Kent, CT

Man, the states are beginning to really fly by now. It helps that they aren't each as long as Virginia was, and that we can consistently do the miles we want without too much trouble. But here I am in New England already! It's pretty crazy to me. Having never been north of New York state, I'm in for a whole new bunch of territory. Should be interesting; so far Connecticut is a very pretty state. We've been following the Housatonic River mostly, and it is just beautiful. Seen some neat covered bridges too, including one (Bull's Bridge) which was used by George Washington and his army several times during the Revolutionary War. Mostly original construction too.

Really things are going great, and I'm enjoying the hiking immensely. New Jersey, despite being New York's armpit, was beautiful. There were some lovely ridge-walks, often in a sort of wooded grassland sort of environment, so you don't feel so enclosed in the "long green tunnel" that was often the case in PA. There were tons of views off those ridges, too. And all the pines (at least in places) and the glacially weathered rocks remind me a lot of the hiking I'd done in Michigan's UP, which is nice. Hiking in pines is some of my favorite, I don't quite know why.

New York was also very pretty. It's full of all these little ups and downs, but the glacial landscapes have increased by this point, so it's all very rugged as well. As I hike I can't help but think of mountain lions prowling around upon the ledges and cliffs the outcrops form, or a surprise attack by a band of roving Indians on some European army. If you ever saw that movie Last of the Mohicans, you get a sense of what was on my mind as I passed through these areas. It helps that the woods are just FULL of old, slowly crumbling stone walls; you can get a real sense of the history of the area just walking in it, and knowing a bit, as I do, of what sorts of events once took place in the very woods through which I'm hiking.

We had one crazy night just as we entered New York that is worth mentioning. It was pretty late, but we decided to push on a bit to make it down into Greenwood Lake to set ourselves up for an early resupply the next day and a quick out of town. First we misjudged our location, thinking we only had 2 miles to go to the side trail down the mountain...walked for 2 hours before finding it in the failing light; it turned out to have been 4+ miles. Then we couldn't find anywhere to camp; because the police station was right next to the park, so stealthing there was out of the question. We eventually asked some teens who were playing basketball for a place to go, and ended up in some park/dirt-bike jump area/dump behind a CVS. And talk about mosquitoes. Being the lazy type, I decided to cowboy it, my tarp being a pain in the ass to set up in the dark, besides it being mostly treeless near where my group set up. Then the rain started. I hurry into the dense, weedy woods and hastily throw up the tarp, not bothering with stakes, just basically draping it over some branches super ghetto style. Pathetic really. And with my 20 degree sleeping bag in the middle of summer, I began a night of sweating and being eaten alive, but certainly not sleeping. Didn't get wet, though.

Made me realize just how half-assed my equipment selection has been thus far: external frame pack, heavy, worthless tarp, sleeping bag too warm for the season, too-heavy food bag (not the food, the bag itself), boots that are literally falling to pieces (that last outfitter was worthless so I'm still in the old ones; hopefully that will change tomorrow). I tell myself that 10, 15 years ago this was all standard and perfectly adequate equipment, but I know I could be making things easier on myself. If only I wasn't so damn cheap, and the stuff I needed wasn't so expensive. I'm not worried about it, though. I know I can get there on what I have. But I did break down and make the call home for my tent to be sent back to me, more for the bugs than anything else.

One thing I feel like mentioning as well is how every day I'm freshly inspired by the fact that everything I need to get by in life in on my back. It's so amazing how happy a man can be with so little; just the few necessities, plus friends and nature. The simple life. And most of the necessities aren't. I don't need the stove and fuel; a fire works just as well and is free. All this really drives home the fact that it's not the things we own that makes us happy, it's the people in our lives and a clear purpose. In this case my purpose is quite simple, just to walk north, but of course there's more going on than that; I'm out here for more than that. But it doesn't have to be complicated. I really hope I can hold onto this real sense of peace and happiness when I've finished, to keep these lessons in mind and close to heart, and to maybe pass them on to others.

One more thing before I go. I want to mention trail magic, because I don't think I have yet. Trail magic is when people leave, say, water out near a road crossing in a dry section, or a cooler full of gatorade, soda, and snacks. The kind of thing that really reminds you of the goodness of people. It's amazing how much less cynical I've become on that front throughout this hike. You just come across so many kind and helpful people doing this, you can't help but remember that most of the negetivity is media-created sensationalism. Most people aren't like what's on the news.

Anyways, the other day I had a car drive by just as I was walking into the woods off a road to ask if I wanted a Coke. Then this other day I was filling up my water bottles from some gallon jugs of water someone had left out when this guy, Paddy-O, drives up, gets out of his truck and starts asking about how many hikers were out today. I mentioned the 5 in my group, plus a few others I knew of; turns out he was going to go to the next road and do a hotdog cookoff, but only if there were enough hikers to make it worthwhile. Made me feel like I was integral to the party, and it sure gave me motivation to bust out those 3 intervening miles to where he was setting up. It was a great time, we stayed for hours gorging ourselves on hotdogs, salsa, beer, and donuts. After we left, he ended up hiking the 1.5 miles up to the campsite with a backpack full of whiskey and moonshine, and we stayed up pretty late having outselves a big party in the woods. And the weirdest part was Sprout, a woman we'd been hiking with for a week or so and a new member to our group, actually knew the guy from a hike she did earlier in the year. She was actually writing him a postcard when he drove up (she was ahead of me that day and happened to be waiting for me and Chopsticks (another young woman who'd recently joined our group) to catch up). Sprout had no idea Paddy-O was coming or was anywhere around, it was kinda freaky really. Small world, you know?

P.S. you all may want to check the New York Times' on Fridays in August; I came across a writer/photographer team yesterday and they did a quick interview for their piece on the AT in Connecticut. I may be quoted or pictured in the freakin Times, man! It'll be in the "Escape" section, and there's a better chance for it on the internet version than the paper one. Still, mom, dad, if you could buy the paper copy for me, just on the off chance of it, I'd appreciate it. It'd be cool to have.

PPS dad, I'm really happy you're doing that bike tour. I'm actually kinda jealous. I've been missing my bike a little lately, and it'd be awesome to do something like that with you. Another time, I hope.