7-2-12

AT miles hiked today: 15.1
Total AT miles hiked: 627.1

Camped at Sages Ravine.

Hey, I just realized we crossed into Massachusetts tonight! Cool! We hiked Connecticut in two and a half days and met our goals the last two days. We are exactly on schedule to meet Toni on July 5th. That is a great feeling. We all also feel like we have our trail legs back. We lost them in the two days of sitting and driving and the resupply day in Waterbury. Three days seems to be the key. You lose your trail legs in three days, and you can earn them back in three or four days of hard hiking, too. Phew!

We walked by a Hydro electric plant as we left town this morning. We could have showered there, from a spigot in the ivy on an outside wall, but it was cool in the morning, so we didn't. We had a few road walks today and the guide mentioned a Cemetary with a water spigot, so we sat on a bench there and laid out our tents to dry while we ate lunch in the shade. It's hot here, too, just not as hot as Virginia. We heard they had a terrible wind storm that knocked over trees and knocked out power in many states. We are lucky to be where we are, but I hope our friends and everybody else is okay.

We met a ridge runner called Ember and enjoyed some easy early miles, but it got harder later and ended by climbing Bear mountain with rock climbs up and especially down. Now we are camped by the water in this beautiful ravine and it sounds lovely, but I'm so tired. Must sleep now....

Comments

[ATKory]

Congrats on getting to Mass! I'm loving what you are doing with your route. There are a few people having a rough go in the mid-atlantic as they try to stick to a traditional thru-hike but they seem miserable. There are also a few like you that are getting creative and my guess is it may mean the difference between a successful hike and not. At the very least it is allowing you to enjoy it more which is probably more important. I'm taking notes so keep it up!