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[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

you can write to Ken  <krk@speakeasy.net>


* * *
I just can't get any momentum going; except when going downhill.
  I left Kent Saturday afternoon on a hot muggy day and arrived at
Mt. Algo shelter in good order. I decided that there was no way I
would make the next lean-to and since the shelter was here I
might as well take advantage of it instead of going to the Mt.
Shaghticoke (sp!?) Campsite some 3.5 miles farther down the
trail. Besides the lean-to had some interesting people there like
  a CT ridgerunner named Matt.
I got on the trail the next morning around 8:45 on yet another hot
  muggy, but this time overcast, morning. No views for me. I met
many day hikers including a family with a lovely Doberman
(looked like one anyway) who were out for the day. We talked f
or a while as we leapfrogged each other until they decided they
were tired and turned around to go back to the northern trailhead.
The last time I saw them the sun was just breaking through but
the haze that was hanging around was showing no signs of really
leaving. Still only modest views of the Housatonic Valley below.
And the day was getting hotter and muggier.
The hiking through the Schagticoke Indian Reservation was nice
enough. When you're off the ridges or not in one of the couple
gulches it is as level as you can expect when walking through
a mountain forest. The footing was generally quite good too.
Peaceful except for the gnats that kept buzzing me. Those
things can be a real bother.
I got to Bulls Bridge some five hours after I started. The covered
bridge, which you can't see from the trail, is one of two that still
survive in CT. It was neat walking through the bridge and thinking
back on its history and the vehicles (it is still used today) that
have crossed over it. I'm not sure if it was a covered bridge when
George Washington lost his horse in the river during Revolutionary
War times, but perhaps it was there.
The convenience store is wonderfully placed for hikers. I certainly
consumed my share of cold drinks and snacks. I think they are
  keeping the picnic unshielded from the boiling sun to encourage
you to drink more (it has an umbrella hole, but no umbrella is in the
hole). I spent a good hour there talking with some hikers and then
a trio of road bikers who are getting themselves ready for a road
biking trip in the Canadian Rockies (Banf to Jasper) later this
month. I bet they'll have a fantastic time.
By the time I left I was pretty sure I'd just stop at Ten Mile Lean-to.
  I could take a dip in the river if I wanted and besides it wouldn't
change how far I'd go the next day (Telephone Pioneer Shelter).
When I arrived If found Spider Women (got her name from the
spider bite that put her in the hospital for a while) and Old Dirty
Bastard (because he knows the names of rappers even though
he is an older fellow) at the campsite. We had a lovely time talking.
The shelter itself is also quite nice even though it is a "short and
stubby" (like the ones in Maine). It is in an old farm field surrounded
by slowly crumbling stone walls. This region has quite a few stone
walls and it is impressive how well some of them seem to be holding
up considering there is no one to maintain them and has not been f
or well over a century (I'm not sure when the farms vanished).
It had been a decent day even though I did not go as far as I first
planned. But, that decent day got seriously marred when the
Handspring VISOR decided to do something bad and seemingly
lose everything in its memory including the last month of my
journal entries! Yes, all my journal entries are gone as far as I
can tell. I am unhappy. Very sad. And seriously wishing for the
  old reliable, nearly two pounds, MessagePad 2100 (Newton)
and its keyboard. It had problems, the keyboard was showing
  its age, but I'd never lost stuff. Once it was in the Newton it
  was in. I can re-create the entires, sort of, but they won't be the same.
I've just mailed the VISOR out and will get back on the trail where
I left off I hope. With luck I will get a ride back out of Kent. I had to
walk the 4 odd miles down US 7 and that has taken a toll on my
feet and morale. I am unhappy and it really does seem like I can't
get good momentum going on this hike. But, I'll keep trying for a
little longer yet.
** Ken **



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