Date: 2018-06-16
From: 10 Mile River campsite

To: Mt Algo shelter
Miles today: 8.3

I woke up with the river and the birds. What a great alarm clock. I went down to the river for water and noted several fishermen on the opposite shore both left and right of me and wondered if there was anyone there last night watching me bathe. Hmm. I had a Mountain House breakfast skillet for breakfast but I don't like them much and after forcing quite a bit down I packed out the rest. I just couldn't do it.I left camp just ahead of River and crossed the Ned Anderson memorial footbridge over the 10 mile river and stopped a minute. What a beautiful place and a beautiful day. The first 1.2 miles was such a pleasant hike. When we arrived at Bull Bridge Rd we decided to walk off trail a little to see Bulls Bridge and get a coffee. Just before the bridge we met Walter from the AMC setting up at a trail head along the Housatonic River. We chatted for a few and he held our packs while we went thru the covered bridge and to the store. Bulls Bridge Country Store is charming and very hiker friendly. We were offered charging for phones, port-a-potty and water bottle filling. We didn't have our packs so we didn't need much. But we sat outside and ate a pint of ice cream each and had coffee. At 10am. We signed the store's hiker register and made our way back to Walter and our packs and we sat down with him a few minutes to talk about what he's doing at the trail head. This particular area was really abused by mostly local traffic using the trail and swimming hole. Mounds of trash had been removed and the area restored by AMC volunteers who maintain these trail sections including the Appalachian Trail. On the weekends in the summer they set up post here to deter further abuse and educate hikers. We talked about the shelters and campsites we would be encountering and said goodbye to Walter making our way north to a long rocky climb over exposed rocky ledges. We met Jay, a ridge runner up at the first view. While we were taking our break talking with him Dozer and Napper showed up, fresh off their first visit to NYC. They left ahead of us and we set out for additional climbing and difficult terrain. Today's trail section goes by an Indian reservation and up thru a section called Indian Rocks which is known to be a mecca for rattle snakes. Ugh. I'm pretty much all adrenalined out on the rattle snakes! Thankfully I saw none today. But the seemingly endless climbing was tough. It was about 7 miles of difficulty.We reached Mt Algo shelter just after 5 pm. There was a section hiker named James at the picnic table and a couple of tents set up in the tenting area but no one else around. They'd gone into Kent which is fairly close for a resupply. We set up in a nice flat area near a couple of sitting logs. The shelter and campsites were quite nice and there were a few of them. We set up and I went down to the brook in front of the shelter where I washed up and filtered water. Then River took a turn. When we were both done we joined James at the picnic table for dinner. While we were eating Armor arrived with his resupply and kindly shared fresh baby carrots and grapes with us. It was awesome and they were cold too! Everything out here gets warm. Even the cool water we filter for drinking is warm shortly after and while it still does the job of hydrating it's not the same refreshment. We visited for a while and then I brushed and stowed my bear bag in the bear box. I could hear the others at the picnic table a while and a father/son duo arrived back from Kent with their resupply also. Sometime later I heard River ask if I was still awake, and I was. She'd gone to the privy and discovered that a Robin had built a nest inside the privy on a shelf next to the toilet and 4 babies were sound asleep. She went back with her phone and took pictures and showed me. They were adorable little guys! It's very comfortable here with the sound of the brook and the open feeling of the site itself. I'm looking forward to a great sleep!