Date: 2015-06-09
From: Mt Algo shelter

To: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: light rain

About 8pm last night, it started raining heavily. I checked my tent for leaks with my iPod torch and, satisfied with relative dryness, I went back to sleep. White light flashed behind my eyelids and thunder boomed above me. For a moment I was scared. I wasn't sure how conductive my tent, with its single metal pole pointing toward the skies, would be. I thought that it was probably safer than the shelter with an entirely metal roof nearby and so I stayed put. Also because I didn't want to go outside in the heavy pouring rain when my tent was dry enough.In the morning it continued to rain until I left, about 7.15. Although it had stopped raining, the entire forest was soaked. Every time I brushed against something, my clothes were drenched. Again I faced the irritating problem of slippery rocks and leaves.This was actually a big problem today. I was trying to get into town by 12 at the latest, but I was incredibly slowed down by the steep rocky steps. The rocks only lasted a couple hundred feet, but they were all uneven and awkwardly sized. Their slipperiness also meant that I had to be extremely careful and in some instances actually sit and carefully lower myself down. I was very afraid that I was going to just slip and tumble right down the mountain, or even just slip and crack my head or leg on a rock. Eventually I made my way into Cornwall Bridge. I had decided to skip Kent on account of the weather and likelihood of the shops being closed. It's a little strange being here in CT and seeing all these familiar place names. So I walked down to Cornwall Bridge and spent about an hour there, getting lunch and bug spray. Annoyingly, the only spray they had is only 7% DEET so I am certain it will do very little to deter the bugs. This morning, when I didn't have any spray on, I stopped for a moment and splattered four black flies on my right knee. The mosquitoes are also taking their turn too. I left town and took the recommended bypass around the "unsafe" brook crossing. About 30 minutes out of town, the rain started pouring heavily. It's the kind I'm all too familiar with now. The kind that soaks in seconds and is so heavy that I can't even look forward for white blazes without my eyes being pelted with rain. I quickly put on my rain gear but my feet were still soaked quickly from all the run off from the trail and my own rain gear. The sun actually shone brightly whilst it was still raining and made for an interesting sight. I wish my camera was waterproof so I could take photos of the extremely dramatic scenes that the heavy rain produces. Eventually the rain stopped and I had to take off my gear because I was simply too hot. This state seems very similar to NY with its pointless ups and downs on the rockiest sections. About a mile before the shelter I ran into some trail magic. A can of coke, an apple and some little Hostess cakes. It picked me up after having a bit of a miserable afternoon. Almost immediately after, I slipped on a rock crossing a brook and my left foot fell straight into the water. Worse still, I landed heavily and now it hurts to sit or lay on the right side of backside. Now I'm at the shelter. It's the busiest I've seen for a while, but extremely quiet. I finally met Mozart, who had been hiking with Brightside for a while. I am camped nearish to Jax Sparrow and her dog Callie, aka the dog that bit me. I hope that I will be able to get ahead of them soon. Callie barked at me repeatedly as I was walking past (at a safe distance). To me, she seems even more wild and terrifying than before. I am scared that the dog may try to go for me again. In the middle of writing this entry, I actually heard a tree falling in the forest nearby. I am now also terrified that any of the trees around me will fall. Tomorrow I am planning to stop in Falls Village for lunch. I'm planning to meet a girl from my secondary school who emigrated to CT. It would be nice to chat to someone who actually knows where I'm from. Even other English people aren't sure where it is. Depending on how long that takes, I may go to the next shelter or Salisbury.~I'm hearing more noises that sound like trees falling and I think actually the noise might be coming from an animal. I can hear twigs snapping in the forest. It sounds like it's all around me. Every sound is amplified by my fear. Please don't be a bear. I'm so glad I hung up my food bag in the shelter but what if it just wants to eat me. I just had to get out of my tent to check that I couldn't see a bear. I was paralysed for a few minutes. I couldn't decide if it was worse knowing that there was a bear or not. I did not see one. But I heard more ominous creaking of the trees.