Thursday (6/18) morning the shuttle driver dropped me off at the trailhead by the pizza place that I camped at a couple nights ago. The plan for the day was to hike 12 miles to a shelter. The trail was nice and easy to start my morning. There were a few rock climbs along the way to keep thing’s interesting.
Later in the afternoon I came to Nuclear Lake. From 1958 to 1972, the site was used by the United Nuclear Corporation to process and research nuclear fuels. A chemical explosion blew out windows in 1972, blasting an unspecified amount of weapons-grade plutonium across the lake and surrounding woods. Following a $3 million cleanup by the National Park Service and the Department of Environmental Conservation, the area was deemed safe. The trail was rerouted here and is now widely regarded by hikers as one of the most beautiful spots on the entire Appalachian Trail. There are signs along the lake stating no swimming, not sure if they believe it’s completely safe.
I arrived at the shelter after 7pm and was dead tired. I did not want to set up my tent and decided to sleep in the shelter. Bad choice, the misquotes were horrible. I thought about setting my tent up in the shelter but that is frowned upon by other hikers. Just before dark two other guys showed up and they were also sleeping in the shelter. All three of us were battling the mosquitoes, finally I told them I was going to set up my tent in the shelter. They said it sounded good and all three of us set our tents up inside. If a couple of people came in late there was still room. With the misquote problem solved I was able to get some sleep.
Friday (6/19) morning I did not have much water when I left camp. My focus was to get to a deli that was 3 miles up the trail. Crossing a road early into my hike I spotted gallons of water, but what a disappointment, they were all empty. Continuing on I went through a pasture and then a swampy area that had a nice boardwalk through it. When I came out of the swamp area to my surprise there was a train depot. The train leaves Grand Central Station in NYC and continues to the depot next to the AT.
The road after the tracks lead to the deli that I was planning to have lunch and fill my water bottles. I did not realize it was over a mile round trip. I read on my app that there is a food truck with Malaysian food that was only a five minute walk from the trail. I decided to go there and skip the longer walk. The nice guy running the food truck filled my water bottle for me, I sure did need that water. I ordered some noodles with veggies and it was very good. There were several people there and they were all interested in hearing about my adventure. After eating and relaxing it was time to get back on the trail.
The trail passed through a beautiful field. I met Landshark, a volunteer that helps maintain a section of the trail. She was working hard, thank you Landshark. When I got back into the woods I came across several trees blown down across the trail. As I hiked further north I could hear chainsaws. There was an area where around five large trees were blown down across the trail and there were four guys working to clear them with chainsaws. They said there were heavy winds a week ago. These guys were volunteering their time to clear the trail for hikers.
After about ten miles I made it to the shelter where I met a thru-hiker named Oakley. He was from Canada and was using the time in between jobs to hike the AT from GA to Maine. I sat up my tent close to the shelter and had a good night’s sleep.
Saturday (6/20) I was excited to get on the trail and finish New York. After about two mile I crossed over to Connecticut, four states done, ten to go. There is 52 miles of the AT that passes through Connecticut.
The morning was pretty smooth hiking. I stopped at a shelter to eat lunch and around twelve day hikers came to take a break. They were part of a hiking club. They asked me lots of questions about my hike, I was happy to share my experience with them. They were a lively group and we had a good time hanging out. The trail continued along the Housatonic River. You could hear the power the water generates as it goes down the rocks. I stopped to take in a beautiful view from on the top of the Schaghticoke Mountain. After about 10 miles my day was done and I set up camp and got some rest.
Sunday (6/21) the plan was to hike 11 miles and walk off the trail to the town of Kent, CT. The day started with a rocky climb that lead to a view of the Housatonic River valley. After about 3 miles into my hike the trail came out to the road that lead to the town of Kent. I guess it was about a 3/4 of a mile road walk there and back. Kent is a small town with some restaurants and shops on the main street, there was lots of people enjoying the day there. Of course, I was the only one walking around with a big back pack on my back. I received lots of looks and some questions. I found a nice outside restaurant and treated myself to a Father’s Day lunch. I did miss not being with my family.
I still had about 7 more miles to go until I would arrive at my campsite. Everything went smooth for about 4 miles, then came a decent that was nothing but boulders. The area was called St John’s Ledges. My app described it this way “The descent from the ledges is steep and rocky, so be careful in wet weather ,“of course it rained about an hour before I got there. I had to take my backpack off once and let it slide down below me. There were several times that I had to slide down the steep rock face. It was a hard climb down and I was glad to get where the rocks ended. After that I was rewarded with a nice flat trail that ran along side of a river for most of the rest of the hike. I did not get to the campsite until after 7 pm. I fixed a quick supper and set up camp and laid my tired body down.
Monday (6/22) was a short hike of just over 4 miles. I came out of a road that lead to the town of Cornwall Bridge. The rain was forecast to start at noon and not stopping until sometime mid morning, so I felt this would be a good time to stay at a motel. There were several other hikers there that had the same idea. It did start raining about noon and it’s still raining as I write this. Tomorrow I will be back on the trail rain or shine. You know what they say “no rain, no Maine . Happy trails!
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