Category: 2018 Appalachian Trail

We had been warned that Round About was an early riser, but the Sassy Bear combo are just as early. We could hear them at 6. Bunny has been saying she wants to regularly get up early, here was her first test. She failed. We got up at 7.  Even with our late start, we were not the last ones packed up to leave. That honor went to our new Patches stand-in, Mud Bug.  We can always count on her to be the last one to break camp from here on out. Like Patches, she hikes on her own schedule and often ends her day after dark. 

Round About, Sassy, and Bear left about 15 minutes ahead of us, but we caught up with them at Warner Hill about 3 miles up the trail. Bear is a retired NASA mechanical engineer (NOT responsible for O-rings). I like hiking with this group for several reasons: we are all about the same age, they are fun, they have great senses of humor, they occasionally laugh at my jokes and not just at me, they make Bunny walk faster, and, most importantly, I am the youngest in this crowd. I get to make geriatric jokes about the old folks. It’s just like Friday night wine club all over again.

I did have some concerns about walking behind Round About. She had bought a dozen eggs from the Cookie Lady last night; 6 fresh and 6 hard boiled. She has eaten all but one in the last 12 hours. I’m afraid that she is just an ignition source away from being a trail disaster.  Bunny had to stop for her mid morning coffee release so we fell behind. The first one we caught up to was actually just an unattended pack. Round About had dropped her pack and ran up the hill. The eggs chose to not convert to gas but took a more solid exit route. We could see a white glow coming from the trees above, so we hiked on to give her privacy. Unfortunately, a group of about 20 day hikers passed us heading in the opposite direction. Unlike Samantha B, they did not get a full frontal, but got a full moon instead. 

We all diverted for a lunch break at Kay Wood Shelter. Bunny and I like to take advantage of picnic tables for lunch. Everyone else was ambivalent on the side trip until we got to the shelter and they saw the privy. The egg exit routine passed down the line. I am thankful that I was raised Catholic. We oppose abortion in all forms, including little oval chicken abortions. 

Round About had found an Irish Pub in town and mentioned having a Reuben and a beer which was the driving motivation for the final two and a half miles to town. Bunny took the lead and practically ran up the last 400’ climb. I always like it when she hikes with other women (even adulteresses) because it brings out her inner beast. When she’s like this, I’d be willing to bet she could take out any woman 5 years older than her that is overweight and bedridden in a “no holds barred” grudge match—she’s a lover, not a fighter, so she needs some “slight” advantages.

I could hear Bear and Bunny talking about her stuffed bunny mascot that she carries with her. He asked her its name and I said “Pervert” because he was always sniffing her underwear last year when she hung it on the back of her pack to dry. Bunny didn’t like that and started calling him Burt—Burt the Bunny. Bear said he couldn’t carry a bear mascot because it would be too heavy.  Just a couple minutes later, I got to the railroad tracks and saw a small stuffed bear hanging on the crossing sign. Bear now has a bear mascot to finish the trip with (albeit a bit worn and dirty—more like a thru-hiker). 

They walked with us to Tom Lavardi’s house where we were going to camp for the night. Sassy and Bear are going to zero here tomorrow so they have reservations at the only hotel in town. They offered to let us take showers but Bunny turned down the offer. We showered just 5 days ago and we’re going to take a zero in another two days so we can wait. My germaphobe wife has officially become hiker trash. We agreed to all meet for dinner after THEY showered (believe it or not, a shower sounded good to me even if I put the same dirty clothes back on, Bunny is going primitive). 

We walked up to their hotel and saw Freeman pass us in a car. We hadn’t seen him for a couple of days. We talked to him and the driver of the car (who turned out to be Tom Lavardi) and found out that Freeman was suffering from heat exhaustion. He had gotten to the Cookie Lady a few hours ahead of us, but had overexerted himself and passed out. Tom went to pick him up and bring him to the hotel where he passed out again. Today, Tom took him to the emergency room where he had blood work, x-rays, and was given IV fluids. He’s ok now, but was in heat exhaustion. He’s going to relax for a few days before heading home to Switzerland. We’ve been worried about him since Nonna left. He was obviously pushing too hard. It’s not just us feeling the effects of heat. 

The Irish Pub is closed until Tuesday.  There’s another sandwich shop in town that has Reubens, so we meet there only to find out that they are out of saurkrout—probably for the best with all the eggs that have been consumed in the last 24 hours. Bunny and I end up with burgers. Echo showed up as we were finishing up and told us about an ice cream shop down the street. I tried to show restraint, but Bear and Bunny were all in. Only Round About opted for beer instead. It was like Europe all over again, I didn’t want any ice cream, but I wasn’t going to buy one for Bunny and not have one myself. The sacrifices a good husband must make to keep peace and happiness alive. 

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Pancakes start at 6:30. Bunny is always saying we need to get up earlier and since we are sleeping on the floor where breakfast is served, she can’t snooze her way out of this one. What she can do (and does) is grab the last blueberry pancake of the morning. It was a special treat and Bunny LOVES blueberries. Some women love their husbands and will at least share a bite, especially when it’s already her second pancake and her husband hasn’t had one yet. Fortunately, Bunny is too strong to be swayed by sentimentality. I did not get to taste a single blueberry after dreaming of blueberry pancakes for the last two days. Bunny is a heartless rabbit. 

Chad texted us and told us VT was a little cooler, but the mosquitoes aren’t getting any better there. Boiling Point caught up with us hiking today. He got a hotel room to get away from the mosquitoes last night. Shawn Perks used to sit in the full sun wearing black on the Camino last year. He wasn’t at all bothered by mosquitoes or flys landing on and biting him. As long as it was less than 40C (104F), he’d say it was a beautiful spring day.  “Look up mate, nothing’s trying to kill ya heer.  Back home, we’d have 7 spiders lined up on the porch that’ll kill ya within a minute. So quit being a whimpering Pom and sit here in the sun and ave a beeer with me.”  The point is Aussies aren’t bothered by little things. Boiling Point is an Aussie as well and he had to get a room to get some peace from them. He did mention it was a bit cool so he turned on the heat—it was only 85 yesterday. 

I’m holding out hope that we’ll be able to do more miles when the humidity drops. After a good hard rain, the humidity will sometimes drop. Hope springs eternal. We were sweating before we even got back to the trail, but that may have been influenced from one of the foulest smelling privys we have ever had the misfortune to choke on.  It took me three rounds of overcoming my gag reflex before I could ascend the throne. 

We did get a couple of magic Gatorades and a ginger ale today thanks to our early(ish) start. We were on the trail by 8:30 even though we were only planning on 11 miles today. The early rise and 4 cups of strong coffee did get us motivated (and juices flowing which made the aforementioned throne room visit mandatory). The further north we go, the less we are disliking the trail.  We’re still not back to the like stage—I’m hoping that returns with lower temps, humidity, and bugs. 

In the mean time, Mosquitochussets is a bit less buggy. At least the gnats aren’t constantly in your face, but these mosquitoes are hellish—and organized. Straws are drawn and the short straw has to fly in your face while 200 kamikaze squeeters go for the back of your arms and legs, out of sight, while you are distracted. The most frightening aspect is that the mosquitoes are actually watching the trail and will not begin the maneuver until you are engaged in a treacherous climb requiring all of your attention to keep from falling and sustaining major injury or even loss of life. We have checked with other hikers at night. It’s not our imagination. This is an all out war that the mosquitoes are engaged in. We need to bring back DDT and fast. If Condors have to die to win this war, so be it. We just need to get some of their DNA so we can Jurassic them back into existence later. 

We stopped for a snack at October Mountain Shelter. Sassy and Bear came into the shelter after we had been there a few minutes. We talked them into continuing on to the Cookie Lady another 2.2 miles ahead. We told her there was free camping, blueberries to pick, and often free cookies for thru-hikers. Since they are hikers, we had them at free cookies, at least we had Bear, Sassy is eating gluten free (can you say it sucks to be Sassy?). 

When we got there, Round About was already set up and the Cookie Lady was gone. We know they are an older couple and they let hikers stay for free in exchange for some chores to help out on the farm. We all ate supper while we waited for Marylyn to return from shopping. When she got back, Roy (her 88 year old husband) asked us to mow the grass around the blue berry bushes.  We were glad to help out. While the men were out working for the right to camp, Bunny and Sassy  set up the tents by themselves. This was the first time Bunny had ever done it unassisted and she did a great job. She even came up with an improvement for extending the sidewalls. It looks like she has picked up a new camping task.

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Duckie and Tiba were set up in the shelter last night. We didn’t realize it until we heard them talking while we were eating. I thought we were going slow since Kent, but then we saw them in Great Barrington which made us feel better. It seems like everyone is being affected by the high humidity and heat. In addition, they may have gotten a beer bug in GB which caused them to take a double zero. 

I heard the most disgusting thing in town two days ago—only 5 months to Christmas. I hate Christmas and everything associated with it (quit hyperventilating Pami—I’m not even sure she takes her tree down at all she loves Christmas so much; kind of odd for a Floridian). I haven’t liked Xmas since I found out (spoiler alert to Bunny’s kids, but I know they don’t read this blog) that Santa isn’t real.  I was only 4 but felt guilty knowing that my family was buying me all that stuff. 

My sister loved Christmas. She got to be a great gift wrapper because she would unwrap all the gifts to see what was in each package and then re-wrap it. If she hadn’t started telling my brother and me what we had gotten, she would have gotten away with it. Once my parents were on to her, they tried putting a padlock on their closet door. I remember coming home from school and finding Beth with a hammer and screwdriver taking the hinges off the door to get in the closet. I ain’t cheap, but I can be bought. My silence cost her $20. My brother pretended to have morals and ratted her out. 

So why do I hate it. My sister died from cancer 26 years ago. She died in January. She loved Christmas so much that she already had all of her presents ready for the next year. She had made everyone in the family gifts. On Christmas Day, 11 months after my sister died, I got a handmade Christmas tree skirt. She had spent tens of hours working on it while she was enduring chemo and radiation. She wanted us to love the season as much as she did. Christmas is all about the giving, but how can you give anything to someone who’s been dead for a year?

 

The only thing sadder would be to have your birthday on Christmas. My grandfather was a Christmas baby. All it ever got him was the next larger size of Old Spice aftershave. I’ve also got to feel bad for Daniel J. Not only does he cowboy camp on the AT (right in the middle of the trail), but he’s a Christmas baby. It never works out. Daniel was born on Christmas and all I ever got him was a little sympathy in my blog. 

Like Christmas, today was a day of disappointments. We came across two different attempts at trail magic, but we got there too late. Often times, people will leave coolers out with a few cold drinks.  If you are fast, or an early riser, you get the magic.  We are neither fast or early risers so we get to see a lot of trash filled coolers. 

There was also a trail side stand which Cheesy had told us about. It’s an honor system set up, but there might be mice inside, so be sure to check any packages for chewing before purchase. He had been by it only 2 days ago. We got there and it was empty. The only thing there was a bag full of money. A note on the fridge said popsicles in the freezer for $.25 each. Maybe it won’t be a total bust. I opened the freezer and they were liquid—the electricity was off. 

At least we will make it to Upper Goose Pond Cabin for the night.  There’s a full time caretaker on site that makes pancakes for all the thru-hikers. It has 18 bunks so we should get to sleep inside. We got to the turn and it started to pour. We just got out our umbrellas and walked the 1/2 mile side trail to see a half dozen tents already up. When we got to the porch, Duckie told us it was full. The bunks were all taken by 1 and it was 7:30.

I didn’t want to set a tent up or cook in the rain.  We just ate a bunch of snacks and asked the caretaker if we could sleep on the floor downstairs. We weren’t the only ones to ask. In the end, there were 10 of us sleeping on the floor in addition to the 18 in bunks, plus another dozen people outside tenting. We are in the bubble. 

We did get to see Iron Fist again, but got the sad news that she is getting off trail.  Her ankle is not holding up and she doesn’t want to risk permanent damage.  Duckie and Tiba are getting off tomorrow, but just for a few days to go to a concert in Boston.  Freeman was tenting behind the cabin, but stayed the evening in his tent. I’m worried that he’s missing out on the social aspect of the trail because of language. Other than those few, we knew no one else there. 

We sat out on the porch talking until midnight (the hiker one). Bunny crawled under a table and tried to sleep while people were hanging around the fireplace talking. I was impressed that she would even crawl under a table with her claustrophobia being so bad. I was one of the last ones up, I hate to miss out on stuff. I wonder if I may have had some influence on my niece, Jill. As far as I know, to this day she is always the last one to bed afraid that she might miss out on something. 

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I am a little peeved with y’all. I asked for one simple thing for all my hours toiling over and carrying an IPad on the trail, that a few of you take the time to tell Bunny to give me a back rub. The only person who responded actually voted for Bunny to get a back rub (she is on the verge of being marked as spam on future comments if she doesn’t start flying straight).

Today started out as another dreary day. It had rained a lot through the night and the skies were dark when we finally got up to eat some breakfast. While we were eating, it started to rain again, but not bad enough that I was going to let Bunny go for another zero.  There were lots of thru-hikers staying at our place that we hadn’t met as of yet, plus lots of sobos. 

Rather than hitch a ride back to the trail, we called Joe (the local ride trail angel) and asked for him to drive us to the trail. Cheesy had already called so we jumped in with him. Joe told us that the Travel Lodge on the other end of town was completely full of thru-hikers trying to get out of the rain. I had no idea what a bunch of crybabies we are on the trail with. 

Joe also told us that both bubbles were crossing here and now. This is usual for Great Barrington.  The last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August will be the busiest for hikers here. Joe keeps tabs on most of the hikers passing through. Anyone he gives a ride to, he asks several questions of: Where are you from? When did you start? What was your number in Harpers Ferry (for nobos)? What kind of pack do you use? What’s your favorite color? (Red, no blue…argh!) Lastly, he takes a picture of everyone he gives a ride to and posts it on Instagram (JWSNMA). He was able to tell us about a lot of our friends ahead of us. We’re not as far behind as we thought. 

Just as we approached the trailhead drop off, we saw Freeman walking down the road. I jumped out and went to say hi. I worry about him now that Nonna has left the trail. He understands English a bit and knows a few phrases, but he doesn’t feel comfortable talking.  I know he hiked more than half of the trail last year by himself, so he’s quite capable. I want to reload google translate on my iPad so we can talk more. I’m afraid he’ll get lonely without any German speakers around. 

It was raining when we started hiking. Really, just a heavy mist. We didn’t even break out the umbrellas because it wasn’t penetrating the canopy. The first mile was level passing along the edge of cornfields until we crossed the Housatonic River. We must be much closer to the location where the rat bastard GE pricks dumped the PCBs be cause signs are posted to not eat or drink anything from the river. Every GE exec from that era should be chained to a tree along the river with nothing else to eat or drink. I’m sick of corporations destroying the environment and walking away from their messes. 

It was humid as hell without a breeze. We didn’t start hiking until almost 11 and the first shelter was almost 6 miles in. We decided to hold off eating until we could sit at a table out of the rain.  When we got there at 2, there were already a half dozen other “red shirts” there eating. We got their names, but we will never see them again after today. They are all planning on putting in close to 25 miles tomorrow. Freeman did come in and join us for lunch.

There was plenty of water along the trail today, but a lot of it stank. It was flowing out of bogs or beaver ponds. I’m not a big fan of drinking beaver poop. We did foster a couple quarts at lunch, but I was empty in my bladder.  Joe had told us where he cached 13 gallons of water this morning, so I was holding out for that.  There were still 7 gallons left when we got to it. 

There is an AMC maintained cabin just under 30 miles from Great Barrington and we would like to make it there tomorrow night.  It’s very simple why, they make a free breakfast of pancakes for thru-hikers. Driven once again by food motivation.  It we make it to the North Wilcox shelter, we should have a manageable day for us tomorrow. With our late start this morning, we didn’t make it to the shelter until almost 8. 

This is the most crowded we had ever seen a shelter.  There were aver 20 tents set up and the shelter was full. We had a hard time even finding a level spot. We crowded in next to another tent right on the side of the trail. It was pretty level but there are rocks and roots under the tent. Not to worry, though, Bunny made sure that only one of us would have the uneven objects under his bed. 

Bunny and I have our routines down pretty well by now. We set up the tent together and then she takes care of the beds (and naps if it’s a long trek for me to water) while I get water and cook. It’s great when there are bear boxes available rather than having to hang food bags. Tonight, I had to jam our bags in the box and sit on the lid to get it to close. I’m glad we’ve eaten all of the chips. 

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What? A zero day! How can that be when Bunny put her foot down just yesterday? The answer is simple, Bunny has rabbit feet which are usually cut off and carried as good luck charms. Rabbit feet are not solid!

It’s a simple answer. Bunny can be FOS, but Easily Forgotten can drag his feet when needed. We got up as planned with time to eat before heading to the post office when it opened at 8:30. As soon as we opened the door, we saw we were beaten—it was pouring.  We still stayed the course and went to breakfast. 

While eating, Bunny asked me what I wanted to do. I said I’d like to go back to bed. She said that sounded good. I can also move fast when needed. I jumped up and gave my credit card to the clerk…no turning back now.  We were set for a day off.

All we had to do today was head to the post office when the rain ended, eat, and sleep. We accomplished that and more. I earned the greatest amount of brownie points a man can earn in a single sitting. We went to see a movie…”Momma Mia, Here We Go Again.” Good husband, my ass. I’m up for husband of the year. 

It was better than the first, which is a low bar. I will make this observation of the experience, there was a definite shortage of testosterone in the theatre. The single best thing about this one was that (spoiler alert) Pierce Brosnan DID NOT sing an off-key solo. 

I would appreciate if everyone reading this and thinking that I deserve a reward for my pain would please make a comment of “Back rub” after this post. Lord knows I’ve more than earned it. 

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As soon as I stuck my head out of the tent, one fricking fly started trying to attach itself to my font of knowledge. It obviously could see where the action was by all the heat being generated. The engines of wisdom were churning beneath the thin veneer.  Bunny was much more pessimistic. She said it was going for my bald spot. 

I received another lecture before leaving the tent. We NEED to make miles and not take any more zeros until we are done. She laid this on me at 6:30 when we had both gotten up to pee. Actually, it was after she went back to bed and said “one more hour, and then you’ll get up and start making me breakfast.” 

I got up (when told—good husband) and tried to make a decent coffee knowing that I was going to be outclassed. I tried a vanilla carnation instant breakfast with a Starbucks Vio and two creams (yes, I carry it all, thanks to Alice, to give my wife her gourmet breakfast coffee). I even whipped up a breakfast scramble  to make breakfast burritos. She was mildly pleased. 

Alain came over and reminded us coffee was ready. We went down with saliva on our lips wondering what kind of espresso machine they were carrying. It turns out that it was a little blue one with the name Maxwell on the side. It didn’t matter, it was the best coffee we’ve had in a long time. We got to share it with new friends. We sat and talked for about a half hour about travel experiences and future plans. Bunny was the one who said we all had to get going (always the task master, kill joy, or possibly, realist).

We only had to climb over Mount Everett to get into Great Barrington.  Just one little climb to 2600’ and then it was all down hill. The problem was, we had greatly underestimated Connecticut. We mistakingly thought that since is was only 40ish miles long (like Maryland) that it would be easy walking, like Maryland. The mountains of CT are not tall, but they are rugged and plentiful. Our minds weren’t right and we got beat up by them. We made the fatal mistake of looking ahead to New Hampshire and thinking it would be easy until then.

The climb up Everett was steep but not terrible. The descent was a little trickier because the rocks were still wet from yesterday’s rain. I did manage to fall for the first time on this hike, but Bunny still leads in falls 2-1. Falls are scary to old people. I know I’m afraid, so I can’t imagine the fear Bunny has since she is older than me. I did recover my fall and turned it into an ass-slide but it did get my adrenaline up.

We did run into a bit of water magic once we got down the steepest portion of the descent. A very familiar face was putting ice water out for hikers. It took us a few minutes to realize that this was the woman we had eaten breakfast with a few days ago at Toymakers Cafe. 

Even though we only hiked 10 miles today with the final 4 miles being pretty level, we were beat. As we got closer to route 7, we agreed to get a hotel room for the night in Great Barrington. Getting to the road, something sweet happened that hasn’t happened in a while. We were able to hitch a ride within 3 minutes. 

It was past closing time for the post office, so we just showered and wanted to get some food. This may surprise a few people, but I am pizza-ed out. Comments on Guthook told us about a good Indian restaurant in town. This immediately ignited a hunger for some chicken vindaloo in me. After the meal, I acquiesced to Bunny’s desire for ice cream. To sell it, I even ordered a pint to make her believe that I wanted ice cream even though I was full. 

The trail has a way of surprising you when you least expect it. We were walking around town before heading back to our hotel. A familiar voice called out “Hey Bunny Tracks and Easily Forgotten, I’ve got a message for you.”  It was Pilgrim standing on the other side of the street. He was waiting for a ride to go to the brewery. He asked if we could wait a few minutes and we could just talk to the people that sent us a message. 

An SUV pulled up full of people. It was Duckie in the front seat, in the back was Tiba, Alain, and Raphael. They were all heading to the brewery later, but wanted to say goodbye. Alain and Raphael are heading back to France in a few days. We just didn’t have the energy to go have a drink. It’s true, we are old.

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Bunny doesn’t make any logical sense. More than likely, I can expand that to women don’t make any logical sense. We pay for a night in town with a bed, shower, and toilet and Bunny wants to get up early. We camp on the ground in the woods and she wants to sleep in. If I pay for town, I want to get every minute. However, I’m not in control. 

Bunny was up at 7 feeling refreshed and chipper. I tried to ignore her which only made her louder. If she tells me to sleep, I sleep, no questions asked.  Good husband.  I told her to go back to sleep, I got a lecture about how we need to get miles behind us (the same lecture I used in the first 6 states on the trail when I was told I need to chill—now that I’m chilled, I have to get a sense of urgency…bad husband). I gave in and got up…good husband. 

We were the only ones up in the house. It was still raining outside. I packed up and got dressed only to hear the rain stop. Dammit, this will only encourage her. We walked up the street to the coffee shop for some breakfast. The rain stayed quiet playing into her hand. I got overheated drinking the coffee yet got no sympathy. “We need to hit the trail by 9, man up.”

When we walked back into the house, Sandra took my side and said if we wanted to relax for a few more hours, she had other things she could do.  Sir Stops a Lot came down and said he was taking a zero after he looked at the weather. Bunny tried to act reasonable, but in the end, she said we should go. 

The drive back to the trail was too quick. I wanted to go sightseeing.  Show me Meryl Streep’s house. It didn’t matter, everyone had already forgotten about me. Still no rain. Sandra dropped us off and drove away. Of course, the rain started as soon as her car was out of sight. 

The goal is to make it over half way to Great Barrington, MA. To do this, we only need to climb 3 mountains.  The tallest mountain in CT, an even taller one in MA, followed by the second tallest mountain in MA—Mt Everett. It sounds ominous to me. Too close to Everest. I look at the map. If we climb Mt Everett 8 times, we still wouldn’t be as high as Everest base camp. I’m starting to feel optimistic.  The rain intensifies. 

Not 10 minutes up the first mountain, we come to a 20’ rock wall we need to get down. It’s raining harder and slick as snot. We can’t find a way that looks safe. Bunny suggests we go back and wait out the rain. Oh hell no.  We’ve come this far, we’re not going to wait four days. We back track a bit and find a path down through the woods and back up. I’m  guessing if we have lots of obstacles like this, our speed will be around 1 mph. It’s going to be a long day.

We pass a guy in his hammock that hasn’t given any indication of moving. Up another rise, we pass two guys standing in ponchos looking a little confused. I cheerfully said “only 4 days of this and then we’ll have good weather.”  What? We need to make it to Great Barrington tomorrow. I’m optimistic now, feeling invigorated by the rain and lack of bugs. “No problem, it’s only 20 miles.”

The trail gives, and the trail takes. The rain couldn’t decide what it wanted to do, so the trail took my good attitude and gave us high humidity and just one fly to make sure I was miserable again.  We decided to stop for a break after 4 miles which had been a continuous climb (albeit, moderate). The three guys we passed earlier camping now all passed us. The two guys turned out to be from France so we talked a bit about our visit there last year. When we mentioned that we really loved the Tour du Mont Blanc one of them was very excited and said he already has plans to hike it when he gets back to France. 

This was how the rest of the day went. Rain like mad until we get out our umbrellas and then immediately stop. We walk with umbrellas until we get overheated from the humidity so we stop to put them away. Mosquitoes swarm us while we are stopped. We start to walk, wipe sweat off of our faces, and then the rain starts.  Repeat cycle. 

After descending Bear Mountain, we entered Sages Ravine.  This was an absolutely beautiful valley filled with a pine forest. There was a Brook cascading down the ravine with several deep pools ideal for swimming.  This was the first and only time I wished it was warmer so we could go swimming. When we crossed the creek, we entered our 11th state—Massachusetts. 

We had played leapfrog with the two French guys and talked with them each time. They are both college graduate students living in Paris. Alain is going to hike the TMB in August. Like all the French people we have met, they are fit, friendly, and quick with a laugh. They really got me reminiscing about the GR10 because Alain and his brother have hiked several sections of the trail. 

As we were nearing the exposed ledges of Mt Race, we could look over our shoulders and watch the “rain event” approaching us. It wasn’t a storm, no lightening (which would have made me freak out as bad as Bunny in these circumstances). Stepping onto the first ledge (with a 500’ vertical fall to out right) three things met at once: us; the two French guys, Alain and Raphael; and the main rain event. Our only choice was to keep moving forward. If we die, it will be in good company. If we survive, it will be a memorable event that gets thrown in my face every summit we climb from this day forward. 

It was very stressful finishing the climb and then descending the back side of the mountain. We all decided we were too tired to go on, so we skipped the climb up Mt Everett and headed down a side trail to Race Brook Falls Campsite. Things happen for a reason. If we had kept going, we would not have gotten to know Alain and Raphael. They are two young gentlemen with bright futures. They are both well travelled and well informed. Raphael has lived in London for 3 years where his father is a journalist. He plans to follow in his footsteps. 

We were all wet and tired. There was a break in the rain which gave us a chance to set up camp and eat. Before we went to bed, Alain invited us to join them for coffee in the morning. We had high hopes because every refuge, gite, and alberge we stayed at in France had an espresso machine. Their packs were big and they are French. As soon as we got in the tent, the rain started again and we fell asleep dreaming of cappuccinos. 

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As soon as we went to bed last night, the wind picked up. So much so that a limb blew down in the woods behind our tent. Even after taking Benadryl, Bunny was wired for disaster. With the intermittent rain and winds, she claims not to have slept. The snoring in my ear tells me otherwise. When we woke up at 7, it was gently raining and Bunny told me to go back to sleep—the same Bunny always telling me we need to get up earlier. If nothing else, I am an obedient husband; back to sleep I went. 

At 7:30, there was just too much movement outside of the tent for me to continue sleeping. We got up to see Baby and Mummy packing up in the barn while Nonna and Freeman were moving around in their tent. I went into the cafe to check out the electrical situation and scope out the menu. As soon as Bunny got in, we ordered and grabbed a big table. Pretty soon, the cafe was hopping and people were even sitting outside. When you’re the only cafe in town, you’ve got a captive audience, but when your good to boot, people come from up to an hour away to partake. The couple who own and operate Toymakers are friendly and know how to serve customers. 

We sat around talking with Nonna, Freeman, Baby, Mummy, and a local woman. Norvegan and her brothers came in, but the place was too packed for them to sit. We are about to lose another group along the trail. Nonna is going back to Switzerland in a couple of days so they are only hiking 4 miles today.  Mummy is heading back to NYC today so Baby will pick up his miles to catch up with his trail friends. Norvegan’s brothers are leaving tomorrow so they aren’t going far today. We’ve been ditched again.

After we got all packed up, we said our goodbyes to everyone. We’ve kind of set our sights on about 12 miles for today, but rain is in the air and the forecast for tonight is not good. I know we have to hike and camp in the rain, but if I can minimize it in civilization, I’m willing after 5 months on the trail. 

Climbing out of Falls Village led us to something we didn’t expect; an actual water fall. There is a hydroelectric dam above the village and the power company provides charging outlets for hikers as well as an outdoor shower which has been described as having “limited privacy.”  The shower has no walls and is facing the street. It’s an exhibitionist’s dream location.

We climbed to the top of Prospect Mountain around 1500’ which is the highest elevation we have been to for a while. At the top, we met Sir Stops a Lot whom we have seen in various log books along the trail but haven’t met before. Early on, he was hiking with his son, but his son hurt his knee and has been off the trail for almost a month. He’s hoping to recover enough to rejoin his dad in Maine. 

We hiked and talked with each other the rest of the day. It didn’t rain, but it kept threatening to in between short bursts of sunshine. Every weather report has told us it is very likely to rain today and it will definitely rain tonight and tomorrow. With the rain of last night and the sun of today, it was humid as hell (aka southeast MO).  We wanted a shower and to get laundry done. Sir Stops a Lot told us about a new hostel he was staying at in Lakeville—Hanta Yo. It includes free run of a five bedroom house, WiFi, hot showers, free pickup and return to the trail, and laundry. He had us at free which is all we wanted to hear, but free it isn’t. Still, with the prospect of rain, we were in.

Our 12 mile day thus transformed into less than 8 miles with just a single word—shower. Unlike Chad the Dad, we are following his Dr’s advice and hiking less than 10 miles per day (its thankless and time consuming, but if Chad won’t do it, we will).  Chad has been nursing a potential stress fracture for the last few weeks but he’s also a retired type A army ranger that can’t sit still (unless there is open beer nearby). 

The day thus reduced, we only had one mountain to climb over. There was an interesting rock formation just past the summit—it is called “Giant’s Thumb.”  I am pretty sure that every male over the age of 50 has encountered the index finger right next to this thumb.  Yes, the giant’s chosen occupation is proctologist. 

Having turned our moderate day into a nearo, we got in early enough to shower and do laundry before heading out to eat. We had great success with Mizza’s pizza last night for delivery.  Tonight, we decided to dine in.  As soon as we sat down, we saw Mule at the next table. We haven’t seen him since Tiorati Circle when we slept by the vending machines. As with every town meal, we overate, but not so much so that we couldn’t squeeze in a bit more ice cream. 

Lakeville is a charming little town. Rip Torn (Men in Black) lives just down the street from the hostel.  Meryl Streep also has a place in town that the next door neighbor goes fishing in one of her ponds. But no town is complete unless you can play the original “6 degrees of” Steve Johnson. By that I don’t mean that one of the 600,000 Steve Johnson’s live here (actually, 5 do according to the phone book), but the man himself, Kevin Bacon, has a home in this village. We are 1,000% out of our price range here. We will be back on the trail in the morning. 

EFG

Something strange happened today. Of all the people camping around us, we were the first to get up and moving. I guess it’s only fair to point out that Norvegan is hiking with her brothers for a few days so they don’t have thru-hiker urgency. And Baby is hiking with Elizabeth (aka Mummy) for a few days, so no thru-hiker urgency there. And then there’s us, no thru-hiker urgency there. But there was morning pee urgency of old man which trumps thru-hiker urgency. (Notice I mentioned Trump and piss in the same sentence and let it slide—a hint of growth? Or just apathy?)

Fact of the matter is, we nailed it this morning and were the first out of camp at, (drum roll please) the early hour of 9a. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. How are we getting slower?  Bunny has been trying to get me to get up at 5 to do all the chores so everything is ready when she wakes up at 7:45. I guess I need a little more obedience training. 

Connecticut is surprisingly hilly. We stopped short yesterday of our mileage goal because we had already climbed over 4000’ for the day. Today was just as hilly. It’s kind of like death by a thousand cuts/hills. No one hill is fatal, but add them all together. 

We stopped at Pine Swamp Brook Shelter for a snack. I offered to let Bunny go get water, she declined. After I made the extra half mile round trip, Box Turtle came into the shelter, followed by Norvegan and her brothers. We all discussed possible destinations for the day and commiserated about the lack of camping options in the 15-17 mile range. Bunny and I decided that we were going to head to Falls Village, grab a bite to eat, and then decide from there. 

Water snakes emit a foul, musky odor if they are scared. Rattlesnakes shake their rattle when they are upset. Copperheads emit the smell of cucumbers when they feel threatened (if you smell a salad while hiking, tread lightly). Bunny also has a similar reaction when she gets frightened. She emits a strong smell of feces that lasts until the next shower and load of laundry. 

Why do I mention these facts?  Because after passing the summit of Mount Easter, two of these things happened. B had just passed us after we had warned him about an hornets nest ahead (according to Guthook). Bunny was only a minute behind him passing the tree with the nest. No problem. Another 50 feet down the trail, Bunny slammed on the breaks. I thought that we had told him the wrong location of the nest, but then I caught a whiff of feces followed by the sound of a rattle. I can say with confidence that the smell of feces travels faster than the speed of sound of a rattlesnake. 

This was the biggest rattlesnake (girth-wise) that we have seen to date. Rattlesnake sightings now outnumber bear sightings on our journey. I thought we were getting to the northern edge of their range. I will be happy when we get far enough north to only have to worry about bears, moose, squirrels, and the occasional Russian spy making big trouble for said moose and squirrel. (Note to self: remember to remind Bunny to stay away from moose up north. They all admire David Copperfield and try to do magic. Yes, they are always trying to pull a rabbit out of their hat.)

The final couple of miles of climbing were above a racetrack in the valley. We had heard them a lot last evening and it was deafening today. It gave us a little more incentive to speed up and get to town. Once we got down to the flat section of trail next to the Housatonic River, Box Turtle caught up with us and told us he had ordered pizza delivery in town and suggested we call in and get delivery to the same location at the same time. 

Our food was supposed to be delivered at 5:30 to the package liquor store. Instead, the minute we got to the road leading to town at 4:45, a pizza delivery guy was waiting for us. There was also trail magic going on at the same location. Two women, Liz and Concetta (from Long Island) had just completed a 15 mile out and back over the last few days. They were giving away a lot of leftover and extra stuff they had. 

Just yesterday, I told Bunny that I was about out of toothpaste and had run out of powder. Once again, the trail provides. Bunny also grabbed us a couple of energy bars and a dehydrated meal. Box Turtle and b were also getting food and incidentals they needed. 

We had our food that was supposed to be delivered with Box Turtle’s food in town.  He didn’t get his, so he walked on into town. We sat down at a picnic table and started to eat. We saw Baby and Mummy ahead trying to hitch a ride. We motioned them over to have some pizza. Mummy was upset and trying to catch a ride to get back to NYC early because something was wrong with a friend. She was most upset because she was going to have to wait until morning to get back to the city. 

While we were talking to them, Norvegan and her brothers arrived. I offered them all pizza before I remembered why Norvegan had gotten her name. She’s a vegan from Norway. However, her brothers are not. Between everyone, we were able to kill it. 

Bunny and I headed into town to set up camp at Toymakers. After overeating and sitting for a while, two things happen: your legs get stiff and your body gets tired. When we got to the cafe, we found Nonna and Freeman already set up. We were afraid that we wouldn’t catch them again before Nonna left the trail. The Norwegian crew came in and set up camp as well.

When in a new town, first order of business is to eat. We had already done that. Second is laundry and shower (most important after a rattlesnake encounter) but that’s not available for another few days. Next option, hit the liquor store. Nonna and Freeman bought a 12 pack and we all sat around talking about trail experiences and politics. These are both safe trail topics since we are all of the same mind out here. 

It was getting dark (hiker midnight) so we all were getting ready to turn in. We were a bit concerned because Baby and Mummy hadn’t shown up yet and Baby’s pack was here. They showed up just after dark to set up camp. These youngsters have too much energy—this is the second time this week they’ve been out past dark. 

EFG

As we were falling asleep last night, we thought we heard some female voices we knew, but we were too far gone to investigate. When we got up this morning, I told Bunny to meet me at the shelter to eat before we packed up.  I got to the shelter and realized I was talking to Caboose of the Cactus Club only now her trail name is Hannaconda—I guess she started speaking her mind some and the club broke up.  Autumn is a few days behind trying to catch up.  

I could hear Bunny talking to someone whose voice I couldn’t quite place. It turned out to be Gazelle whom we haven’t seen since Hot Springs, NC. She left town in a blizzard and we never heard from her again. She was doing 20-25 mile days back then. For some personal reasons, she decided to quit hiking.  After spending some time with her family and unwinding, she got the urge to finish what she had started, only this time, she’s going to slow down and enjoy the trail more. She had been off a month is the only way we caught up with her. 

We set our sights on lunch at Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter for lunch. It was only 7 miles ahead and right on the Housatonic River.  We were counting on a little water time today. The first 4 miles were a lot of ups and downs with a few views, but the last 3 miles were flat, easy walking. Baby and Elizabeth were on the same plan.

Elizabeth is only out for 4 days to hike with her boyfriend. He’s from Blacksburg, VA, the same town we had dinner with Super Dave. We’ve met 2 other people (Tiba and Rembrandt) in the last two days from Blacksburg and none of them know each other. Elizabeth is having some blister problems on her feet, so she had them all taped up. While Bunny and I were hiking, she came up with the name of “Mummy” for Elizabeth. We told her at lunch and it’s going to stick.

After lunch, we went a little further up the trail to get some water before we got in the river. I have been wracking my mind as to how I know the Housatonic River. This is the river that GE was dumping PCBs in during the 70s and 80s. I recall that it was going to be too expensive for them to clean, so it was decided that they had to stop dumping and hope that the PCBs (which are heavier than water) will sink to the bottom of the river and eventually get covered by sediment. They did have to clean up the dumping site. If it weren’t for the EPA, they’d still be dumping. And people think the EPA is a burden to business when the soulless bastards running these companies think they can do whatever they want. I think the executives of GE should be restricted to a diet of fish and water from this river. 

That was over 30 years ago and the river is coming back to life. We soaked our feet (careful to not kick up any sediment) and watched the wildlife for a while. The big plus of sitting in the river was that the gnats didn’t follow us. Mosquitoes in the morning and evening, gnats during the day…ain’t we got fun?

It was apparent that our goal of 18 miles was not going to happen—again.  You’ll never guess who is holding us back. It’s not Bunny.  Even though the heat isn’t nearly as bad as it has been, I just start falling apart on these climbs. I take ten steps then have to stop to wipe the sweat off my forehead and swat at the gnats in my face. I am getting much more pleasure from killing gnats than I am from getting miles under my belt.  I know the Dali Llama thinks it is wrong to kill any living things. I would love for him to join us for a month of this hell and watch him turn into a gnat killing machine. I wonder if this is how cereal killers start. Next up, the Cheerio killer. 

The final 4 miles of trail today were filled with more climbing. It was only 900’ up and 800’ down, but it finished me off. When we were less than a mile from camp, Mummy and Baby passed us heading to the same spot. Norvegan and her two brothers had also passed us so we were a bit concerned about there being enough space.

We got in around 7:30 and were relieved to see plenty of flat spots and hear good flowing water. We got to business fast setting up the tent, fetching water, and cooking supper because the mosquitoes were as bad as ever. Bunny and I took turns fanning each other while eating to try to get a little peace. I could regularly kill three little bitches biting me with one swat. Even jumping into the tent, we had a dozen follow us that we had to kill before we could lie down. I have personally taken more lives today than any serial killer and I have no regrets at all.  I’m loving it. 

EFG