Appalachian Trail - Day 096 - Cesar Brook Campsite to US Route 44

Day: 096

Date: Saturday, 29 July 2023

Start:  Cesar Brook Campsite (AT Mile 1488.0)

Finish:  US Route 44 (AT Mile 1507.6)

Daily Kilometres:  31.7 (Ascent 3625', Descent 3547')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2521.2

Weather:  Very warm and humid with a rain shower in the morning and a thunderstorm with rain in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Room in a private home near Salisbury.

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Trail mix

  Lunch:  Western Omelette & hash browns/Skillet & hash browns 

  Dinner:  Clam chowder, lasagna.

Aches:  Dave - very tired; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  To save time at the end of the day, when we needed to resupply in the village of Salisbury which was about half a mile off the trail, Julie went ahead to go into the village with the plan being for her to get the supplies and rejoin the slower Dave back on the trail.  As Julie reached the road which she was going to follow into town it began to rain as thunder rolled overhead.  A car which had just passed her did a U-turn, came back and the driver suggested Julie hop in and he would take her to his home nearby where could have a feed and stay the night.  She explained that she was with her "husband" who would be along shortly and the driver, Ben, said that was fine and that it was a genuine offer and no "funny business" and that he has done it for other hikers on occasion.  Julie said she needed to get supplies in Salisbury then return to meet Dave, so Ben drove her to the grocery and back to the trailhead where Dave had arrived.  We then went to Ben's big 100-y-o house on a large property by a lake and he gave us dinner and a room with an ensuite and let us wash our wet and smelly gear.  We had anticipated camping in the rain, so felt very lucky.  Ben will drive us back to the trailhead in the morning.

Lowlight:  The first eight miles of the day seemed to take forever with the rocky gnarly trail twisting and turning and going up and down and never seeming to get anywhere. It felt like we were just going in circles.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were walking by 6:40am on a day when we hoped to do 21 miles to put us in reach of Great Barrington tomorrow night where we have a hotel booked.  Ideally we would reach the village of Salisbury at the end of the day and resupply for tomorrow before going a little further to camp.  However, after yesterday we were becoming a bit wary of the Connecticut trails which were often slow going and hard work.

Our fears were well-founded, and the first eight miles of the day were slow (see above), with few views and some heavy rain.  The mosquitoes were also quite bad, so our mood wasn't that good when we finally came down from a mountain at a road crossing, but it improved when we found a young couple offering "trail magic" treats to thru-hikers there.  We stopped for a while, eating, drinking and chatting before moving on to our planned brunch stop at a cafe a few hundred yards off the trail a mile further on.  There we enjoyed an excellent brunch before resuming our journey with the trail now following the Housatonic River again on a beautiful path through the woods.

Near Falls Village we crossed the river and hiked past the impressive falls before climbing away from the river into the mosquito-infested forest again.  At least the trail was easier going and the scenery and views good.  We made reasonable progress though it was getting late in the day.

To save time we decided Julie would go on ahead and get our supplies in Salisbury, which she did, but not in the manner expected (see above).  Given that it was raining and we were both quite wet, the very unexpected offer of a room in a private home was most welcome.

We didn't get quite as far as hoped today, but should still be able to make it to Great Barrington tomorrow if the Connecticut trails cooperate.

Appalachian Trail - Day 095 - Bull's Covered Bridge to Cesar Brook Campsite

Day: 095

Date: Friday, 28 July 2023

Start:  Bull's Covered Bridge (AT Mile 1466.4)

Finish:  Cesar Brook Campsite (AT Mile 1488.0)

Daily Kilometres:  36.4 (Ascent 4984', Descent 4590')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2489.5

Weather:  Hot, humid and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  McDonalds breakfast sandwiches & hash browns

  Lunch:  Trail mix, ice-creams

  Dinner:  Italian sub

Aches:  Dave - left ankle and knee giving him problems; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  There was a very pleasant stretch of easy walking on a sun-dappled trail alongside the fast-flowing Housatonic River during the afternoon when the mosquitoes were absent.

Lowlight:  The last four miles were not fun.  We were already later than we had hoped because of a distance miscalculation Dave made but decided to continue on to our target campsite even though we knew we would be late.  We didn't know how late!  Firstly, there was a technical and slow climb away from the river up and over a mountain that offered no views.  Then, after crossing a road, we descended to Guinea Brook which was running fast and at least knee-deep at its shallowest points.  There was a sign suggesting a roadwalk alternative that added a mile (why wasn't there a similar sign back at the road crossing?). At the end of a long day, we didn't fancy a difficult ford so we did the road walk.  Then, when we got back on the trail, there was more slow technical climbing followed by a gnarly long detour around another section of trail that had been washed away.  It was getting late and there were no alternative campsites so we just kept going, eventually donning our headlights when it got too dark to see around 8:30pm.  We finally reached our campsite at 8:45pm.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

The day started well.  Rob drove us from New Haven back to Bull's Covered Bridge and the trail with a stop along the way to get breakfast.  We, including Rob who was going to join us for a few hours, were hiking by 7:45am on an already very warm and humid morning.

Soon we were on the long ascent of Mt Schaghticoke.  Early on, Julie and Rob saw a large unconcerned black bear amble across the trail in front of them, which provided a bit of excitement.  At the top of the climb there were good views in a few places, but also lots of slow gnarly rocky trail that had Dave lagging behind.

Eventually, we descended to a busy road where there was a sign saying a bridge ahead had been damaged by flood water and recommending a roadwalk detour.  This was near the point where Rob was leaving us to walk back to his car via a road along the river but, before he left, he pointed out that the detour would take us close to the village of Kent where we might get an ice-cream.

We took the roadwalk detour and then detoured from that by a quarter mile to buy ice-creams and cold drinks which we ate and drank on a shady spot next to the gas station.

Returning to the detour, we had a long and pretty walk along the Housatonic River before beginning our last four miles of the day which became a bit of a nightmare (see above).

Having arrived so late we set up camp, washed and went to bed.  Dave ate his lunch roll for dinner, but Julie didn't want anything.  Hopefully we'll get to stop earlier tomorrow.

Appalachian Trail - Day 094 - Two days' off at Bull's Covered Bridge (but staying in New Haven)

Day: 093 & 094

Date: Wednesday & Thursday, 26 & 27 July 2023

Start:  Bull's Covered Bridge (AT Mile 1466.4) but staying in New Haven

Finish:  Bull's Covered Bridge (AT Mile 1466.4) but staying in New Haven 

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here and here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her walks around New Haven.

Total Kilometres:  2453.1

Weather:  Hot and partly sunny

Accommodation:  Friend's apartment in New Haven

Aches:  None reported.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: No pictures

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We've enjoyed two very relaxing days staying with friend, Rob, in his lovely New Haven apartment about a mile from the centre of town and close to some of Yale University's campus.

Yesterday, Rob drove us to REI, an outdoor store, and we bought insect headnets, long-sleeved hiking shirts and stronger insect repellent (100% DEET) to improve our mosquito defences, along with some other supplies.

Today, Dave managed to watch on TV the Women's World Cup soccer match between Australia and Nigeria with Rob, a keen soccer fan, and then took it easy for the rest of the day.

Julie, of course, went on a few local exploration trips to help pass the time.

Rob will drive us back to the trail early tomorrow morning and hike with us for much of tomorrow as a day hike.  There is a heat warning out for tomorrow and Saturday.

Appalachian Trail - Day 092 - Telephone Pioneers Shelter to Bull's Covered Bridge

Day: 092

Date: Tuesday, 25 July 2023

Start:  Telephone Pioneer Shelter (AT Mile 1452.4)

Finish:  Bull's Covered Bridge (AT Mile 1466.4)

Daily Kilometres:  25.5  (Ascent 2113', Descent 2697')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2453.1

Weather:  Very warm, humid and mostly sunny with a thunderstorm in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Friend's apartment in New Haven

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg, cheese & ham/sausage rolls, ice-creams 

  Lunch:  Pastries/Turkey & cheese sandwich 

  Dinner:  Beef stew, rice & veges.

Aches:  Dave - very tired; Julie - mosquito bites.

Highlight:  Friend, Rob, drove up from New Haven, 1.5 hours away, to pick us up from Bull's Bridge and take us back to his apartment for two days of R&R.

Lowlight:  None really (though the mosquitoes were still bad in places today).

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We packed up, fighting off mosquitoes, and were hiking by 6:30am on an already warm and humid morning.  We had a relatively easy day in front of us, starting with a downhill hike and a boardwalk across a marsh to a main road, three miles away, from where we left the trail and roadwalked three quarters of a mile to a deli for breakfast.  Just before the trail met the road it crossed a railway line where there was actually an Appalachian Trail station from where you could catch a train to New York City.

At the deli we had some scrumptious breakfast rolls which we ate outside while chatting to a young thru-hiker we have seen a number of times along the way.  Very pleasant.

After walking back to the trail, we had a mile or so of open meadow walking which was a nice change but warm in the sun.  Then it was back into the forest with the mosquitoes and a few hills.  Dave was complaining of fatigue, but it was hard to know whether it was just the knowledge that a couple of days off beckoned at the end of the day and he couldn't wait to get there but still had about ten miles to go.

There were few views, but the leaf-littered forest and rock ledges were very pretty and, one foot in front of the other, we reached a shelter and took a break, sharing the picnic table there with the same young thru-hiker we had shared the breakfast table.

The last five miles started with a trail relocation that required roadwalking to get around a washed out bridge, though word was that the river ford wasn't too difficult.  We agreed that Dave would do the roadwalk, while Julie would follow the old AT and we would meet where the trails converged about two miles further along.  There were things to see on both routes and the river ford was even easier than we had heard.

After one more climb, the trail descended to Tenmile River and soon passed the two-thirds mark of our journey.  We followed the river to its confluence with the much larger Housatonic River before following that upstream to Bull's Covered Bridge.  The river was raging and impressive.

After crossing the covered bridge we reached the store on the other side where we had arranged to meet Rob (see above).  We bought some food and drink and sat outside with a couple of other thru-hikers while we waited.  The sky was starting to look ominous with thunder audible in the distance and the first spots of rain began falling as Rob arrived.  The heavens then opened and it rained, sometimes torrentlally, for the entire 90-minute journey to New Haven where we will stay, courtesy of Rob, for the next two days and three nights.

Appalachian Trail - Day 091 - Canopus Lake Beach to Telephone Pioneer Shelter

Day: 091

Date: Monday, 24 July 2023

Start:  Canopus Lake Beach (AT Mile 1430.7)

Finish:  Telephone Pioneer Shelter (AT Mile 1452.4)

Daily Kilometres:  35.9 (Ascent 3776', Descent 3829')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2427.6

Weather:  Very warm, humid and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Calzones.

  Dinner:  Noodles.

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles and left Achilles tendon a bit sore; Julie - tormented by mosquito bites.

Highlight:  Food and drinks again!  Early in the day, after a road crossing, we came across a cooler that contained ice cold drinks and Snickers Bars and we happily treated ourselves.  Later in the day, at other road crossings, water had been left for hikers which was also very welcome.  And for lunch, we detoured off the trail and roadwalked half a mile to a pizza shop where we enjoyed excellent calzones and free refills of cold Diet Coke.

Lowlight:  Mosquitoes again!  For much of the day they were tolerable, but as the afternoon wore on they became increasingly bad and setting up camp was a nightmare.  We ended up eating in the tent to escape them.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We packed up and left our probably illegal campsite by 6:15am before any Park employees turned up to discover us.

The day's hiking involved continuing in a northeasterly direction across New York state, mostly following a series of low ridges through leaf-carpeted and boulder-strewn forest.  Much of the land had once been farmed and we frequently came across old stone fences.  It was also quite populated and we crossed a number of roads and highways and often passed near houses.

For lunch, we detoured off trail to a small industrial estate where there was a pizza shop and deli who, apart from thru-hikers, seemed to mostly serve employees of nearby businesses.  They actually let thru-hikers camp behind their shop, but we still had miles to travel.

Along the way there were some views and the trail was once again a mix of nice walking and gnarly rocky short ascents and descents.  It was warm and humid in the forest and hiking was sweaty work, made more unpleasant by the increasing number of mosquitoes during the afternoon.  Most hikers we saw were wearing headnets and we'll have to get some at the next opportunity.  Instead, we liberally and frequently coated ourselves in repellent, ignoring any cancer risk.

We reached our goal of Telephone Pioneer Shelter soon after 7:00pm, later than we had hoped, but the trail was often slow today.  There were already a number of tents set up, taking the best spots, and we ended up with a sloping site on the other side of a small creek.  The mosquitoes were diabolical, and setting up camp, washing and cooking were miserable.

Thirteen weeks/three months on the trail completed today.

Appalachian Trail - Day 090 - Bear Mountain Bridge to Canopus Lake Beach

Day: 090

Date: Sunday, 23 July 2023

Start:  Bear Mountain Bridge (AT Mile 1410.4)

Finish:  Canopus Lake Beach (AT Mile 1430.7)

Daily Kilometres:  34.2  (Ascent 4662', Descent 3747')

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2391.7

Weather:  Very warm, humid and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg, cheese & sausage subs

  Lunch:  Snickers & Mars bars

  Dinner:  American subs.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - mosquito bites.

Highlight:  As we stopped for our late lunch break, at around 2:15pm, a hiker coming the other way told us there was Trail Magic at a trailhead just under three miles further on.  We needed a break, but were also keen to get some cold drinks and other treats if they were on offer.  The risk was that the Trail Magic could be gone by the time we got there.  So, we shortened our lunch break and headed for the next trailhead arriving about 3:45pm to find there were plenty of cold drinks, along with some food available, including Vegemite sandwiches courtesy of two Australian (former thru-hikers) Trail Angels there.  We enjoyed the treats and conversation.

Lowlight:  The mosquitoes were really bad today.  Julie had a permanent unhappy grimace on her face as she swatted away the pests all day, while Dave was in constant danger of doing himself an injury by swatting while holding his trekking poles or losing his balance while swatting.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

The motel manager kindly drove us back as close to the trail as he could at 7:00am and we soon crossed the impressive Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River and climbed into the forest on a mild calm morning.

Almost immediately we were being bitten by mosquitoes and that continued all day (see above).  It spoiled what would otherwise have been a nice, if a little warm, day for hiking.  We walked out first six miles through peaceful forest on mostly reasonable trail to a road crossing where there was a gas station/store.  The store was very busy with Sunday morning traffic including many motorcyclists.  We bought some breakfast, plus subs for lunch, and ate our breakfast sitting outside watching the passing parade.

The next six miles of trail proved a bit tougher and slower than we hoped.  There were some good sections where we could walk normally but also lots of short sharp climbs/descents and rocky twisting trail.

We took a break for lunch at a road crossing and heard about some trail magic further along (see above) which brightened our mood and gave us something else to think about besides mosquitoes.  The distance to the trail magic seemed to pass slowly, but was forgotten once we saw unlimited cold drinks (Dave disposed of four cans in short order) and met the friendly and interesting trail angels.

It was 4:45pm by the time we left with six miles remaining to Canopus Lake Beach where we hoped to camp.  Apart from a mile where it seemed to follow an old railbed, the trail remained hard work and slow.  It was 7:30pm by the time we reached the picnic area at the beach.  It was a surreal scene, as the area was officially closed at 6:00pm, but thru-hikers were tolerated after that and a number sat at picnic tables chatting and eating their dinner while park employees worked around them cleaning toilets, grounds, etc, and then left.  We ate the rolls we had bought for lunch and then used the shower and the one open toilet to wash.

By this time it was getting dark and the other thru-hikers had left to go to the official thru-hiker camping area a few hundred yards away.  We decided to sneakily camp behind one of the buildings where we were closer to the water and toilet and further away from the other campers.  It was late by the time we got to bed and we'll have to make sure we leave early before the park employees arrive in the morning.

Appalachian Trail - Day 089 - Day Off at Bear Mountain Bridge (but staying at Fort Montgomery)

Day: 089

Date: Saturday, 22 July 2023

Start:  Bear Mountain Bridge (AT Mile 1410.4)

Finish:  Bear Mountain Bridge (AT Mile 1410.4)

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her walk/jog today.

Total Kilometres:  2357.5

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast sandwiches & hash browns

  Lunch:  American rolls

  Dinner:  Nachos/Chicken burger, ice-cream 

Aches:  Nothing to report.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

A very relaxing day started with a long social breakfast at the motel's picnic table on a beautiful mild sunny morning with our French-Canadian thru-hiker friends who were delaying their return to the trail today for as long as possible.  Often joining in the conversation was the very "New York" motel owner who is very opinionated and certainly no fan of Joe Biden.  Having said that, he has been totally helpful to us, doing our laundry, picking us up from the trail and doing anything else he can to make our stay a good one.

In the afternoon, Dave spent his time on admin/email while Julie went for a walk/jog to check out the neighbourhood.  Later we had dinner at the BBQ joint across the road again.  We have both eaten too much today!

Back on the trail tomorrow.