Date: 2004-07-23
From: Kent, CT. ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Zero Day

To: West Cornwall Road
Miles today: 15.9

Day #131 What a difference a day makes. I guess I really needed the day off. I was the first one up at our little tent village at St. Andrews Episcopal Church. Across the street was a market to get my luxury item (coffee) and a hard roll. Met Quest and Hawk at 6:30 and we were on the trail by 7:00. The weather forecast was not good. Cloudy with high humidity in the morning; a cold front in the afternoon with heavy rain. The weatherperson had been wrong before, I was hoping they were wrong again.Made the climb out of the valley and took a break at St. Johns Ledges. There was a massive low cloud cover and the humidity was so high the haze obliterated the great views. The trail goes over a rock ledge and boulder field making for an interesting descent, hands over feet. The trail then levels out and follows along the Housatonic River. About 1:00 it started to drizzle and within 30 minutes the rain came down in sheets. The air temperature was rather warm so I hiked in the rain without my rain gear. It was a pleasant feeling having the cool water wash away the sweat from the morning's hike. I also felt Mother Nature was performing a cleansing for me, washing away the negativity from yesterday. Rain is a source of rebirth and growth in the forest and it was at this moment I too was nurtured, given the gift to continue my journey. Just before West Cornwall Road I met up with Quest and Hawk. Everyone was drenched to the bone. They were going to find a room to spend a dry night, so I asked if we could split it three ways. No problem. Hawk and Quest stayed on one side of the road hitchhiking, and I was on the other side in the pouring rain. Whoever got a car to stop first was the direction we were going. A car stopped in my direction and we ended up going to Sharon, CT. However, we were in an exclusive area of Connecticut, hotel rooms went for over $100 per person with a minimum stay of two nights. We ended up staying at Maria's, a private residence that takes in hikers. Maria is an elderly German woman who loves the company of hikers. Her home is pleasant, clean and comfortable. I see things in nature that makes me laugh. For instance, in the Susquehanna Valley, north of Boiling Springs, I was walking the trail through high grass on either side. Directly in front of me an adolescent skunk comes out of the grass and is walking down the trail. At first, I try to scare it off by making noise. No luck. Bang my walking stick on the ground, no luck. Last resort was to walk around the animal. As I neared, the little skunk would arch its back and raise its tail. This was just a warning - if I persisted the spray would follow. The critter immediately had my attention. I now knew who was in charge. I backed off and skunk continued down the trail. We played this game for some time until it got tired of me, turned and went back into the grass. Gnats are an annoying insect to deal with while hiking. They like to fly around your head and eyes when the days are humid and overcast. I get use to the bugs flying around my face but, what I can't understand is the Kamikaze Gnat. For no apparent reason, one of the gnats will suddenly turn, fly towards my face and dive bomb into my eyeball. You see it coming at the turn but they are so fast there¢s nothing you can do to stop it. Lastly, I was walking through the forest in New York near Shenandoah Mountain when off to my right a fast moving object is cresting a small hill and heading in my direction. As the animal approaches, I can see that it is a yearling deer with faded spots just flying at a full gallop. I quickly look around for the mother who is nowhere in sight. I look back at the deer and just as it is abreast of me, the yearling turns its head in my direction without breaking its stride, looks at me for a second and I hear in my head, "Not now Krispykritter. I'm late for dinner and mom¢s going to be upset!" The yearling's muscles are taut, the body streamlined; as it turns its head forward, head bobbing with a gait like a thoroughbred horse and disappears down the hill. Ahhh, the wonders of nature.