Date: 2015-06-06
From: Mount Algo Shelter

To: HOME - Southington, CT
Miles today: 23.3

The game plan today was an easy 17.3 miles. I changed it up but it was for the better! The first couple of miles had some ups and downs and then it went to Saint John's Ledges. It is a large descent with huge boulders making it very tricky to get down. It was challenging and slow going when Heg and I did it years ago. It didn't matter that was in better shape now. All the way down to the road was very technical. Once I made it to River Road after coming down St. John's Ledges it was an easy 5 mile walk paralleling the Housatonic River. It's actually the longest river walk on the AT. After the river walk I came up with a great idea. It happened as I was climbing up Silver Hill. I was thinking that since today was going to be 17.3 miles, and tomorrow was going to be 6 miles, what if I did them both today and get picked up tonight instead? No sense of just doing a short day and getting picked up. I would save some time and get home a little bit earlier. So while I was on Silver Hill I called home to see if I could get a ride. With such short notice, Rick was able to come out and get me at 6 PM. So, I had about 12 miles left to do to get me to my destination.With a new goal, I put it into hide year. The terrain in the section leading to the road was terrible though. It was as boring as can be and the elevation change was killer. Who would've thought, Connecticut? It wasn't that there were enormous climbs, it was that there was no rhythm I could get into. As soon as I was in climbing. Mode it would start heading down. It was actually frustrating. The last 7 miles felt like each step was getting harder and harder. I was tired and all I wanted to do was go home. I had the motivation but it just felt like a very long, difficult day.I made it to the parking area in Falls Village shortly after 5 PM. I changed into my cleanest clothes for the drive home: my sleeping clothes. As I was waiting I met a new through hiker named Quaker. He's picking up the trail from where I was picked up today. He treated me to a Pepsi, cranberry juice, and coffee cake. It was a nice little pick me up! Around 6 PM Rick showed up. It wasn't a moment too soon. It was so nice to see a familiar face, my brother at that. We drove the hour home where I had a few chores before I saw my parents next door. I hit the shower, through and some laundry, and then mom and dad showed up. It was great to see them too!Before I went next-door to see them for a while and talk about the trip, I had to go to Taco Bell and feed my cravings from the last three months. I brought the food over and we sat around for quite a while. We all enjoyed the time together again. It would've been perfect if Nikki was there but she was still away on a camping trip.After being over there for a couple hours I headed home to wash more gear and relax. It was so nice to be home, use my own shower, and not have to go to a coin laundry, and nice to sleep in my own bed.The day could've been the toughest of the last 1490.1 miles. The anticipation of getting home for this short time was an absolute killer. It's nice to be home but it will be nicer when Nikki is home too.