July 29 - Bear Rock Falls Campsite (Day 132 – milepoint 1482.7)

A humble thank you to the Grossmans, then Alan dropped us at the Trailhead at 7 a.m. with fresh fruit, cookies, and Apple Bran muffins to get us going.I felt great all day. Lots of energy. Cooler temps and much less humidity made the morning climbs a pleasure.

Excellent views from the Bear Mountain Ridge and the Trail dropped into a place called Sages Ravine, a beautiful creek with numerous swimming holes. Eventually crossed the creek and into Massachusetts. Stopped for a siesta at Bear Rock Falls Campsite and ended up spending the rest of the day here with Achilles, Small World, Jarvis, Huff, Puff, ChurchMouse and a southbound section hiker, Hugh, with his dog Mr. Phil. Cool spot with an excellent view. Hugh is 16 years old, hiking for 2 weeks from Vermont to his home in Pawling, NY, which is only a mile from the Trail. Great kid. We’re trying to talk him into joining us to Katahdin, but I have a feeling his naturally worried mother would not appreciate that.

Jarvis played guitar for a while and I accompanied on harmonica. A very nice and easy 8-1/2 mile day.

Aquaholic

July 28 - Salisbury, CT (Day 131 – milepoint 1474.1)

Walked a mile and joined Puff, Cosmo, Spice, Wildseed, Baltimore Jack, Chewy, and Achilles for breakfast at the Village Coffee Shop on US 7. Best waitress on the entire Trail so far and I was full for $6.00.

Later in the day, Achilles and I met up with Small World and Devin (now Jarvis) and joined them for the last 5 miles into Salisbury, along with Baltimore Jack. The lawn in front of the P.O. in the middle of town became a thru-hiker lounge area. More blueberries and other fresh fruit kept me happy for the afternoon.

Achilles and I eventually went another 0.7 mile to US 41 where we were met by Jane Grossman, whose husband is Alan Grossman, Achilles‘ godfather. She brought us back to their very beautiful farmhouse (by way of the bakery and market) and made us feel very welcome.

Showers. Laundry. We set all of our wet gear out on the lawn to dry. A dip in the pool and a soothing soak in their hot tub carried us right into the dinner hour. Jane and Alan grew up with Achilles‘ father, John, and I enjoyed watching and listening as Achilles learned a few things about his father in his days before he was a dad. “What?” … “You’re kidding!” … “Are you sure we’re talking about the same person here?”

Jane and Alan seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the memories as well and struggled at times to avoid a few of those “your kids shouldn’t know EVERYTHING about you” moments. Alan is the outgoing President of Outward Bound, which was another interesting topic, and he is gearing up to start teaching the subject of non-profit organizations and fund-raising at Harvard University. So many great stories. Wonderful folks. I feel honored to be a guest in their home. Feeling very spoiled, but not complaining.

Aquaholic

July 27 - Beiter Campsite (Day 130 – milepoint 1463.5)

Rain. Everything is wet and mosquitoes are buzzing my ears. Why do they do that? I hope I sleep.

Aquaholic

July 26 - Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-To (Day 129 – milepoint 1447.0)

Up with the sun and hammered the nine miles into Kent to pick up my maildrop. Ran into a bunch of folks in town. Good to see Baltimore Jack, Puff, Cosmo, Chewbacca, Spice, Woolybooger, Water Girl, and Church Mouse.

Grabbed some blueberries and nectarines at the grocery and joined Achilles, Water Girl and Church Mouse for pizza. Ice cream on the way out of town and labored the 7 miles to the shelter, pack heavy again with food. Bunch of folks are tenting. I’m joined in the shelter by Mass, who I haven’t seen since mile 48, and Wayward Traveler who is possibly the strangest person I’ve met on the Trail. He seems harmless though, and I also detect a fair bit of intelligence behind the greater bit of weirdness. Still, I think I’ll sleep with one eye open.

Aquaholic

July 25 - Ten Mile Shelter (Day 128 – milepoint 1431.1)

Mr. Daily dropped us back at the Trail around noon where we left off, and we made 17 miles with little trouble. It was tough to leave “home” this morning and Achilles is feeling a bit of his six days off. He’ll be back to normal in no time, I’m sure.

We crossed into Connecticut today. Entering New England feels like a substantial milestone. We’re camped near the confluence of Ten Mile River and the Housatonic. So nice to hear the sound of flowing water again.

Aquaholic