Date: 2015-06-12
From: The Hemlocks Shelter

To: Mt Wilcox North Shelter
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: broken clouds

I had a decent nights sleep, but when I put my socks on, I discovered that one of them had a hole in it. Since I cannot figure out how else this could have happened, I think a mouse chewed it. My backpack also now has a tear in the side pocket, but that's from getting caught on a branch. I left about 7.15am when the sun was just starting to warm up. The first part of the day was nice and gentle, mostly. Then came a nice flat section over some fields. Then came a flat section through a pine forest that was actually hellish. The forest was filled with mosquitoes. It was so bad that at times it felt like I was wading through them. It was so bad that they actually managed to fly inside my head net. I killed 5 of them inside my head net alone. It was so bad that 10 Speed said afterwards that he "felt like SweetBlood". I rushed through the forest and didn't stop for a second. It seemed to go on forever, and I felt trapped inside the mosquito zone of death. Eventually I escaped out the otherside, right into the path of a large collarless Doberman. I couldn't see any owner. I started my now usual 'surprise at seeing a dog' routine. "HELLO doggie! HELLO! Where is your owner? HELLO!" Usually the owner appears and calls their dog back, and today was no different. At least this dog didn't even growl at me, thankfully. After that, there was another nice flat section around the edges of more fields and alongside the Housatonic river. I've crossed this river several times now. Then, more straight up climbing. It seems like every time there is a little flat part, the rest of the trail really makes you work for it. The rocks are constant, up and down, up and down. My knees and ankles hurt quite a bit. Many of the rocks are angled so that you have to really trust the grip on your shoes and your balance. I don't really trust either, so the rock hopping/climbing/sliding/falling is always a bit of a challenge. I had lunch on East mountain, on a rock overlooking the valley. It was quite beautiful, but very hot sitting in the sun. I was nearly out of water by that point. It's so hot these days that I'm just draining my Camelbak constantly. I got to the next shelter and the next water spot about an hour later. I stayed at that shelter for a while, chatting with some weekenders. The shelter there was half eaten by a porcupine. The weekenders asked if I carried a tent, and I said, "Yes, but I preferred to use shelters because I'm lazy". They laughed and said, "Lazy? But you're a thru-hiker!" I don't really think of it the same way.I had 7 miles of what felt like a whole lot of uphill. There was a very serene little lake on the way where I stopped for a moment. Further up, I saw a beaver pond with trees half gnawed away. I didn't see any beavers. But I have seen a lot of chipmunks, squirrels, and frogs today. At the current shelter, the hikers were talking about sightings of bears and mountain lions. I really hope I do not see either of those any time soon. I'm camping again tonight, though there is a chance of rain. The shelter is very old and has an actual bird living inside it though, so I'm taking my chances with my tent. Tomorrow is another long day. Today was the first time in a while that I've actually done more than twenty miles. It was hard work. It made me think about how even though I don't want the trail to end, I really want the hard parts to end. But I think that the exhaustive hiking is just beginning.