7/11/01
The early morning first light woke me briefly before I turned to the other side and fell back to sleep. Still in a stupor an hour later my consciousness awakened just enough to recognize a hard wind which got my brain engaged. It took a few seconds but I realized that a morning storm was blowing in. Phantom was already engaged in packing up to head into Kent, CT for his food pickup and to buy some new socks at the outfitter there. I quickly went into packing mode, dismantling the tent and haphazardly throwing my gear into the safety of my backpack. Soon small drops of rain began to fall and distant thunder became more recognizable. Just as I finished packing and Phantom got on the trail the rain began in earnest. Since is was only 7:00 a.m. I walked 50 feet to the shelter and took cover. Lone Wolf was sleeping alone in the shelter after an apparent trip to town last night. He awoke briefly as I entered the shelter, then turned over and went back to sleep. Since it was apparent the storm was going to settle in for awhile, I lay down using my water bag as a pillow and my rain jacket and pack cover as my sleeping bag. I took a cat nap until 8:30 a.m. as the rain and small hail pelted the roof of the shelter. By 8:45 the storm was gone and so was I, hiking north the 10 miles to my own side trip to Cornwall Bridge, CT. The first climb up Caleb's Peak was tough. The descent down from St. Johns' Ledges was downright scary. One wrong step or slip and major injury could result. I took it very slow since the rocks were wet from the morning rain.
From the bottom, the next five miles were a flat hike along the banks of the Housatonic River. I stopped for lunch at the Stewart Hollow Brook lean-to which had a huge warning sign about an aggressive bear in the immediate area. I wondered if the big guy would show up to help me with my tuna salad tortilla, but he must have been busy in the blueberry patch instead. I hiked another 2 1/2 miles before reaching the next mountain to climb. The insects (mosquitos, deer flies, no-see-ums, gnats) continued to nag and pester me as they have for the last week or so. I struggled with the climb with very little energy in my legs and a dizzy feeling all the way up. Eventually I worked my way over the mountain and down the road to Cornwall Bridge. No motorists were interested in giving me a hitch, so I walked the mile to the post office. After an hour and a half of sorting through my pack and doing the usual routine, I stopped briefly at the package store for two sodas and to refill my water bottles from the spigot. At 4:00 p.m. I returned to the trail intersection with the crossroad and began writing a note to Phantom to tell him the time and that I was hiking on to the next shelter. Before I could finish the note, Phantom arrived, amazingly enough, so I gave him a soda and we hiked together the balance of the day.
There were four peaks to climb and they all were straight up, straight down. I didn't think I was going to make it I was so weak and puny throughout the afternoon. Both of us struggled but finally we made it to the mosquito capitol of the world, the Pine Swamp Brook lean-to. Why anyone would put a campsite/shelter next to a swamp is beyond my level of comprehension. What were they thinking? Phantom and I were on overdrive getting water, pitching our tents, and making dinner. In all my years of camping I've never seen such huge blood sucking carnivores lusting for my blood! We donned long pants, long thermal tops and rainsuit tops to ward off the beasts. It was war and I aggressively killed as many of them as I could while doing the required chores before getting into the safety of my tent. Before 9:00 p.m. we were both in our tents listening to the swarm of hungry varmints circling their way around. I wasn't about to leave the tent's inner walls to pee under any circumstances until the middle of the night, when hopefully the swarm would move on to other feeding areas. Another rough and challenging day was behind us, and I was so happy to be resting in the tent for the night. Today's stats: low 65, high 78. Morning thunderstorm; afternoon and evening, partly cloudy. Today's mileage: 17.3; cumulative mileage: 1464.4.
