Date: 2009-07-15
From: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to

To: Brassie Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 21.0

It took me longer than expected to get ready in the morning as one of my contacts fell to the ground as I was trying to put it in! That was not the first time it had happened. However, I could not find it, as it fell into the leaves on a small shrub. I checked my bag for my back-up pair, but Erik forgot to include them in the latest maildrop! I started to get upset, but soon calmed down. I got the idea to shine my headlamp on the leaves, and sure enough, my contact reflected the light right back to me! I was good to go! I went over to wake up Mr. Pink. He told me that he had tossed and turned all night and was going to sleep in an extra half hour. ¢Besides, you want to stop at a caf© and I don¢t, and I want to spend some time photographing the iron bridge.¢ I was a bit perplexed. I told him last night that I was probably not going to the caf© in Salisbury (which got into my head after I heard Jeremiah Johnson talk about it). I though we were going to hike out together. I told him I was going to cook breakfast when I got to the campsite we had intended to get to last night, and that he would probably catch up to me then. He said he would probably see me around noon.   So off I went, by myself again, collected water at a stream, and continued on to the campsite, which did not look like much. There were people there, so I just went on and stopped at a large rock I found on the side of the trail that I could cook and sit on. It was there that I received a nice guestbook message from Bison! I boiled water for my oatmeal and coffee, ate my breakfast, and still there was no sign of Mr. Pink. When I arrived at US 7, I was directed to a detour, as work was being done on the bridge ahead. It was a road detour, and a very long one. I was disappointed because it bypassed the Mountainside Caf©, where I decided I wanted to stop for food, rather than going into Salisbury. I passed construction workers on the road, as well as a traffic attendant who nearly got run over by a driver who was talking on his phone! I figured these guys must know what we hikers were doing, but it seemed like a great surprise to him that I had walked all the way from Georgia! He thought it must be difficult to do, especially in the rain. (The rain is actually the least of my problems...)   I turned the street corner around the cemetery and continued walking down the road detour. I had no idea when it would end! It was going on forever! I saw a family of turkey vultures crossing the street, eyeing me warily as they brought the little ones to safety. Then, I came across a little park with garbage containers and decided to dump off the trash I had. Finally, I reached the iron bridge, walked back across it towards the caf©, asked a slowing car how far it was, and decided it wasn¢t worth the extra time and distance. So, back into the woods I went! I was in need of water and searched for the spring that was listed in my guidebook. The only water I found tasted strongly of sulfur! I soon came to the Housatonic Falls, where I decided to take a break. I had a feeling that I had been there as a child, or to a place that was very similar. It was very pretty and the next hiker to come along gave me the thumbs up.   On the rocks on top of Prospect Mountain, I called Laura to start figuring out plans for the upcoming visit, and then made my way to beautiful Rand¢s View and the Giant¢s Thumb- a big rock in a clearing in the woods that was shaped somewhat like a mitten. When I reached US 44, I had a decision to make. Should I go into Salisbury for a snack or move on? I decided to check out the town. Any miles that are not on the AT seem to take much more effort and are slower than the AT miles... Upon the advice of a local, I headed to the Country Bistro, which was a delightful, upscale kind of place. A woman, eating with her son and daughter, stopped me in the courtyard to ask me questions about my hike. She told me that she thought I would be a good jewelry designer! I went inside, and had the place to myself. After washing up a little, I enjoyed a delicious panini with cranberry juice, and had a gorgeous piece of blueberry pie with a healthy dose of whipped cream on top, along with a coffee. This was my kind of place! I was glad I made the decision to stop.    Finding the trail into the woods again, did not prove so easy. However, I managed to find my way and climbed over 1000 feet to the Lions Head overlook. There, I saw Blessed, who I had last left at the zoo, talking with two local women. He said, ¢You¢re the girl from the zoo!¢ We all enjoyed the view for awhile and then heard the tragic story about the 15 year old boy who had drowned earlier in the summer at the Housatonic Falls. It had caused quite an emotional ripple through the city. One of the ladies had known him since he was a baby. It was common for the school kids to jump off rocks there, and this 15 year old had gone with a few of his friends after their last day of school. He had a lot of experience, and knew where to jump, but one of the friends didn¢t jump far enough and got caught in an eddy. The 15 year old, who was very athletic, jumped in, trying to save him, but instead got caught himself and was pulled down the river. The town was having a tough time getting over this loss.   As we walked away, Blessed said that he didn¢t know why he felt so sad, as he didn¢t even know the kid. I on the other hand, felt an unexplainable sense of peace. From my experience in life, it seems that those who have fulfilled their reasons for being on earth at the time they have come, and who have learned the lessons they were meant to learn, pass at a much younger age than the rest of us who continue to struggle here. I felt, from hearing the stories about him, that he had already brought and given so much to the people around him, that it was okay for him to go.      Blessed walked the rest of the way to the shelter with me, which was nice. This was the shelter where Mr. Pink said he would end his day at, so I was curious as to whether or not he would be there. He was not... He is a yellow blazer, and I knew it was extremely probable that he had hitched a ride for at least the duration of the road detour we had today, and maybe into Salisbury or beyond, but I had no idea where he had ended up. Strange... Blessed and I had the shelter to ourselves and enjoyed a nice evening. After I set up my hammock, he asked if he could take pictures of my set-up, as he knew a seamstress that could possibly make a hammock for him. He decided to sleep in the shelter.