Date: 2015-07-24
From: Hitching Post Motel, CT 4, Cornwall Bridge

To: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: broken clouds

I stopped by the Cornwall Country Market for breakfast on my way out of town. It is a cool (although a little pricy) place. The folks there are very hiker friendly. It is also the only place in town for food if you are traveling by foot. I then hiked along the paved road over 1 mile back to the trail. When I got off the trail a few days ago there was a big warning sign posted advising northbound hikers to take a blue blazed trail to cross a brook coming up. The warning claimed that the rocks across the brook were unstable. That warning weighed heavily on me the last few days. I do not want to take any unnecessary risks, but I also want to stick to the white blazed trail and I do not want to walk extra miles.I decided to hike down to the brook before deciding what to do. There had been no rain for the past few days. The water was not high or unusually swift. So I stuck to the white blazed trail and carefully crossed the brook, with absolutely no problems. The sign may have been posted when the water was high and forgotten about.The trail was beautiful. Unfortunately the humidity was again VERY high. Almost immediately sweat was just dripping from me - my arms, my face, and trickling down my back. Of course every inch of fabric on my body was also soaking wet. The humidity makes it very difficult for me to breath, especially on climbs. I have to stop frequently to catch my breath, which slows my pace considerably. Even the young hikers seem to have problems with the humidity, but I think having pneumonia twice makes the humidity extra hard for me to breath.Fortunately there were several good water sources along the trail. I made sure I was drinking plenty of water and stopped a few times to collect and filter water, and eat snacks.I noticed a father with 2 high school age sons also hiking the trail. They were loaded down with big and heavy car camping gear, and did not seem to be enjoying their hike at all. I also noticed they were not filtering their water, they did not seem to be drinking much water, and the older son, who was loaded down with the most gear, seemed to be really struggling.I explained that I was a Wilderness First Responder and asked if I could help. They were clearly not drinking or eatting enough to replace the water, minerals, and electrolytes they were losing to sweat. With the father's permission I gave the boy some electrolyte replacement and helped them find the nearest highway so they could get off the trail before the situation got any worse. I was glad I could help.Of course with all the liquids going in, they must also come out. For men, it is no big deal. But for women, it is another story. If I wore a skirt, I could pee with my pack on. But I do not like the thought of things crawling up under my skirt, so I wear what I call zip off pants - meaning the legs zip off to make shorts.Over the years, I have learned that the location to pee needs to be carefully selected. To get my pants down I have to take off my pack. So I have to look for a rock or dry spot to drop my pack. I also look for a spot with a very slight slope and no foliage. The slope is so the pee runs behind me and does not pool at my boots. The lack of foliage is to avoid poison ivy, oak, etc.; and animals will strip the leaves off the plants to eat the salt released in the pee. It is also important to avoid hard surfaces, like rocks and hard packed dirt, to avoid splashing on legs, boots, pants, socks, etc.I just crossed West Cornwall Road, which goes to Sharon, CT, when I realized I needed to go. I carefully selected a nice dry rock for my pack, and a nice slightly sloped pine needle covered area for me next to a log. I undid my pants and was in the process of lowering them when I heard a muffled noise in the leaves on the other side of the log.Several times a day I come up on a chipmunk, which usually results in a noisy dash in the leaves and a high pitched sqweek, like a dog sqweeky toy. So initially I thought the noise was just another chipmunk. But then I remembered that I have also come up on snakes, which usually results in a muffled noise in the leaves. So far I had only seen black, corn, rat, and garter snakes. I decided before I proceeded any further, I better see what was on the other side of the log.I peaked over the log and saw something slithering in the leaves. Then I saw the pattern. It was a timber rattlesnake! A VERY big one. And it was headed for the log and where I was squatting with my pants halfway down!! I pulled my pants up and held them with one hand, and with the other hand I reached for the longest stick I could find in case I needed to fend off the snake. I did not want the snake to come any closer to me or my pack.The snake appeared to be on a mission. It slithered under the log, past me, and across the trail. The snake was absolutely beautiful. The body was at least twice as thick as my wrist, and it was 3 to 4 feet long with about 8 to 10 rattles. Other than slightly ruffling the leaves, it never made a sound - no rattle! Fortunately it had no interest in me and never felt threatened.Once it disappeared, I realized I missed a great opportunity to get a close up photo. But one hand was holding up my pants up, and the other a long stick to fend off the snake, so I could not have held a camera anyways.When I was in Cornwall Bridge a few locals had warned me about the rattlesnakes. They were right.I finished my business, but was still a little shaken up. I put on my pack, and rolled on up the trail, which took me up on some rock outcroppings. The locals warned me that the rocks were the rattle snake breeding grounds. I was extra vigilant as I climbed up and over the rocks. The trail took me through a rock formation similar to the Lemon Squeezer in NY, but not as narrow.I decided to call it a day at the Pine Brook Shelter. The high humidity and pack heavy with my resupply made for a tough day, and the next shelter was over 10 miles away.The AT is calling. I am hoping for less humidity.