07-13-13 On top of Bear Mountain together

Started the day with Giant's Thumb, a large stone sticking out of the ground resembling--you guessed it--a giant's thumb.

After a sharp downhill, we headed into Salisbury, Connecticut for a resupply. At LaBonne's Market we met former Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, Spitball. He treated us both to a deli sandwich--thank you!

Back on the trail we trudged up Lion's Head with newly refilled packs and stopped for lunch at the top. Though the view was partially skewed to the fog, the sandwiches were delicious--thanks again Spitball!

The trail took us to Bear Mountain--the tallest peak (not the tallest point) in Connecticut. The downhill was absolutely miserable--slick, slanted rocks; hard to find foot placement. Sometimes I sat down and lowered myself down. Other times, I grabbed a tree and muscled myself down. Finally, we were at the bottom...

Excitingly, we crossed into Massachusetts, but our excitement was short lived...

...to Mount Race. The uphill was no problem, and the views, though also skewed by the fog, were pretty; I'm sad we couldn't see all of it's glory. It started to rain, briefly, and stopped before we descended. Again, an exhausting, technical downhill.

Close to the bottom, we ran into some locals who told us the next mountain, Mount Everett, was rocky too. Physically, but more mentally, tired, we stopped for the night at Race Brook Campsite, saving Mount Everett for the morning.

07-12-13 Showering outside somewhere

Aside from the mosquitoes, today was a very pleasant day. It started early and we began the day climbing rock structures. We passed through a cracked boulder billed as "similar to Lemon Squeezer," but it was simple to walk through; no squeezing necessary.

We stopped for a snack at Belter's Knob, then pushed in to Falls Village, Connecticut, although the Appalachian Trail only led by the high school and hydro-electric plant.

At the hydro-electric plant, we stopped for our weekly bath. The shower wasn't what I had expected and privacy was none existent; cars driving by, construction men walking around, a photographer photoing a girl dressed as a gypsy (odd, yes; we never got the story on that one). Nevertheless, we stripped down to our skivvies and scrubbed away.

Clean and fed we hiked up Mount Prospect and past the shelter (it was half a mile off the trail). We stopped for the night at Rands View, a big field with a view, and perhaps a glorious sunset.

07-11-13 Somewhere north of Guinea Brook

Woke up to the sun, dark red, peaking through the trees. It was short-lived. I looked again and it was gone, only to be replaced by rain moments later.

The rain only lasted in the morning. The mosquitoes, on the other hand, lasted all day, and had over-welcomed their stay by evening. They even watched us as we went to sleep, peering hungrily in on us from the mesh walls of our tent.

The Appalachian Trail took us down St. John's Ledges, and a steep, stony downhill. I fell twice, and even the mighty B fell once.

The trail flattened out as we walked along the Housatonic River. My feet felt shredded, so we stopped for an early lunch to allow my feet time to dry out.

Later on, the trail brought us to the widest stream crossing to date: Guinea Brook. Rushing water; haphazard rocks and downed trees as stepping stones; great. Nerve-racking, but we crossed incident free.

At camp we did our best to reduce the mosquito population, but I have a feeling it's a never-ending game, with only us as the losers. B and DNA finished the night with a game of chess.

07-10-13 Saying "hello" to Connecticut together

The highway traffic settled down, but the commuter rail continued through the night. Not our best night of sleep, but definitely not the worst either.

Our two exciting milestones of the day included entering (and leaving, and entering again) Connecticut and then seeing a covered bridge in Kent, Connecticut.

Along the trail today we met two groups working on the trail. The first was with Forestry and they were spraying Rodeo herbicide to kill the non-native and invasive plant, sodio glacitio (sp?).

The second group was Greenagers building a rock staircase on the Appalachian Trail through a grant.

While we were eating lunch at the covered bridge, it began to rain. A stone's throw away was a gas station where we sought shelter and a soda. Once the sun came back out we continued, but it rained off and on the rest of the afternoon and the mosquitoes reared their ugly faces...Connecticut, I swear if you New Jersey me...

Thankfully, the rain let up to set up our tent. We stealth camped by ourselves on an unnamed PUD (pointless up and down), which I aptly named Mount Cirby.