Today… Connecticut! I am back in New England! But I lost my hiking partner, and my feet are so sore. I said all along that I needed to toughen up before I hit New England; guess I didn’t toughen up enough, because Connecticut’s rocks and ups and downs beat the heck out of me. I got my 12 miles in, but the 10 in CT took almost that many hours.
No energy to cook tonight – dinner was a salmon packet, a tuna packet, pepperoni, and cheese. This shelter is very small – four people are filling it, and the other three are enthusiastic, talkative, young thru-hikers from Georgia. Bah. It is very windy out there still, I am typing this lying in my sleeping bag. There are about seven tents set up all over the place. And a very soothing stream just down the hill.
Morning Song noticed this morning that the strap holding my left shoulder strap to the backpack is frayed more than halfway through, and could snap at any time. It is not repairable. This has thrown a kink into my plans… I’m going to be at Kent longer than I planned. Tomorrow, I will take a zero at this shelter, to save money, while I contact Sierra to see if I can get a replacement backpack under warranty. Fortunately, it is only about a mile walk into Kent, so I can leave my gear here and walk in. Tuesday I might arrange to stay at a “bunk and done” hostel that will allow me to do some slackpacking while I wait for the new backpack – either from Sierra or from Amazon. I still hope to make VT by July 1, but I am flexible. I am so lucky that this shelter is so close to a town. Hey, I can take some time tomorrow to read the book Lori sent me, and then mail it home. I really need a zero anyway; the last one was in NJ.
Did I mention I miss my hiking partner? No one welcomed me home. And these people in the shelter are very talkative…
I pause.
TRAILS, TRIALS, AND TRAVAILS 