Connecticut

“Take me to the River, drop me in the water” – The Reverend Al Green (or Talking Heads, your choice)

Remember the other night when I referenced the running joke in My Cousin Vinny where fate conspires to keep him from getting a good night’s sleep? Well, I think I jinxed it. Don’t pitch your tent beside train tracks, it seems so obvious to me now. Trains thundered through blasting their horns every two hours until 2 AM, then started up again at 4:30. Was it worth a roast beef on rye and an egg sandwich? Maybe. But I was exhausted today.

A pretty mile through pasture with a old wooden water tower to start the day. The fields were filled with wild flowers, clover, thistle, buttercups, little daisies, and many others I don’t know the names for. They should have sent a botanist. Exposed in the sun I started sweating, and I didn’t stop all day. Went into the Pawling Nature Preserve, where there was tons of poison ivy beside the trail. What a jerk plant. I got it on my inner arm somehow in Maryland, but otherwise I’ve been good. Knock on wood. Filled up on water at Wiley Shelter, another old timey hand pump. Everything is dry right now. AWOL distinguishes between reliable and unreliable water sources, but some of the reliable ones you can’t even tell were streams unless you really look (that’s called foreshadowing.) The Ten Mile River wasn’t dry, though it was running low judging by lines in the rocks in the river. I hung out there for awhile because I was beat. I started to worry I might be getting sick, which is extra scary out here with West Nile, Lyme, and who knows what else. I convinced myself I’m just exerting myself in the heat on not enough sleep, and if I still feel like crap tomorrow I’ll worry then.

I hopped across the border a couple times, but after 15 miles I was officially in Connecticut for good. Yay new state. The plan was to stop at the campsite right after, settle for my 15 and go to bed early. Guess what? No water. And I had only half a liter, which is barely enough to cook dinner and brush my teeth. Now I probably would have survived, but having no water is a scary situation. I’ve seen people get dehydrated and it’s scary, plus I just heard of yet another person pushing too hard on too little water and peeing blood because of kidney stones. Things get real simple but real serious out here. It was a little over two miles to Thayer Brook, if it has a name it has to be running, right? I sat at the campsite and had a Snickers and an apple, feeling a rough day turn worse on me. But I’m a thru hiker, this is how we roll. No water, keep walking. Up and over another hill, where I lost the trail for a second and generally grumbled. Coming down into the valley I could hear the brook running. Oh what a sweet sound! I drank the tiny reserve I was rationing, got down there and filled up all of the things. Another mile to Mt Algo Shelter and I was doubly done for the day. 722.7 to Katahdin.