Date: 2016-06-21
From: Sharon Mountain Campaite

To: Brassie Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: broken clouds

6/21/16We got a little rain last night but not too much. Bevo and I were up and on the trail a little after 7:00. Today was a good day because we were going through town which means town food . We planned to hike seventeen miles today. A cool front had come through and the temperatures had cooled down but first thing in the morning it seemed a little humid. The humidity seemed to go away though. We went over the Housatonic River and stopped at a high school for some water. As we continued we passed a big waterfall. We took some pictures and started a 1000 ft climb. It was a gradual climb with a smooth trail so it wasn't too bad. After we got up the mountain we were hiking and everything was perfect...temperature was good the birds were singing and we felt good. I said something about zippity doo dah and Bevo started singing it. I think a squirrel even ran towards us instead of away from us. It was just a period of time everything just seemed perfect...even the gnats were leaving us alone. The rest of the morning was downhill. On section went straight down but there were rock steps to make it a little easier. My pack started to bother my shoulder and I tighter my waste belt to take some of the load off my shoulders. It finally happened...I ran out of belt adjustment it was as tight as it would go. At one point we were hiking down a hill and came across a guy carrying a street bicycle on his shoulder. It was kind of rocky so there is no way he could have been riding it on the trail. He went on to tell us is was riding from Portland Maine to Portland Washington and wanted to spend a night in the shelter on the AT. You never know what you are going to run into here. We got to town and went to the White Hart Inn and Tap Room. It was pretty fancy and we asked if stinky hikers were welcome and they said come on in. I got a bacon cheeseburger fries and a beer. The burger was one of the thickest I've ever had. It was delicious. Bevo was wanting a shake but ice cream was the best they could do. I had the ice cream with the rhubarb strawberry crumble. Very tasty but they were skimpy with the ice cream. We hung out a while and charged our phones and looked at the trail ahead and some of the more challenging areas. We headed out of town and there it was....trail magic . A lady and her son, who had hiked the AT, had Gatorade, brownies, and candy bars. I had a Gatorade and a brownie and she packed up a brownie and a couple of candy bars for me to pack out. While we were there another hiker, T, came up and had some magic too. We chatted a while and then headed to the shelter five miles away. We came to on nice overlook on the way to the shelter. We got to camp by five and had a nice evening even though the gnats were a little annoying by this time. The day went fast and I am looking forward to tomorrow. I hate to leave the trail but my sisters are coming to pick me up so I can go visit grand baby Abigail . She is seven months old and I can't wait to see her and the rest of my family(daughter, son in law, brother and sisters families). It is hard to leave the trail but I'm excited to see everyone also. I think this is longest I've gone without a shower and getting my clothes washed...11 days. I was pushing miles...225 miles in the last 11 days. My sisters will get the full effect of my stickiness when they pick me up to get off the trail . I even amazed myself today when I felt my shorts and realized just how starchy they were from the sweat over the last week. You couldn't ask for a better weather day than today...it was an incredibly wonderful day to be a hiker