Date: 2007-07-05
From: Belters Campsite

To: Salisbury, CT - Vanessa Breton's House
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

Today I left the campsite a little after 8:00. Dad was still packing things up. It had rained all night and the mosquitoes were relentless this morning. Dad had decided to hike along the roads today which was a couple miles shorter and would not have the steep rocky terrain.I reached the first road at about 8:30. I walked off the trail about a hundred yards to a gas station, because I saw an orange sign that said ice and drinks. When I got there I found out that it didn't open until 9:00. I went back to the trail and the trail followed around a corn field. There was three foot high grass and brush along the narrow trail and it was all dripping wet. I got soaked walking through. The trail then followed the river for a while before coming to another road. I looked down the road and saw a house and barn that looked very familiar. I had seen these at the last road crossing. Then I saw another orange sign for ice and drinks. I had just walked about a half mile of trail and was only a hundred yards from where I was 20 minutes earlier. The trail is definitely not about getting from point A to point B efficiently.The trail followed the road for about a mile after this. It went past a large high school. The trail turned up into the woods, but I missed the blaze and ended up walking a half mile off the trail. I back tracked and found the trail. About a half mile later, I came up over a small hill and saw a medium size black bear on the trail. The bear saw me and walked up the trail away from me about 100 feet and turned back to look at me. He was going north and that was where I was headed. I started following him then he ran up the trail over the next hill. When I reached the top of the next hill I saw him again still on the trail. This time he took off running to the left of the trail. I continued hiking. At the top of the next hill I saw another bear or possibly the same bear to the right of the trail. This bear took off running into the woods.The trail followed the Housatonic River again. It went past a hydroelectric power plant where I stopped to get water. The trail crossed a bridge and then followed the river on the other side to a low head dam above a waterfall that was about 50 feet high. There was a small observation area on some rocks. When I reached this area the clouds cleared briefly and let the sun through. I looked up and watched the clouds and it looked like there would be some good breaks in the clouds. I set up my tent so it could dry. I am always looking for the first opportunity to dry my tent after a rainy night. I am not sure how well it will work if there are a couple rainy days in a row and it doesn't dry out. I don't really want to find out right now. The trail wasn't too bad today and I covered the miles quickly. I reached hwy US44 at 2:30. I walked along the road 0.5 miles to the town of Salisbury. Dad had left a message he was doing laundry in Lakeville which was about a mile away. I found the ice cream shop. I had three scoops of strawberry ice cream and a bottle of rootbeer. Then I walked over to town hall and plugged my cell phone in to charge it. I asked the receptionist if there was a laundry place in town. She went and asked someone else. They said yes, but it ended up being the one in Lakeview. Nancy was in the lobby and offered to take me up there. Woohoo, a hitch up the road. Those are rare for me.Dad had finished laundry and was eating a stromboli and fries while his tent dried. He couldn't eat all of the 4 lbs. of fries, so he gave me half the sandwich and fries. I called and got us a room at Vanessa Breton's house. I hiked back, showered, washed clothes, and went to the market for food supplies. Dad may have gotten bitten by a tick the other day. He is going to the doctor to get checked out tomorrow. Maria McCabe who also lets hikers stay at her home is going to take him. Maria had taken Magellan up to the laundromat before dad left, so he hitched a ride back with them.Tomorrow I will resume my journey north, while dad will stay around town and take some shorter hikes and go kayaking.