Date: 2022-06-16
From: BelterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Campsite 

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Because I ate nuts and a granola bar for dinner, I HAD to use the privy first thing. Icouldn¢t find the privy anywhere! I went back to the front of the trail, that leads into the campsite, to check the map. It was supposed to be behind campsite #4. I couldn¢t find that site either! So I had to dig a cathole and try not to get poison ivy on my butt.Even though it had rained for a short bit last night, the tent was completely dry. (Just had to clean off the caterpillar goo, of course.) No oatmeal today! We are hitting the Mountainside Cafe for breakfast!We started down to the road and after about 2 minutes it started raining good so we stopped and put on our pack covers. Didn¢t bother putting on rain gear because our clothes were still damp and clammy from yesterday¢s sweaty hike. We got down to the road and had to wander around a bit before we found it. (I updated Guthook for the next hiker.) We put our packs and poles on the little front porch and then went around the back to switch out our hiking shirts for less stinky camp shirts. Then we went in and were seated. I ordered the Streusel French Toast and hot tea. Coffeebean ordered the Spinach Skillet and coffee, of course. (The spinach skillet had toast and mushrooms, onions, potatoes, eggs, and tomato jam.) The food was absolutely amazing! Best french toast I¢ve ever had! And the food is all farm to table. It is fresh and comes from local farmers, growers and producers.I also read that the ¢Mountainside Cafe is affiliated with Mountainside Treatment Center, offering a vocational work program for extended care clients of the treatment center. They  teach real life ¢sober¢ work skills for the clients in preparation to continue a sober life once graduated.¢ What a great cause. After that amazing breakfast we watched to see if the rain would continue but it didn¢t so we started out. The hike for the next hour or so was so nice. Once again we walked a trail along the Housatonic River. At one point it widened to make it wheelchair accessible. How great is that?! Once we crossed into the cute little town of Amesbury (a hamlet of Falls Village) we saw the prettiest waterfalls. We took the steep little trail down to the river¢s edge so we could get better pictures of the falls. It was so pretty.We then began the biggest up of the day, Mt Prospect. And it actually was not bad. The temperature was cool. There was a wonderful breeze which kept us cool. And the smell of the pine needles was intoxicating. And we finally had a canopy to walk under! I guess the caterpillars hadn¢t hit Mt Prospect yet. At the top of the mountain was a beautiful view of the valley below. Then we met Eric (trail name Rock Steady) and Elaine AGAIN! Had a fun conversation. I told her about a cup that I had seen on Instagram that let¢s you make your own slushies. (She said yesterday she kept thinking about how much she wanted a slushie.) I told Eric ¢Christmas gift!¢On the way down the mountain, I was breathing through my nose and somehow sniffed a bug up my nose! I¢m sure it wasn¢t a fun time for the bug either but I couldn¢t stop blowing my nose or sneezing. This went on for an hour! Ow!As we reached the road that would take us into Salisbury, CT, we met the family that Eric and Elaine kept telling us about. A mom, dad, and their 3 sons. They started May 31st and are doing a flop-flop. We walked and talked with them all the way into town. We then continued on to the home where we are getting a shower, doing laundry, and spending the night.We got to the home of Maria McCabe. She will be 93 years old in August and has been opening her home to hikers for 20 years. For $40 each we got a private room in her beautiful old home. She is so interesting to talk to. She told us she met her husband when he was stationed in Italy during WWII. They married in Piza, Italy and moved to the States. Her grandson, Eddie, watches over her and cooks her meals. We walked to the local grocery store and bought a sandwich of turkey, coleslaw, and thousand Island dressing. (We changed our minds about walking the 1.5 miles to the laundromat. I just hand-washed some clothes in the sink at the house.) Also chips, milk, and Hostess cupcakes. Really nutritious, right? But great town food!We hiked 8.7 miles today.