Date: 2022-06-08
From: Hemlock Springs Campsite

To: Dennytown Road Campsite
Miles today: 12.38
Weather: overcast clouds

Another hiker had come in last night about an hour after us. We just chilled in the tent so we really didn¢t get to meet him. This morning I heard him moving around about 4:15 am. He left about 5:15. The rain had stopped before 4 am. After packing up a wet tent, we were on the trail about 7:10 having only eaten a power bar for breakfast. The Appalachian Deli is only 3.6 miles and it has an egg, cheese, and bacon sandwich calling my name! I ended up getting it on a roll and the roll was big! Coffeebean got the same thing in a hero sandwich. We expected a 6¢ sandwich. It was a foot long. First he said ¢Gee, if I had known it was this big we could have shared it.¢ Yeah, right! He ate the whole thing himself with no problem! We did share a quart of milk. Coffeebean had his first real cup of coffee since getting on trail. I had a nice cup of Lipton tea. We used this time too to dry out our tent by laying it out on the lawn and holding it down with our poles. Between the sun and the traffic whooshing by, the tent and canopy dried pretty quickly. The deli also had great resupply so we got enough to hold us for the next 48 miles, into Connecticut. We also bought a SmartWater so we could finally use the Sawyer filter that Hey You gave us.The trail, for a good part of the day, was muddy and we spent alot of time jumping from rock to rock to logs that had been put in the mud to help get through without ending up with shoes covered in mud. The humid weather and previous night¢s rain had also brought the mosquitoes out in full force.A fun part of the afternoon was when we came upon a family of hikers. The daughter, trail name Cheeto because she loves Cheetos and was wearing alot of orange, mom (a teacher), trail name Clever Girl, and dad, who was still looking for a trail name. They hiked 100 miles last summer in the Shenandoah National Park. They are doing a 125 mile section this summer. They had just gotten on trail today. Cheeto was 8 years old and said that none of her friends believed that she walked 100 miles last summer. She carried her own pack (but mom said it only had her sleeping bag and clothes) Cheeto said it still felt like she was carrying 30 pounds. She was so cute!! We wished them luck and happy trails. Water filtering is so much easier and faster with the Sawyer filter. We are happy campers!We came to a road crossing and just up the way was a roadside historical sign. It told about the Continental Army from Hempstead NY camping nearby here in 1779-1780 and an inoculation hut that had been built nearby. We crossed the road and found the rock remains of the foundation of a colonial barn that had been used as an inoculation hut. When a smallpox epidemic broke out in the winter of 1776, George Washington ordered that all his troops be inoculated. The remains of a barn could also be seen on the other side of the trail. So cool! The 1700¢s and the foundations are still there!We finally arrived at the Dennytown Road Campsite. The sign showed where the hiker trash was allowed to camp. Not in the nice field with the picnic tables and port-a-potties (with TP!) but right next to the busy road. There is a small building with a water spigot so we are happy. I walked up to check out the other nice camping area (for groups who make reservations at the Clarence Fahnestock State Park). It was very nice! A sunny area with 2 picnic tables, a grill, 3 port-a-potties, and a campfire ring. Then a small shady area with the same except the potties. I was walking back to tell Coffeebean about it and discuss moving to this site and claiming ignorance if someone questioned why we were there, when I heard this LOUD BOOM! Then I heard Coffeebean yell my name. I was terrified that something had happened to him! Then I heard him yell ¢Call 911!¢ (He had given me his phone because he had taken a picture of the camping areas.) You should have heard me trying to tell the 911 operator where the accident was. I was able to remember the name of the road at least and just said ¢It¢s where the AT crosses Dennytown Road at the parking area. I¢m a thru-hiker.¢ Luckily another woman had stopped too and was calling at the same time. I ran down the road toward Coffeebean and saw him leaning into a car that was flipped upside down in the middle of the road! It was a mom and her 2 sons. The boys were in their late teens. The one son was out of the car by the time Coffeebean got there. He didn¢t have a scratch on him. The two of them helped unbuckle the mom and got her out. She will have a really nasty bruise on her left arm. The other son was hanging by his belt and yelling loudly and groaning. He kept asking what had happened. He was so scared. We finally got him unbuckled but didn¢t want to move him until the ambulance came. We waited at least 20 minutes until the police and fire crews arrived followed by the EMT squad, staying with the family until then. Coffeebean said he saw big pieces of rock in the road and wondered if the mom had hit it and that caused her to spin out. It also looked like she bounced off a tree up on the side of the road because a huge section of bark was torn off. What got me was how high up on the side of the road the tree was. She had to have flown up the side of the road, hit the tree and then overturned on the way down. It was a frightening scene. We worried about the condition of the other son all night. Coffeebean helped with traffic, telling people the road was blocked and they would have to turn around. One woman had the nerve to say ¢But I just live right there!¢ Coffeebean told her the car was in the middle of the road and debris was everywhere. What an idiot she was. Never asked if anyone was hurt. Just concerned about the inconvenience to her. After all the excitement died down, we made dinner (mashed potatoes and a chicken alfredo side), got water, and hit the sack. Rain is due tomorrow morning about 2am and supposed to run until about 9 or 10am, so tomorrow may be a short mileage day. We hiked 12.38 miles today though!