Day 44: The Hemlocks Shelter

Start: Salisbury, Connecticut (AT mi 1502.2). Stop: The Hemlocks Shelter (AT mi 1515.9). Today’s miles: 13.7 miles. Total AT mileage: 491.2 miles. States Completed: Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut

I didn’t sleep too well at Maria’s. Not sure why, because it was comfortable and I had a fan on me, but I just couldn’t stay asleep. I was awake after midnight, stretching in the floor. Then back to tossing and turning in the bed. Frustrating to say the least.

I got up and packed quickly and as quietly as I could. I walked down the street and met Lizard by the road we were starting on. We hiked together for a few miles, then she pulled ahead. It was another gorgeous day. Bright but in the 70s, so not terribly hot. I felt a little nauseous though, which could have been from a number of things.. I ate that huge dinner last night, I was probably dehydrated from yesterday’s long mileage but I didn’t drink any water really after getting to town, and-I had a slice of cheesecake for breakfast. Hahaha

Connecticut’s trail maintenance people are some of the best I’ve seen so far, I’ve truly loved almost all of it. There has been a couple rocky descents that felt rough underfoot, but that’s seriously it. I’ve really enjoyed all the beauty this state has shown me.

Today’s terrain when up and over 3 mountains. The first was Bear Mountain in Connecticut, the highest peak in the state, on the way down we crossed into Massachusetts. I met Lizard at a large stream and we ate lunch (she was mostly done by the time I got there lol). I didn’t see the sign saying we were in Massachusetts, but according to my maps, we definitely were. I was sad about missing two stateline signs now (I missed NY/CT because of not having my phone).
After eating, I continued down the path beside the stream for awhile, and once I crossed over, boom! There’s the sign! I hadn’t missed it after all! I was so excited! Another state down! Only.. a lot more to go lol, but getting closer to half of the states being completed 😉

The next mountain was a 2+ mile ascent and I was just so dang slow. I couldn’t bring myself to pick up the pace. Also, I knew once I got to the top, I had to go down and come back up an even steeper ascent before going all the way down again to get to the shelter. Lord. Every single time the wind would pick up and blow through, I’d stop to let it cool me off. I never took my pack off and sat down, but I did do way too many pauses.
The final climb was damn brutal. It went straight up for close to a mile. Like 70-80 degree rock faces that at points were so steep they had put wooden “steps” to help you not slip to your death. Ok, that’s slightly dramatic, but the way the gnats were attacking my face and making me nutty the whole way up, I could see how easy it would be for me to slip and have a significant fall, all due to making sure I smashed the bug flying in my face. Things near my face make me a bit crazy. Clearly.

I made it to the shelter close to 6pm, a whole hour after Lizard. I went and got water to filter. Once back at camp I decided to sleep in the shelter (which is crazy.. because you know, gnats) but I didn’t see anywhere I wanted my tent and the weather app says it’s supposed to rain overnight. Annnnd, honestly, I was just too tired to deal with setting it up.

Tie-dye ended up coming in a bit after me! He’s staying in the shelter, too. Lizard has her hammock up. The three of us ate dinner together and chatted about life. Tie-dye started in GA,I didn’t realize that until today.

We were all three about ready to turn into bed when a weekender comes barreling up to us. Im not sure if he’s retired or still active army, but he has definitely served.. and man he came up the little hill to us quick! He lives nearby and is doing weekend backpacking trips over the summer. We stayed up and chatted with him for awhile. Then as he started setting up his tent, I came and got on my bunk in the shelter.

There’s another group of people down the way some, and they’re quite loud. If you ever forget what day of the week it is, you’ll quickly be reminded when it’s a weekend! Haha I don’t think they’ll be loud for long, it’s sprinkling a little.
I’m putting in my earplugs and hoping for some restful sleep tonight. Maybe I’ll get lucky.