Date: 2005-07-20
From: Telephone Pioneers Shelter

To: Schaghticoke Mountain
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Man, was it buggy at Telephone Pioneers Shelter. We did all we could to get out of that place as quickly as we could! We quickly made it to the road to Pawling, NY where the largest oak on the AT is located. This tree is known as the Dover Oak and it is larger than the Keffer Oak by about 2' (Keffer is the tree we saw in Virginia---see pictures). The morning was filled with open walks through pasture. Normally, we enjoy this type of hiking, but today was hot, the grass was overgrown, and the bugs were prolific. We were so amazed at how tall the grass was and how it was growing into the trail, rubbing against our legs and making them itch! There were lots of bog bridges, but these were poorly maintained as well. In several areas, we had to "hop-scotch" our way along the trail in places so as not to sink in the mud or fall in the water.When we came to the Appalachian Trail Station, just before NY22, we ran into Mateo. Even though the train doesn't run through except once a week, we enjoyed a little respite on the bench and ate a snack and read the paper. However, before long we were back on the trail hiking. The trail got a little tricky after crossing a woods road, and we weren't sure if we were headed in the right direction. Soon enough we saw white blazes and knew we were right on track. There was no doubt once we saw Gate of Heaven cemetary, which is listed in 'Wingfoot'. Now, many people think cemeteries are spooky, but this one was especially so, at least in my opinion. It is really old and was overgrown with weeds and tall grass. The entry gate looked as if it had seen better days as it was all rusty and falling apart in places.Not long after passing Gate of Heaven, we reached Wiley Shelter. It wasn't the prettiest of shelters, but it gave us a break from the sun and there was a picnic table to sit at and have lunch. Clean, Bug and I were soon joined by Nomad and Mateo. We sat around for quite some time enjoying each other's company. Mateo was the first to leave, anticipating an afternoon swim. We were headed out next, leaving Nomad behind. As we headed down that familiar path, we heard Nomad call out to us. He thought one of us had left our food bag. In truth, we all had ours, but Nomad had walked right off and left his. The thing that is funny about this, is that half of one's packweight is made up of food alone. So how he could get very far without realizing it was missing is beyond me. Clean and Bug divvied up the food to carry ahead to him.At Hoyt Road, we finally made it into a new state. We passed over the New York-Connecticut border. All I can say is that I hope Connecticut is nicer trail than NY. So far, in the 6.1 miles of Connecticut we have hiked, I have had an extremely favorable impression.Over the course of a mile, we had a stiff climb up Ten Mile Hill (seemed more like a mountain to me). After the climb it was an even stiffer downhill (715' over 1.2 miles) to the Ten Mile River. As tough as the climb up and back down may have been, the river made it all worthwhile! The river was beautiful, running full and warm-ish. Mateo was already taking a dip having a wonderful time soaking up the sun. We grabbed his attention to let him know his food was missing. Then, we all took a dip, washed the salt off of our skin and cooled off in the afternoon sun. After about 45 minutes in the river, we sat ourselves out on the rocks to dry....it was pretty humorous since we looked like a bunch of turtles sunning themselves.Sadly, we made ourselves pack up and leave this magical place, but less than 2 miles away, laid in wait ice cream, cokes, and hot dogs. We crossed the Housatonic River on an old covered bridge to go to a convenience store with all of the above said items. The waterfalls we saw through here were just beautiful.The sun started to go down, so we thought we should probably get moving. We are now stealth camped somewhere between Bulls Bridge Road and the top of Schaghticoke Mountain. There just wasn't enough energy and/or daylight left to climb this mountain tonight. Well, it is off to bed for me, because we have an early start tomorrow so as to beat the heat.