Date: 2003-06-23
From: CT341, Kent, CT 

To: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to 
Miles today: 7.0

Aloha! Such a day I have had! A good day but such a day! Let's chat, shall we?   First and foremost I owe much to my hostesses for the evening. Not only did the Ridge Runner allow me a place to shower, dry out, did my laundry (she did, not me), give me sweats to wear for the day, but also gave me a soft comfy couch to sleep on, and great company to go along with everything else. She and her partner Surefoot were the epitome of trail angels to this wet and weary woman and I thank them profusely. Mahalo nui loa to all.   With lots of errands to run in town and 7 miles to my predetermined camp destination, I was still allowed a leisurely wake-up. The Ridge Runner and Surefoot did what they needed to do and began their day in opposite directions - one to work and one to town with me for breakfast. I'm thinking the Ridge Runner got the better end of that deal!   On the way into town we stopped by the Outfitters so I could have them look at my hiking poles. Those lovely new poles purchased in Harpers Ferry are having problems with their expanders - not expanding.   It can be a real irritant to sit in the pouring rain and fight with them for 20 minutes when they're needed to hold up your tent. Grrrr... Upon my return from breakfast the outfitter had determined that both lower pole sections need replacing and gave me the phone number to Leki who will mail drop new ones one week out. Excellent! That's why everyone loves Leki. The only problem is that it wasn't until I was halfway to the campsite that I remembered to call them! {sigh} Guess what I'll be doing from a ridgeline tomorrow?   While at the outfitters, the first time of many times, I was introduced to another thru-hiker named Rooster. As I stood and looked at her she smiled and said "yes, of 2001". I started laughing immediately. Rooster is another hardheaded woman. While hiking in 2001 she also first cracked bones in her foot, continued to hike and ended up breaking one in three places. She left the trail just long enough to mend and then returned to start south from Katahdin. Not long into her southbound hike she busted up her foot again. She headed home determined to continue another day. Her day is this year. Sound like anyone else you know? During both of our mending processes we commiserated with each other. Rooster also had a journal on Trail Journals in 2001 but has opted not to do so this year. Check it out for a full accounting of her saga.   Anyway, for me it was great fun to put names and faces together after all this time. For her she was in dire need of seeing other women on the trail so it was a morale lifter for her. She joined us for breakfast and the trail tales began. Poor Ridge Runner, she didn't know what she'd gotten into when she accepted my breakfast invitation.   From there it was back and forth between the post office and the outfitters for me. Char had sent another mail drop to Kent for me so I had lots to straighten out. I don't even know what I was thinking telling her to send something like six or seven days worth of food! I packed the seven and could barely lift the pack (or so it felt). I cut it down to six and then to five. I've since decided that I will no longer carry any more than four days worth if at all possible. When the winter stuff arrives later on there's no way I can fit it all or carry it. As it stands, I have now bounced ahead lots of wonderful good eats for the future. I still wonder where my mind was when I planned this out.   With the help of two wonderful trail angels, Dan and Maria, that offered me a ride back to the trailhead I FINALLY got back to hiking at 4:30! Unbelievable. Kent is nice but it's not a suck you in type of town. Too expensive.   As for the trail, it did its normal by starting UP and continuing so. I've decided that what's known as PUDS (pointless UPs and downs) is actually Preparatory UPs and downs. I'm hearing horror stories of the New Hampshire Mountains so Connecticut must be the beginning of the preparation stages with Massachusetts and Vermont being the later stages. I went UP and I went down today. Some of the UPs took my breath away and some of the downs worked havoc on my knees. (I've since learned that it was a NH team that helped build the last killer.) It was definitely good preparatory training without the major elevation changes included. PUDs - bless 'em!   Part of today's hike took me through a red-pine plantation. In recent years the pines along the "river walk" north of Kent have seen hard times due to an insect plight. Most of the trees are now dead. The CT Chapter of the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Cub) has harvested some of the dying trees to build new shelters. The Ten Mile River Lean-to is one such shelter. It's a wonderful idea for recycling the environment. My hat is off to CT.   Okay, even with the UPs I did really well timing-wise. I averaged about 3 mph. That's excellent for me when major UPs are involved. The pending thunderstorm may have been a major player in my dedication to speed but that's beside the point. Especially since it never did anything more than sprinkle. Anyway, I'm pleased.   Speaking of weather today was the fifth day since May 21 that CT has seen the sun. It was a gorgeous blue sky with absolutely no clouds until the thunderheads rolled in and by. Blue and hot! Today's high of 87 from yesterday's of 60. Tomorrow is supposed to break 90. Too weird. It'll probably be freezing come Thursday. Oh well, definitely keeps life interesting.   Okay, I've rambled on more than enough. The Ridge Runner and I are sharing the shelter tonight (rain?) and she's probably damned tired of listening to me fight the stupid June bugs over here. Pesky little buzzers. So for her sake, and yours, I'll close for tonight and wish you a sound sleep. I'm hoping for my best one on the trail yet tonight myself. Just received my 3/4 length Thermarest and sent my Zrest home. It may weigh more but it's definitely more comfy. But to make sure I need to say aloha and try it. So aloha!BSandTs: lots of sweat. What shower!AandPs: the knees definitely felt the heavier pack and downsMandGs: it's hot!...waah!Critter count: 4x chipmunks, 4x squirrels, 1x ground hog (in town in a parking lot), a convention of ravens, and 2x deer