Date: 2004-08-14
From: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to

To: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 10.0

I hiked double digit miles for the first time in 9 days¢¦Woohoo! As I write I am a living smorgasbord for mosquitoes, no-see-ums, gnats, and the like. I accidentally killed a moth tonight and I believe the insect realm is retaliating! This is why I usually never stay in a shelter with ¢swamp¢ in its title, but tonight the remains of hurricane Charlie should be hitting. While I am being eaten I might as well tell you about my day.         I awoke alone in the shelter and I was a bum. I finished reading the book Prince Caspian, and then I packed up. After I packed I read my Bible and prayed. It was refreshing. Just before I finally left a couple jogged by and said that it was 11 a.m. Another early start . My first 2 12 miles were on the river again. With boughs shading me, cornfields on my left, and the flowing Housatonic on my right, I prayed and sang. My focus this morning was on walking with God, seeking Him wholeheartedly, and trusting the plans for my life to Him. The following verse touched my heart as I took a break at the end of the river walk: ¢For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. You will call on me and I will answer you. You will find me when you seek me with your whole heart. I will be found by you declares the Lord.¢ (Jeremiah 29:11-14).        As I sat there resting, I felt so secure. I often try to control so many things that are out of my hands. It felt wonderful to just trust Him. As far as hiking, I decided to read the first 2 chapters of the ¢Silver Choir¢ (Chronicle #6). Three chapters and 50 pages later I returned to hiking. An uphill slope stretched out before me. Determined to do more than 3 miles, I pushed on.       After less than a mile uphill I was being massacred by the insects: DEET TIME. As I perched on a rock to apply DEET I had an idea ¢ How about I read some more? As I read I met a sobo, ¢King David¢, who is an Episcopal priest. He said he was looking for ¢Loot¢ (another sobo hiker). I told him if he found any to share with me. After a minute I was again lost in the tales of Narnia. 130 pages later, I knew I needed to hike soon as ¢Wipe-out¢ came huffing and puffing up the hill.       Seeing Wipe-out, I greeted her and explained that I had been being a bum. I decided that rather than continuing to be a bum I would hike on with Wipe-out. Wipe-out is a cool girl from San Diego. Her boyfriend thru-hiked in 1997 and now it¢s her turn. We talked about all kinds of people we have met, especially the crazy ones. I told about ¢Grizzly Dave¢ and ¢Santa the Jerk¢, not to mention my beer being stolen at Kincora. She told me of a boy ¢Santa¢, who would not carry a sleeping bag or tent because ¢God would take care of him¢ (interesting interpretation of faith). She also told of a woman who warned of ¢the drones¢. You¢ll know them when you see them, and if you put Kool-aid in your water they won¢t steal it. We were cracking up and had covered 3.5 miles over gone 2 mountains by the time we took a break. During our break, we decided it was time for a diner in 3 miles. The next 3 miles flew by. I told her about The Chronicles of Narnia and my belief in God. We also talked about food¢¦food took over conversation. After discussing McDonald¢s, Shoneys, Long John Silvers, and more, we hit the road. The road looked tiny and the chance of a hitch seemed quite improbable. We decided to try and I said a prayer in my head.       All of 3 seconds later a truck drove by and stopped to give us a hitch: ). Two minutes later we went under a red wooden bridge like you see in the movies and into West Cornwall. As the driver left he told us a grocery store with a good deli was just up the hill from the diner. With one look at the ritzy-looking caf©, we turned toward the store.       At the store I ordered a bacon-cheeseburger with lettuce, pickles, mayo, & fried onions. It only cost 3 bucks. With that and a coke in hand I sat down with Wipe-out to eat. It was incredible! I also had Salt¢n Vinegar chips to complete the meal. The food was awesome, but I was shocked to find the ATM again saying insufficient funds. I had thought I had 20 dollars left : (. If I had used my brain I would have checked my money before getting food. Still the cheeseburger was awesome! Before leaving I tried to call my sister to find out how returning $400 worth of gear for me is going. I could not get ahold of her though. For a split moment I started to stress, but I just gave it to God in a prayer.       As we went to leave we took pictures of the old bridge. We went under it and it was far less attractive covered in cobwebs. As we went to hitch the prospects again looked poor. Then, for the second time we received a ride in under a minute. The lady gave us a ride 2 miles in the other direction from where she was going. She was very friendly but she kept saying things like ¢You must be insane¢, ¢What would make you want to do something like that?¢ ¢You must be nuts¢¢¦We thanked her for the ride and left to do the last mile.       Over the last mile we talked about what it would be like to someday hike the PCT or CDT (the other 2 big trails in the U.S.). As dusk neared we arrived at the shelter. We jammed into the shelter (oops ¢lean-to¢, we¢re in Connecticut) like sardines. It would not have been bad if one hiker did not have a massive mosquito netting tent-like thing covering a quarter of the shelter. Despite the tight confines and incessant bugs, we¢re safe from the storm. I had a lovely day and hiked with a cool new partner. I hope to hike 20 more with ¢Wipe-out¢ tomorrow. I thank God for just how blessed I feel. I know He has me, my plan, and even my finances¢¦ahh. Now to finish the final 70 pages of my book . Goodnight,BEATBOX   ttt