7/29/99 Cornwall Bridge/White Horse Inn   Miles Today : 11.7 Miles to Katahdin : 704.9

Due to the late night escapades yesterday, I wasn't up and early this morning. Also, there were all sorts of critters running around last night, we heard owls, mice and a few unidentified animals.

When we finally did get going, we first headed into the town of Kent for coffee, my mail drop, etc... As I am at the post office, I run into Monk! Turns out that Monk was only a day or two behind us for quite some time, but just as he caught us, he sprained his foot. Monk is going home hopefully to return in 2 weeks. Ouch, good luck Monk.

So we still have 11 miles to get to meet Michelle, and she would have a car, so we dropped our packs at the local outfitter and headed out with water and snacks only. Ah, freedom from my heavy pack.

Nothing too terribly interesting today. We definitely have entered the mountains again, as we had several climbs and descents. Also, we had the longest river walk on the AT today, five miles winding along the banks of the Husatonic River. Also, we came across just about the biggest official camping area yet. Almost all on top of a small mountain, this site has a good view, several picnic tables, a swing and a pump for water.

Finally, around 2:00, DB and I got to Cornwall Bridge, CT. We hitched into town with a guy who owns an organic farm. He gave us a ride, and a cantaloupe! We quickly went to the Cornwall Bridge Package Store, where we signed the hiker register and received a free beer! Thanks guys.

Here, too, I was reunited with my girlfriend, Michelle. She drove DB and I around to get our packs, eat, etc... We finally found a place to stay, the White House Inn and Farm, after driving around for over an hour. The place is very s it expensive, but very nice. Just as we were finished checking in, the woman told us that we would be the only one here, including staff. Soooo, DB pulled off the best stealth camping yet, inside the Inn!

Well, that's it for today. Tomorrow Michelle and I with hike south, and DB north. This will allow all of us to hike without a pack, meet in the middle of the day and pass off the car keys. The joys of having a set of wheels.

-Chomp

< Previous Entry | Next Entry >