Appalachian Trail day 127 Wiley shelter to Kent, Connecticut (Mile 1,460.1 to 1473.2)

I wake up around 5am this morning, but since no one else is awake, I lay In my hammock, playing on my phone,  which is something I rarely have the downtime to do. At 5:30 it starts raining, albeit lightly, and I'm so glad that I am still snuggled in my downy goodness. A few minutes later I get a text from Kelly saying that she's awake, so I propel myself out of the hammock because today is a town day! 

I pack up camp quickly, and 30 minutes later we are in front of the shelter finishing our packing, eating a snack, and chatting with Tad, his daughter Earthstar, and another hiker named Day-oh. By the time we say farewell we are on the trail at 7:20. 

I am really dragging today,  and my legs feel like they weigh a thousand pounds.  I had my morning coffee,  but maybe a little extra caffeine will help, so I suck on a Nu'un electrolyte+caffeine tab. They are pretty gross when not dissolved in water, but it should do the trick. 

One and a half miles after leaving the shelter we cross Hoyt Road and re-enter the woods and find a sign stating that we are leaving New York and are now in Connecticut. The celebration is short-lived, however, since this is the first of three border crossings between New York and Connecticut.  Just as in the Smokies, where we had one foot in Tennessee and the other in North Carolina,  we will do the same with New York and Connecticut for the next 10 miles. 

The trail climbs up and over in a hill, and after ascending over 600 feet the trail goes right back down again to meander beside the Ten Mile River for a short stretch, before crossing the river on a  footbridge that's big by Appalachian Trail standards. 

After traversing the Ten Mile River, the trail heads upstream against the Housatonic River. The depth of the Housatonic is low, judging by the amount of exposed rock above the water level. Because the river appears to be lower than normal doesn't mean the river is calm, by any stretch, as the water is rushing around the huge boulders and the sound it makes as it violently crashes down the hill is deafening.  

We descend the hill and cross Wood's Road, where one can take a short walk to a covered bridge called Bulls Bridge. The trail continues straight onto Schagticoke Road and turns from paved to stone, and we walk along it for some time before the trail leaves the gravel road and turns back up the mountain for another 8 miles and 1,800 feet of climbing. 

I am dreading the climb; the extra caffeine I ingested earlier did nothing to help me feel better,  and I want nothing more than to take a nap. I almost feel like I'm getting sick. I need to get my life together because we still have a big ridge to hike. 

I am looking at the map when I have an epiphany. The trail leaves this road but then descends to the same road on the other side of the ridge. I tell Kelly this; throwing it out there, not expecting for a second that she would want to skip any of the trail, even if it is only a couple miles. Surprisingly,  she expresses that she feels the same!

So we continue on the road,  which parallels the Housatonic River for the next four miles. We giggle when we think of how Ladybug came up the road after leaving the Fingerboard Shelter with her arms over her head,  poles extended in her hands,  shouting "I'm walking to Maine!," and we do the same. 

The road takes us through the ground of a prestigious boarding school called the Kent School, and we gasp when we Google the tuition: $75,000 per year for high school!! The school is empty and the ground eerily quiet this time of year, but I can imagine the bustle of the grounds during the school year. 

The only activity we now witness, other than bicyclists and cars going by, is that of a bald eagle on the side of the river, paying attention to the water. It launches into the air and I get a grainy picture of it in flight. I am so glad we walked this way.

We are almost to our vehicle and picking blackberries on the side of the road when we hear a loud crack from just behind us to our left.  We turn just in time to see a huge tree branch crash to the ground,  taking some smaller trees with it.  We have seen a lot of downed trees on the trail,  but haven't witnessed any actually falling.  Thankfully the trees fell away from the road and towards the river. 

Within 10 minutes of the falling tree,  we are back at the vehicle and thrilled with our decision.  It's only noon,  so by the time we drive down to Fahnestock and pick up my car and then drive to Salisbury, we can have a leisurely afternoon, which is exactly what we do. 

By 4pm, we are at Maria McCabe's House, a hostel in Salisbury, Connecticut,  and showered, our laundry is running,  all the belongings of my pack are spread out in the backyard airing out,  and we go into the affluent but quaint town for a delicious dinner of cioppino for me and lobster risotto for Kelly.

We are delighted to see Daddy Long Legs once again,  as he is staying here as well! And another gentleman is here named Chicken Legs. I am thrilled to finally meet him,  since I have been reading his shelter log entries for the last two months. We chat before we retire to bed,  ready for another day in the trail tomorrow!

Good night!

Today's Stats: 10.5 miles,  1,176 feet gain

Trail Stats: 1,473 miles,  286K gain

Appalachian Trail day 126 - Morgan Stewart Shelter to Wiley Shelter (Mile 1443 to Mile 1460)

We decided last night to have a leisurely morning with no alarms and It was wonderful to wake up and lay in my hammock for an hour. I wait until I hear Ladybug stirring before I get up. This is the first time in weeks that I was not uncomfortably hot at night, and I loved  snuggling in my down quilt against the chill.

We get packed up and have breakfast before being ready to leave at 7:30. Ladybug is still getting ready and she can't believe that "sleeping in" for us means up and ready this early. 

The morning is cool, with temperatures in the low 60's There is a 40-percent chance of rain in the forecast, but it isn't raining when we leave. A short time later the rain starts, but it's hitting the upper canopy and not making it to the lower woods. Kelly stops to put on her pack rain cover,  but I decide that I'm not stopping until it starts pouring. 

Fortunately for me, the sprinkle stops almost as quickly as it started. The trail surface Is really nice here. We do have some big rocks to go up and around, but the trail is mostly soft dirt covered with leaves and some jutting roots and rocks, but nothing unmanageable.

The first six miles pass without fanfare. We stop at a really beautiful, large stream to filter water before crossing over a bridge and going up the next ridge, before skirting around a gorgeous lake called Nuclear Lake.

The lake was the site of a company called United Nuclear Corporation that used uranium and plutonium in research, and in the 70s an accident released plutonium dust in the area.  The water has been tested and to be found free of contamination, however I think I will take only pictures and get my drinking water from elsewhere!

The trail goes up along the ridge 500 feet above the valley, and three miles later we come to an overlook. The view below is across a valley with pasture lands and well kept barns,  and in the distance a community of massive white homes around a lake. 

Leaving the viewpoint, the trail passes through an area choked thick with wild roses on both sides of the trail. The smell of the roses is ambrosia. 

We descend past the Telephone Pioneers Shelter (and I am wondering where the AMC gets these names!), but we don't stop because we are on a mission for food. A Malaysian food truck is parked at the next road crossing, just another mile and a big descent down the hill. On the way down the hill, we walk by a massive oak tree. I can't believe the size of this beauty,  and the pictures do not do it justice!

We make the descent and walk on a boardwalk through a marsh of cattails and elderberry toward a road. Baby watersnakes are curled up on the boardwalk, soaking up the sun.

We leave the marsh and step onto the shoulder of the road. A a sign reading "Malaysian Food Truck" points to the left, and 150 yards later we are standing at a pull off and ordering lunch! 

The man in the food truck instructs us to wait at the picnic table behind the truck,  and when we walk around back we see Fatal And another man. We are chatting when Ladybug joins us. We end up sitting for about an hour,  eating a delicious lunch of noodles,  pork, bok choy, and stuffed wonton. 

I am so stuffed I need to lay down,  but we still have 6 miles and 1100 feet of climbing to do,  so i hoist my pack and we all walk up the road to rejoin the AT for a lovely pasture walk up a hill. 

No pasture walk would be complete without some big styles that are difficult to walk over at any time. Add a 30-pound pack and a full belly, and the style crossings are not easy. 

I manage, although it's not graceful,  to say the least.  Then it's time to go straight up for the next two miles. I straggle behind,  since I'm the suffering-in-silence type when I'm in the woods. I listen to true crime podcasts,  which makes me feel better, and I don't have to talk and breathe at the same time. 

I lollygag once I am on the ridge, and once my stomach doesn't feel like it's going to burst, the hike is very enjoyable.  The woods are beautiful and quiet, the bustle of the road far behind. 

Fifteen miles into the day and one mile from the shelter, I stop to filter enough water for the night.  I am heavily laden with water and trudging up my last hill of the day when I almost step on a baby bird in the middle of the trail.  I shoo it into the leaves on the side,  knowing that someone coming behind probably wouldn't see it. 

My good deed done for the day,  I continue and 15 minutes later arrive at the Wiley Shelter to find several people already set up. I put up my tarp and hammock, and several more people come in,  including Tad and one of his daughters. The other daughter had to get off trail, but I am impressed with how far they have come since we first met them. 

I sit at the picnic table with the others,  but I am still full from lunch and have no desire for dinner,  but I make myself drink a protein shake with fruit and vegetable powder,  because I will be starving later if I don't. 

I say goodnight and I am out at 8:20 pm.

Today's Stats: 16.6 miles, 2,600 feet gain

Trail Stats: 1,460 miles,  285K feet gain