is much more exhausting than walking trail. For me, anyway.
Today was a 19.6 mile push to get to Tyringham, Massachusetts (1526.9 miles) to meet Steve (Snickers-your webmaster), Nets and Nets’ wife, Lisa. Nets and Snickers met in 1999 on their A.T. thru-hike; this year marks their 5 year anniversary, so, they are driving up to summit Katahdin again and took time out of the schedule to meet up with us! Yeah, it’s a long drive for them. It worked out perfect. Pacemaker, Nightrider, and I hadn’t been in town 15 minutes before their car pulled up behind us. We made introductions and greeted each other, then headed to Friendly’s to get our grub on! It was delish!! We slept at a pavilion owned by the Fire Department in Tyringham. It was great to see familiar faces. Tomorrow we go to the outfitter for new boots!! and more. Thanks for dinner, guys!!!
The rain came last night from the hurricane, as predicted. Fortunately, we had a nice pavilion to sleep under. I did not sleep well due to the heat and humidity and bugs. As a resolve, I switched picnic tables in the middle of the night thinking it would help; it did not. I was up early as a result. The air was heavy with moisture and the drizzle continued. I decided that I might feel better if I “showered” off with the hose, so I did and it felt great even to be semi-clean. I logged pictures for Steve to put on the site while I waited for the others to wake. Slowly, one by one, they each arose. The night before it was decided that we would go into Great Barrington, eat breakfast at a diner and make a stop at the outfitters for a few items of gear I needed. After a short drive into the center of town, we found a nice breakfast diner near the outfitters and ate. I must say that if we had ordered one more item from the menu, the waitress would have had to pull up another table to our maxed-out table of six. Snickers (’99 alumni), Nets (’99 alumni), Lisa, Nets’ wife, Pacemaker, Rider, and I devoured pancakes, omelets, eggs, coffee, toast, bagels, sausage, bacon, juice, and water. I don’t think the waitress quite believed it herself! We had a great time comparing more trail stories over breakfast. Nets and Lisa picked up the tab—thanks, Nets and Lisa! Next, I needed a few pieces of gear so we left the diner in search of the outfitter. The headlamp I’ve carried the entire trail had a short that was quickly driving me crazy. My boots needed to be replaced badly. After 1000 miles, the soles were degrading and separating from the upper boot thanks to the rocks; the water-proofing was exhausted from the copious rainfall; and I think there is something fungus-like growing in them that caused my feet to itch and burn when I first would begin hiking in the morning. New gear for a hiker is like a birthday! I found a pair of lightweight trail runners, New Balance 706’s, per the recommendation of Rider for $100; I bought a new headlamp with a cool red filter for night vision, and I also purchased a 3.5 oz Go-Light jacket that the bugs cannot bite through.
After shopping, it was time for lunch. We ate at a pizza place where I had the best pizza on the trail so far. It was incredible!! I shared ½ of it with Nightrider; I finished my half, but Nightrider opted to pack out a slice. Next,- and sadly, we had to depart and end our fun with Snickers, Nets, and Lisa. We took pictures, then they left for Maine! Pacemaker, Nightrider and I left for Upper Goose Pond Cabin, 7 mile trek. We arrived just before dark. We were all tired, so after a small, before-bedtime snack, we crashed. There were no bugs to bite us since we were inside the cabin. Happy, Happy, Happy, I am!! Goodnight!
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