Date: 2016-07-13
From: Cape Cod, MA

To: Stealth Camp north of Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 1.5

Hike Your Own Hike is a common mantra out on the AT. It's a recognition amongst hikers that everyone has their own speed, capability, and motivations. Today was my day to hike my own hike. I jumped forward 400 miles from where I got off the trail in Pine Grove Furnace, PA to Salisbury, CT. Always before I had been able to rejoin the trail where I had previously gotten off, always going north, and always carrying all my stuff. There are levels of purity for thru hikers, for some they only need to walk each mile, for some they need to stay on the trail continuously always going in the same direction with their full pack. For others walking each mile is not so important, it's more about experiencing the the trail and missing a few miles here or there is not so important . It's part of the hike your own hike mantra. When I got off for 10 zeroes in June to help my family drive cross country, I had made the decision that taking time off from the trail for family events was more important than the purity of my hike. I also decided that by doing that, flip flopping to do a thru hike was not going to be an option this year. I would jump ahead some number of miles when I got off in July for my grandson's baptism and come back in the fall to finish them, instead of going back to Marion, VA and completing a thru hike as I had originally hoped for.I was now on a bus going from Cape Cod, MA to North Canaan, CT where I could get back on the trail in Northern Connecticut. My new plan was to get back on, hike Massachusetts, get off for another week to attend Oshkosh (EAA Airventure - world's largest fly-in and aviation event) and then return to where I got off and continue on to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. By skipping ahead it would ensure that I could make Maine in September, and then I could return to finish up PA, NJ, NY, and CT in October (fall colors!). I would dearly loved to have said I did a continuous thru hike, but these family and aviation events were more important to me in the long term. Hike your own hike.The bus ride was a nine hour trip which included a 3 hour layover in Pittsfield, MA. It killed most of the day but I was actually rather impressed that I could find bus service that would put me within 9 miles of the AT. When I arrived in North Canaan I called a shuttle driver listed in Awol's trail guide and was able to get a shuttle to the trail for $20. It was late by the time I got to the trail, after 7 pm, and would be getting dark soon. I started down the trail and it felt good to be back walking. I would walk as far as I could until I found a reasonable camp site. If nothing else, there was a shelter 3.5 miles away. It was pleasant walking with just some minor uphill sections, just enough to make me breathe once again. I came to the 1500 mile marker shortly after getting back on the trail; only 689.2 to Mt. Katahdin! (And I was a little sad that because I skipped ahead I would no longer come to a mile marker and be able to say I had done all those miles) After a mile and a half I came to a small stream and a nice stealth campsite. It was 8 pm and the sun had set behind the hills, it didn't take much for me to decide that this was the perfect stop for the night. Minimal miles for the day, but I was back on the trail, heading north!