Mosquitos. So many mosquitos! There was no amount of Deet to keep those pests away. Many nights through CT and MA were spent getting water as quickly as possible to avoid them and cooking dinner as quickly as possible to be able to escape into the tent (which we had to get into as quickly as possible to keep them out). Sometimes, even on the hotter days, wearing rain gear was preferable to getting bit through our other clothing.
We were able to take our minds off of the mosquitos while enjoying Connecticut's scenery. In contrast to the previous couple of states, water was plentiful and flowing through beautiful rivers and streams. It was the beginning of August but not as hot as you might think. We sent our sleeping bags home with Teton's parents back in DC and the past few weeks had been perfect hiking weather, but quite cold at night. Our sleeping bag liners, which are somewhat like a thin sheet, were our only source or warmth on these colder nights, besides wearing all of our clothes. There were a few instances in New York when we had to take out our emergency space blanket to try and stay warm. We counted down the days until we were getting our warm weather gear back in Vermont.
Our entrance into Connecticut also brought us closer to another trail vacation. Alpine had invited us to his house in Vernon for a few days of R&R. His brother picked us up about 2 nights and 30 miles into the state in a small town called Falls Village. We stayed 4 days in Alpine's home town and it was a blast. We went to the Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island and spent a hot summer day swimming, tanning, and hanging out with friends. Nights were spent relaxing, watching movies, and eating. Lucky for us, Alpine's mom is a great cook and made us excellent meals each night. We also got a chance to go out to a few breakfast's, which was our favorite meal to eat out for on trail. One of the best parts of this trip was getting CLEAN! Alpine and his father own and run a laundromat in town where we were able to wash all of our clothes, sleeping liners, and backpacks for free. It was a really big deal to be able to get our backpacks washed, they were filthy! Getting back on trail in clean clothes and gear felt great!
A late start back on the trail only allowed us about 3 miles to the next shelter where we stayed the night. Awaking to steady rainfall kept us in our tents most of the day. After a relaxing weekend with squeaky clean gear, we weren't exactly eager to get dirty and wet hiking through a day of rain. When it finally stopped in the early evening, we exited our shelters to a couple inches of water surrounding us and our tent. Packing up as neatly as possible, we headed back to the trail (this shelter was a half mile off trail down hill... which meant we had to hike a half mile up a slippery slope to get back). Only a few short hours left of sunlight, we hiked 8 miles to the Riga shelter, arriving at sunset. This is when tasks get assigned and we get things done quickly... you set up the tent, I'll get water. You set up the bear bag, I'll get dinner ready. After a few months of this routine, you can imagine we were pretty efficient at getting nightly chores done. With warm food in our bellies, it didn't take long to fall asleep . I no longer stayed awake listening for and worrying about the critters sniffing out our recently cooked dinner and crawling across our boots outside the tent... OK, sometimes I did. But usually, I was too tired to care.
A few days of relaxation let my body and my immune system relax a little too much and brought about my yearly sinus problems. The end of Connecticut and through all of Massachusetts, I was blowing my nose and keeping others awake coughing. A few times when possible, we ventured off trail to grocery stores to buy garlic and oranges. I would eat cloves of raw garlic and chase them with an orange slice as remedy. At the grocery store in Great Barrington, MA, a nice lady talked to us about the trail and offered to buy us breakfast. Just the night before that, one of Alpine's friends who had hiked the trail a few years before, did some trail magic of burgers, hot dogs, and beer. We were so lucky with the amount of trail magic we received along the way!
One of the best parts of Mass was at Upper Goose Pond Cabin, about 40 miles in. This was a donation based, on trail, shelter that provided a bunk room and tent pads. The cabin had caretakers that provided water, canoes and kayaks to use on the pond, and a pancake and coffee breakfast. Teton paddled me around on the pond while I relaxed and sun-bathed in the front of the canoe. We spent the night in our tent and woke up for an amazing breakfast, chatting with other fellow hikers. Our beloved trail friend, Twirls, had showed up after we had already gone to bed, and we were happy to have been reunited with her! We spent the next few days hiking together and catching up on what had happened while we had been apart.
While hiking with Twirls in Mass, we passed the residence of "the cookie lady". This was a house on a blueberry farm just 100 yards east of the trail. She was an old woman who owned a blueberry farm with her husband and provided trail magic for hikers. We actually had a drop box delivered there, so we walked over to retrieve it. We were given homemade cookies and had the opportunity to purchase sodas, ice cream, and hard boiled eggs for low prices. After relaxing here for a while, we hit the road again. This is when I realized I had left my shirt on a chair to dry at the cookie lady's. I was able to get service to call the number we had listed in our book for the cookie lady. I left a few messages about sending my shirt with a north-bounder to find me but didn't hear back. I was disappointed that 1 of my 4 shirts was missing, but confident that the trail would somehow bring it back to me (stay tuned). We arrived at the goal we had set for the day: 18 miles to Kay Wood Shelter. This shelter was already crowded when we arrived at sundown, all of the tent spots occupied. Teton and I wandered around in the almost-dark, eventually finding a flat enough spot down the hill where the water source was located. To keep the bugs away, Teton built a fire pit and started a fire for us where we roasted the marshmallows that were sent in our resupply box and enjoyed the night.
At this point, we had calculated the miles and days left of our trip- setting a goal to end on October 8, exactly 6 months from our starting date. We knew the average amount of miles we had to hike per day to make it there. Sometimes we would do more, in order to bank miles for days like this next day when we didn't want to keep going. Our goal for the day was to get as close to possible to the highest point in Mass: Mt. Greylock, in order to get up super early to be at the top for sunrise. Still feeling sick, I was happy to find a pretty pond-side campsite only 8 miles into our day and suggested we stop early. We were disappointed to have to change our sunrise plans, but catering to my wishes, Teton agreed it was smarter to rest and get better than to push it and suffer.
An early morning and a few ankle twists later, we made it to the top of Greylock: 3,491 feet. A parking lot and lodge at the top brought upon lots of tourists. The dirty looking people with backpacks were whispered about and asked the usual questions: Where'd you start, how long have you been out here, what do you eat? We cooked a pre-dinner ramen overlooking the view, and headed down to Wilbur Clearing Shelter. When we arrived, we were surprised to see a ton of tents and kids. My feet were hurting at this point... dirty socks start to rub against hot spots and mine were at their limits. Not willing to go on any further, we found a spot and set up. 2 groups of college orientation students and their counselors mingled rather loudly throughout the evening.
While we were cooking our dinner, they got even louder and started yelling "go away bear!" and other things of that sort. We looked around to find that a rather large bear was approaching this campsite. This was unexpected as we hadn't seen or heard of any bears being around since New Jersey. This bear was also not at all afraid of our yells and loud noises. It would just mosey away and come back another route. Eventually, it got so bad that Teton and some other hikers tried scaring it away by throwing rocks near it. Not even this made the bear retreat. The bear even hissed twice at people trying to approach it, which was unusual and rather scary. As it was getting dark, we all scrambled to finish cooking, eating, and putting our food in a safe place so that the bear wouldn't bother us. Tired and eager for sleep, Teton and I barricaded our tent with large logs and put rocks near our bedside in attempts to keep the bear away. We later realized the bear could have easily climbed over our barricade, but it kept our minds at ease for the night.
The bear left us alone though the night and we woke up rested and ready to cross the border into Vermont! We crossed the Hoosic River, passed through Williamstown and North Adams, Mass, up a small mountain, and exited Massachusetts. Excited to enter uncharted territory and ready to walk through the mud, we walked into Vermont!
More to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment