Date: 2004-08-09
From: Ten Mile River, CT

To: Prices are Jumping 
Miles today: 15.7

I woke up feeling chilly and prepared to eat oatmeal square. A bird chirped an indication that outside the hammock, dawn was cracking. I did not eat the snack, preferring to get up.The trail led me alongside the Ten Mile River. The water flowed around boulders and large rocks that were partially shrouded by a mist. A bird with long legs, possibly an egret, stood motionless in a shallow place in the river, waiting to pounce on a fish. When the bird spotted me, it took to flight.The trail veered away from the river and entered a spacious pine grove flanked by an old stone wall. A lush moss covered some of the stones. The appearance of this grove reminded me that I was finally in New England. Feeling at peace, I sat down on soft pine needles and ate breakfast.Later in the day, the trail crossed a road leading to the town of Kent, CT. I hitched a ride to the center, where I planned to resupply and spend the night at a church rectory. There was a notice on the door of the rectory; it stated that for several days the rectory would not be available for hikers. It listed the dates of unavailability. My arrival in town was happening on the last date cited on the notice.Gather arrived in town and we opted to split the cost of a room at an inn. There are no motels in this town.Kent is an upscale community with pricey specialty shops and inns. The innkeeper quoted us a price of $125 to stay in a room, which was too expensive for us. We asked him if he would lower the price in return for not serving us a breakfast. He said that he would agree to that arrangement and charge us $115. That price reduction was not enough for Gather and me, so we thanked the man for his time and decided to return to the woods. A hot shower would have to wait. Gather and I had the usual errands to run in a trail town, so we headed off to different establishments. I met two male hikers in their twenties outside the post office. I was not acquainted with them and said hello.One of the hikers was sitting on the curb of a walkway and inspecting the contents of a box. The other man was standing next to him, wearing a backpack, and talking. The person sitting appeared to be ignoring the hiker who was talking to him. It was apparent that these hikers were not familiar with each other. The person doing the talking was conveying a message of woe. He said that he was running out of money and that he had skipped parts of the trail during his thru hike. He said he might have to give up on the rest of his hike to Maine.I joked to him, "You're hanging out in the wrong kind of town," a reference to the expensive costs in this community. He did not seem to have heard my remark, and kept on rambling about his faltering thru hike. It seemed like he was talking as much to himself as to me and the other hiker. The man said he would be heading to a shelter for the night, and then walked away.I attempted to engage the other hiker in a conversation, but he barely acknowledged my presence as he assembled a pair of hiking poles that had arrived in the box.I had been disappointed about not obtaining a place to stay for the night. I had hoped that conversing with a couple of hikers would cheer me up. Instead, my conversation, or lack of one, left me feeling down.Gather and I agreed to visit the town of Salisbury, CT in two days and split the cost of a room.We hiked several miles to a campsite near a river. There I waded into the shallow water¢twelve inches in depth¢sat down and gave myself a sponge bath. I rinsed out my hiking shirt and underwear briefs.My mood has brightened since the visit to Kent. This campsite is a nice one, situated in an open forest.My body is clean after my dip in the river. My hiking shirt is clean and is hanging on a line. Gather and I have agreed that we were better off having pushed on rather than paying the exorbitant rate charged by that innkeeper.I am excited about heading into the northern phase of this journey. But the prices in northern trail towns are higher than the costs down south.I had noticed the change in a restaurant back in Pennsylvania. A waitress had asked me if I wanted a refill of orange juice. I replied in the affirmative. She poured the juice into the glass, picked up the receipt, and increased the amount on the bottom line. Down South, there are no charges on the refills of juices or ice teas.The costs are higher in the communities of the northeast, but it is the Appalachian Trail, not the towns it passes through, which is what this journey is all about.