Miles: 7.0
Hours: 7
It rained last night so the trail was still wet and after about two miles the trail crossed St. John's Ledges, a big boulder climb with slippery rocks. It was Cold, cold, cold today. Last night there was a scruffy looking man at the shelter who called himself Uncle Walt. He made me nervous. I can't quite say why, but there was something in my gut that reacted against him. This morning he announced that his plan was to go into Kent, stock up on alcohol, and stay in the next shelter after Kent. I had planned to stay in that shelter also, since it was about a ten mile walk. But when I got to Kent I decided to go into town to spend some time. And then I decided that I was too nervous about sharing a shelter with Uncle Walt again, so I called the Fife 'N' Drum to get a room. Also, it was very cold and a shower sounded pretty enticing.
The Fife 'N' Drum is a combination restaurant/inn/gift shop. It has been run by the same family for 40 years and usually has live piano music. The bar functions as the front desk for the inn, so I walked up to the bar with my full pack on to pay and get the room key. I met the friendliest, most efficient, pretty bar tender there named Elissa, who also happens to be the owner. And as I had called ahead to make sure they had a vacancy she had mentioned to the five women sitting at the bar (who were there on a girls' day out) that a hiker was coming to check in. The five women were ready to meet me when I walked up. They had hiked the Appalachian Trail today also and were excited to ask me questions about hiking. They told me that if I put my stuff in my room and came back they would buy me dinner! Wow, talk about wonderful trail magic. I hurried to put my things in the room, take a shower, and change clothes. When I came back they were already sitting at a table ready to eat dinner. For a few hours I enjoyed the company of these strong, funny, creative, intelligent, beautiful (there are five of them, so they need five superlatives!) women. They treated me to dinner and listened to stories of the trail. It was a lot of fun. I learned that they work together for an insurance company and have girls' days every now and again, always involving untold amounts of fun. I am so glad that I got to meet women so full of life.
Pam, you asked me what I think of on the trail all day, and I didn't really know what to tell you. But I have thought about that question a lot since. Here is a partial list of what I think about all day: how far I will hike today; I replay conversations I just had with other hikers or people in town; I think about old things-like relationships or events from years ago (I spend a lot of time on this, acutally, processing); I sing snippets of songs or song lyrics; I observe mushrooms, leaves, caterpillars, moths, lichen, mountains, clouds-I spend a lot of time just looking; wondering what job I should get next; wondering where I want to live when I leave the trail; a lot of time is spent thinking of my family; I miss my grandpa-though not as constantly as I did in the beginning; I wonder how long my money will last for this hiking trip; I wonder if it will rain today; and I try to remember what happened today so that I can remember to share it in the blog. What do you think of during the day? In the book "Becoming Odyssa" by Jennifer Pharr Davis (in which she chronicles her first thru-hike) she says that for the first time she has the time and luxury to allow her thoughts to run all the way to the end, to spin themselves out while she hikes. Always before she would begin to think about something, but it would bump into something else-a phone call, a meeting she needed to attend, before really reaching the end of thinking of that thing. I found this to be true also and I really enjoy the time to think and process. Even if it is not a concentrated thiking, not a labored event, just a - hey, I'm walking through the woods now, oh, and I remember....
What do you think about when you have a quiet moment?
Trail
Housatonic River
Follow the white blazes Up, Over, Around, Forward-ever forward
I'm not sure where the trail goes here!
Unnamed statue in Kent
The ladies who took me out for dinner: Pam, Wanda, Sandy, (me-Fugitive), Roxi, and Tori (my appologies, Ladies, if I mixed up some of those names...) The owner of the Fife 'N' Drum is not pictured because she is behind the camera-but she was a big part of our wonderful evening. Thank you, Elissa.
Crystal~it was momentous to meet you as well!! You were the highlight of our foliage trip this year!!! Kathy (aka Wanda) xo
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