Date: 2004-11-05
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter, Ct.

To: Mt Algo Lean-to, Ct.
Miles today: 17.3

17.3 miles todaySleeping in a shelterMt Algo Lean-to, Ct.I woke up at 5am after a very good nights sleep. It isn't too bad in a shelter when there are no other hikers here because that means there is no one snoring. It was also nice for a change to get in out of the rain instead of setting up my tent in the rain...I must be getting soft!! I got up and took my food bag off a mouse hanger, but I wasn't quite ready for the new day, so I layed down again for about 45 minutes. I finally couldn't take it anymore. I was laying there thinking how nice it would be drinking my Starbuck's coffee this morning, so I started heating up some water. After my coffee was done, I mixed up some milk for something I've never had before...muesli. I really like that stuff, whatever it is. I'm sitting here all wrapped up in my sleeping bag, drinking coffee, eating muesli and watching the pink clouds changing back to white again. This is a tough life!!It's 4:30pm now and I'm back in my sleeping bag already for the night. I'm not going to sleep for a long time, but it really feels good in my bag. I started walking this morning at 7:10am. It was in the upper 30s and felt really nice out. This part of the trail has lots of little ups and downs. The downs were very slippery this morning with all the leaves on the trail and they were all wet because of the rain last night. It was kind of slow going this morning. I thought about going into Cornwall Bridge, but I decided to keep going and try to make a few more miles before I stopped. I knew that Kent was only 1/2 mile off the trail and I could go in there later today. I had my choice of either fording a stream or shimying 30 feet across a tree that had fallen across the stream. Even though the tree was wet and slippery, I chose to keep my feet dry. I climbed Silver Hill and again, it seemed to take a long time because of how wet everything was. I hiked on down to Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to and ate lunch. My feet were tired. I'm not sure if it's because of the shoes I'm wearing or the hidden rocks I keep stepping on. I sat there for about 40 minutes and that helped my feet. I had about another 1 1/2 miles of flat walking along the Hoosatonic River before I climbed back up a mountain again. At least the leaves weren't wet anymore, so it wasn't quite as slippery. I didn't waste any time because I kept thinking about getting into Kent and getting a coke. When I got to the road, it was a windy half mile into Kent. The wind kept picking up all day long. There were a few strong gusts this morning on some of the ridges, but by this afternoon, it was pushing me around a little. I even had a large part of a tree fall about 50 feet away from me. When I got into Kent, I sent in my journal entry and checked my email. I got an email from Hippie. She is busy at work and not very happy about it. Hurry up and get done Hippie...get back out here where you belong. I ate a couple of sandwiches and then hiked on back to the trailhead. The wind was really gusting and blowing crap all over the place. When I started climbing the mountain, it even started to sleet a little. It wasn't even all that cold, just in the upper 40s, but a cold cloud must have come by and dropped that frozen stuff on me. It didn't last long. I was at Mt Algo Lean-to in about 15 minutes. I read through the register and ate some popcorn that I packed out. I got water for coffee in the morning and then crawled into my sleeping bag. I heard voices coming up the trail...darn!! It is Friday night and a group of four young guys came out for an overnight trip. They decided to set up a tarp fairly far away from the shelter. It's now 5:10pm and it's mostly dark out already.Another great day on the A.T.