Date: 2015-07-08
From: 1,490.1 campsite, CT

To: Race Brook Falls campsite, MA
Miles today: 21.1

Day 100, mile 1,490.1 campsite, CT to Race Brook Falls campsite, MA - 21.1 miles:As the sun rose signaling then start of my day, I found myself scared to look out of my tent, unsure of where exactly I had camped. I packed up my gear until the last thing remaining to do was to exit my tent and tear it down. Fortunately a large open field dominated my view; a thin strip of wood line behind me was all I could see from the light of my headlamp last night. I glanced to my left and saw the Trinity Episcopal Church no more than ~100ft away, much closer than I would've guessed. I made my way back over to the nearby coolers of trail magic I had enjoyed last night upon arriving and enjoyed another Coke.Soon after Auto Draft arrived and would begin in on his share of snacks. Not far behind was Yoohoo and finally Safari who would each follow suit. We exchanged a few comments, but we're otherwise quiet for another long day awaited. Auto Draft departed first, followed by me at ~10:15am, then Yoohoo and Safari. Yoohoo would soon catch up to me as I walked the first couple of miles on a quiet country road of northwest Connecticut, looking at nice farm style homes, each with an old barnn, wildflowers, or small gardens. I wouldn't see Auto Draft or Safari for the remainder of the day, but Yoohoo and I would spend the entire day hiking together, helping pass a lot of the time by talking about a variety of things.As we entered back into the woods along the Iron Mountain Bridge, we scored another round of trail magic by the wonderful Red Panda, friends, and family. I last hiked a day with Red Panda early on in the Smokies; it's nice seeing local thru-hikers providing for others. After a quick swig of water, a granola bar, and an apple, we were soon climbing Mt. Prospect, taking us up ~1,000ft in ~2.5 miles. After summiting and beginning our descent, we momentarily exited the woods into a high grassy field known as Rands View before returning to the woods. Hands down one of the best views on the entire AT, especially if seen on a nice, clear day like today. The field gradually descends until it becomes forest stretching into the distance. On either side of the valley, the towering walls of wood-covered masses of rock rise out of the lower forests at sharp, almost 90-degree angles. We'd later be hiking along those ridges, but for a few moments at least, Yoohoo and I felt lucky to be standing witness to such a view in...Connecticut.Continuing on over Giant's Thumb and finally onto a road leading into Salisbury, CT, Yoohoo and I would follow said road into town to escape the early afternoon humidity. We ended up at LaBonne's Market, a local grocery complete with a deli. We each loaded a couple of plates with fried chicken, mash potatoes, mac n'cheese, coleslaw, egg salad, and split an 8-pack of Coke (the 7.5oz cans - calm down.) I did follow that up with a 12oz can of my own though just to make sure my spot was hit. With it already being ~3:45pm I knew my 23-mile goal to a shelter was shot. Instead the new goal was to make it as far as possible with the remaining daylight.We were soon climbing up Bear Mountain, a stretch tat would take us up ~1,600ft in ~5.5 miles. On the way up we passed the Lion's Head where we each let out a loud yell and listened as it echoed through the valley below, as well as Riga Shelter, and Brassie Brook Shelter. We finally reached the summit of Bear Mountain where an old rock observation tower built in the 1800's still partially stands. We grabbed ontop to gawk at the view and take a quick picture - showing both nearby Massachusetts to the north and Connecticut. Continuing another .6 of a mile, we reached the official MA-CT border, though unmarked and improperly marked another mile into Massachusetts. Here we stopped again along the rushing waters of a fast-flowing creek, took some pictures, and posted them. It was ~7:45pm and dark was fast-approaching within the next hour.As we headed for Mt. Race and our current campsite a mile past its summit, the highlight of my day was enjoyed. It didn't come in reaching the 1,500-mile mark, nor did it come in the form of reaching Massachusetts. Hell, it didn't even come in making it that far after lunch without throwing up the egg salad that had the texture of cottage cheese. It came in the form of a familiar face heading south as she yo-yo's a section of the trail: gold 'ole Tick Tock who I haven't seen in about 2 months. We only chatted for a few minutes, long enough to find out how she's doing, her current location, her overcoming of several unfortunate events, as well as exchanging a couple jabs for old times sake. It may have only been a brief exchange, but she has been someone I've truly enjoyed having the opportunity to meet oon the trail. As she goes for her triple crown in the near future, she can definitely count on me as a fan. We parted ways with another hug and hurried off in our separate directions - hopefully not for the last time.Yoohoo and I continued up and over the very rocky Mt. Race, racing the quickly fading light. A .6-mile stretch of an open rock outcropping along the summit offers a beautiful, unobstructed 180-degree view of Maryland and Connecticut to the east. The cliff is also a sheer drop-off off at least a few hundred feet so walking along this edge was a bit of a thrill. We would've normally stayed for a while, taking in the view as a good excuse not to be hiking, but with night falling and over a mile to go, we scurried on. With headlamps now on, our vision was reduced to the world within the glow of our lights, making things much more difficult to focus on. So much so that both Yoohoo and I both took a turn eating it, feet thrown right out from under us, as we stepped on rocks we were unable to tell were slick. No injuries, though, so it made for a few quick giggles.We finally reached our campsite at ~9:45pm and pitched our tents sode-by-side on a wooden tent platform. Even though I didn't hit my original goal of ~23 miles, falling just ~2 miles short after a slow pace, a detour into town for lunch, plus what seemed like many breaks, I think we ended up doing just fine. Tomorrow we'll begin immediately with a ~700ft climb in only .7 of a mile. The mountain literally rises straight out of the ground. Fortunately it should be the only decent challenge, leaving another ~9 miles into Great Barrington, MA where we plan to take the test of the day off to resupply, do laundry, shower, and most importantly squeeze in a little rest. As long as my body allows me to put in the miles, I should wrap up Massachusetts within the next week, before entering Vermont, the first of the final 3 states.Here's to a battered Tick-Tock still ticking, 1,500 miles complete, and 100 days in the book.