Date: 2009-07-29
From: Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite

To: Caleb Peak (via Kent, CT)
Miles today: 6.7

Yup! Rain last night! Not too bad though and just spitting when I packed up the tent. Up and on the Trail by 8 am. I am a day ahead of schedule, and was hoping to take advantage of that and tent in Kent. No such luck. There was even a sign on the church door "no hiker tenting this week". They were preparing for some event/fund-raiser. Usually they do allow hikers to camp on their lawn.Now keep in mind that the following thoughts are simply MY experience/impressions. Maybe the rainy weather has soured everybody's mood. First stop, the outfitters .... crap .....way overpriced .... another outfitter out of Aqua Mira, rubber tips for poles .... and charging twice as much (literally) for a camp towel. I was going to replace the one I have that I bought in Daleville, same exact towel, twice the price .... no sale.Next, the Post Office .... the guy there made me feel like I interrupted his day or something. Say what you may about the Postal Service, but I for one think they are an outstanding organization. I'm 47 and they have never lost a single piece of mail I have sent. Pretty spectacular. And all the postal people along the trail up until now have been very pleasant.Then, the laundromat .... signs all over .... no backpacks, gear, food, etc. There were 5 of us in there and 4 were thru-hikers. Talking to some hikers later in the day, it was the same way when they were in there. I'd refer all hikers to another laundry, but it is the only one in town.The waitress at the pizza joint was the only friendly person I met today .... thanks .... I appreciated it.All-in-all, Kent did not seem hiker friendly at all, and I was happy to leave. Now I do understand they have no obligation to be hiker friendly, and may not want them there at all, for all I know. It's just the very 1st time on this adventure that I didn't feel welcomed! Oh yeah, I passed half-a-dozen bikers and two joggers .... waved at them all .... no response from any of them ....no kidding.Anyhow, a nice hike out of town, other than it started raining right as I was leaving. I stopped to camp at Caleb Peak, a few miles short of my originally planned destination. It was a wonderful spot in beautiful woods. And it had stopped raining for the moment. Set up camp, ate dinner, and just relaxed trailside for an hour .... bugs were minimal.Now back in my tent as it has started to rain! But guess what? Bring on the rain. The mind is a wonderful thing. I was hiking out of Kent in the rain thinking about the 10-day forecast .... 8 out of 10 calling for rain and thunderstorms. It's Wednesday today, and Saturday is the next day in which it is NOT supposed to rain. So what do you do? Just like the rocks in Pennsylvania ..... if you hike the whole way thru the state wondering when the rocks will end or complaining about them, you'll be miserable and miss the good stuff.So I thought about what I would do if it rained every day for 60 days, the end of my hike. Answer; let's get wet!! I am now on the Appalachian Rain Forest Adventure. I expect rain everyday and I'm just going to be wet during my hikes! Big deal. Take care of the body ... feet especially; and make sure you can be dry at night. We'll see how this goes. But right after I got through this in my mind, hiking out of Kent, my mood improved significantly.Another silly thought that has been going through my mind. I'm single, never married, no kids, and never have really grown up, so I haven't been through a mid-life crisis scenario .... yet. But I was thinking that an A.T. Thru-Hike is the perfect solution. And wives, let your husbands go! It's much cheaper than buying an expensive toy (like a sports car); less damaging to life in general than taking on a mistress; and you will feel young again; I promise! Ladies, you'll get your man back lean again and appreciating all the things he has in life. OK! My thoughts on that.Hey, I have a lot of time to think out here! Quick thought on gear. Reminded today how awesome a well-fitting pack can be. Packed my bag with 6+ days of food to get into Dalton, MA. When I picked it up....heavy!! But it rode well on my body when I put it on. Not bad. We'll see tomorrow when doing some miles with it.A lot of hikers (the majority) are carrying less food, 3-4 days max to keep the pack weight down. I totally understand. I just don't like having to go into town that often. I can still stop in town if there is something inviting, but don't have to. I still like the 5 days hiking, into town on the 6th rythym. This stretch will be a 6 days hiking, 7th into town, zero day on #8!