Date: 2018-06-19
From: Cornwall Bridge CT

To: Toymaker's cafe Falls Village CT mile 1492.3
Miles today: 13.9

I slept well getting up a little after 1am to use the bathroom which was downstairs and was surprised to find River on the sofa still up. When I returned to my bedroom I was surprised how cool it was in there but it felt good. I'm not one for a lot of AC especially in the bedroom so it was quite different from my normal. I got up at 5am and showered then packed what I wanted for the day in my bag and put the rest in my bag liner and set it aside in the living room. Robin is slack packing us today. I ate the rest of my ice cream pint from yesterday. I know that sounds shameful and it's hard for me to believe but I truly need the calories. I filled and iced my water bladder and was out the door. I arrived at the store shortly after they opened at 6am and had an egg sandwich like yesterday and an orange juice. River arrived and told me she'd done a final check of the house and found my town skirt and top in the laundry room and put them in the bag in the living room. I was really grateful as I hate wearing my rain gear while my hiking clothes are being washed. Rainbow came in and grabbed something from the store and was off before 6:30. I left the porch of the store at 7am and took the 1 mile road walk back to the trail. My morning Climb awaited. I passed a sweet campsite which I haven't seen much of in CT. Camping is allowed only in designated areas and it appears well respected. I hadn't seen a hiker yet this morning and the peace of being alone out here was very nice. I came to the top of a hill to hear a deer off to my left snorting I looked and stopped not saying a word as the deer posed for me. We watched each other for a few minutes with curiosity. She never ran off and I eventually walked past. Today is breezy and humid with a certain peacefulness in the forest. I'll take it! I continued climbing 7 miles breaking for a snack about 4 miles in where Twigs, Foghorn and his dog Achilles stopped for a few. I had lunch on Easter Mt. where River joined me and the rest was nice. I'm feeling so much stronger and I was surprised to see I'd already hiked 7.2 miles climbing and it was around noon. After an hour break we enjoyed the pine Forest. I love the smell of the pine forest and the feeling of the trail under my feet. We met up with No Name, Full Throttle and another of their friends and they followed us to Falls Village on this awesome section of rolling luxurious trail to town making our first stop short of town at a repair station with a soda vending machine outside. The thunderstorm had knocked out the machine last night but the owner fetched us some slightly cool cans of coke that he'd recently removed from the machine and put in the fridge inside. We drank them in the shade and left the cans in the crate next to the machine.  It was 4:30 when we arrived in town and I stopped at the hydro plant where I took a cold outdoor shower by the road in my boxers and bra with Full Throttle and No Name on the lawn and cars passing by. It's nice to have this shower as well as power outlet and trash can they provide. The shower got all the salt and stickiness off me even without soap and I threw my shirt and skirt back on over my wet underclothes and walked to the Toymaker's cafe where River was waiting for Robin to drop off my gear. River said she was suddenly not feeling well. No one was at the cafe or upstairs and we can't stay here without permission. While we were waiting for Robin the cafe owners arrived and were happy to accommodate us by the barn. A power outlet, picnic table and grill, chairs, trash and hose were all provided. Robin arrived shortly after with our gear and we squared away with her and got set up. The 3 guys arrived by car, which they'd left in town and they set up on the side of the barn.  River still wasn't feeling well and had a cup of broth while I ate dinner. After dinner she came to the Inn with me and we sat at the bar. I had a local lager and ice water and the bartender was kind enough to fill my liter bottle because the water from the hose at the cafe tasted like the plastic hose and was not drinkable to me. River had a cup of tea. Just before leaving I went to the ladies room and heard an urgent knock on the door....River was exclaiming she was going to vomit. I opened the door and she did just that the poor thing. Several times. I stayed for most of it trying to confort her. When she was done we sat on the front porch for a few to be sure she felt well enough to walk back to the cafe. I felt very badly for her. No one wants to be sick out here. It's harder without the comfort of loved ones and home. We crawled into our tents and I journaled before falling asleep.