Heavy heavy rains last night made for a slow start to the day. Needed to wipe down the hammock tarp and was somewhat slow to rise. Also spent a lot of time with my guidebook figuring out some kind of plan (actually multiple) for the impending hurricane. Got walking by 8 with a loose goal of 26 miles. Way too late to do that amount of miles for me.
First five miles were rolling hills and the next 5 were the easiest walking yet on the trail. The AT went next to a large river for 5 miles. The walking was great and I tried to cruise for that section. Met a southbound section hiker (Grinder) at the shelter near the end of the easy walking and hung out with him for a while.
A couple miles past the shelter, the trail went straight up the side of the valley, Maine style. I was surprised to be on such difficult terrain in Connecticut.
Headed into Kent. When we popped out on the road to Kent, we got a hitch from a guy in a convertible. That was truly a surprise. I almost didn’t bother to put my thumb out. In Kent, grabbed some ice cream and soda.
In Kent, a dude stopped Grinder and put his hands on his shoulders and said to “make sure we are not on the trail on Sunday, locals were stock piling food and things were going to really get bad…and make sure to tell all your hiker friends to get off the trail by Sunday!”
The 2 sodas and a big ice cream made the decision for me about going another 10 miles. It was already 4:30 and I was feeling lazy, so just did another 3. Took my last bites of dinner and hung my bear bag in the dark.
Pretty tired tonight. It was very humid. I think I soaked my shirt within a half hour in the am, dried out in Kent and was soaked in the first 20 minutes after leaving Kent.
Daily Distance: 20.2
Trip Distance: 724.7
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