Date: 2007-08-02
From: Caesar Brook Campsite

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

Today was one of those days on the trail which I just did not feel like walking. Not exactly a good feeling to have when you are trying to walk to Maine. Now that I am finally in New England I find myself sometimes daydreaming about the White Mountains, Maine, and sometimes Katahdin. The problem with this is that all during this trip I always thought about and set short term goals, such as reaching the next shelter, three days to Hot Springs, or tomorrow I reach a new state. I never thought too far ahead, because that could have easily overwhelmed me with thoughts of the enormity of this task.So with these thoughts about how much hiking (tough challenging hiking at that) I still have to do, and because the weather was so hot and humid, I just had a tough time cranking out the mileage today. I knew I would be passing through Salisbury, CT today, and had to pick up some mail there, but I wasn't sure where I'd be spending the night.The trail passed through a few interesting areas today. Near Falls Village, the Housatonic River flows through a hydroelectric generating facility and there are a series of very powerful cascading waterfalls, churning rapids and deep pools of water. The area is a popular swimming hole for locals and passing thru hikers. I opted to bypass taking a swim but I spent some time watching in awe, the power and force of this cascading water. Another interesting area, was a pine forest which contained some of the largest and oldest white pine trees I have ever seen. Late in the day, I had decided to try and stay at, or somewhere near Salisbury. If I could not make it to the post office before closing time, I could then return in the morning. I was getting closer to Salisbury when the trail emptied out into an open pasture with a breathtaking view called Rand's View. It showed clearly the small mountains to the north of CT and MA, and beyond as they increased in size. It was a preview of what is yet to come on this hike.By the time I arrived at Cobble Road and started to walk the half mile to Salisbury, I was completely out of water and dog tired. I just wanted to find a store in town and buy a nice cold drink. On the way, I passed a house with what appeared to be a crab apple tree in front, but as I looked closer at the fruit of this tree I relized it was a plum tree. I gathered a couple of ripe plums that had recently fallen to the ground, and eagerly ate them. They were tart and juicy and really hit the spot in temporarily quenching my thirst.After finally arriving at the center of town I saw "Speaks Little", once again. He said he had arrived a few hours earlier and was sharing a room at the only local hotel, with 9 other hikers. I was not interested in that and did not want to pay the going rate for a room myself, so I thought I'd try the nearby hostel. After buying a cold bottle of ice tea, I walked the short distance to Maria McCabe's house. Maria is 78 and a very interesting and funny woman. She has been taking in hikers for many years and provides comfortable accomodations and breakfast in the morning for only 35.00. I am staying here for the night to recuperate some from a very hot and tiring day on the trail. I will pick up my mail in the morning since the post office was closed when I got to town.