9 down, 5 to go.

Day 85 - 7/11/10
Sleeping next to a main road is not a good idea. Sleeping between a
main road and railroad tracks is an even worse idea. That's what I
did. So the sleep wasn't too great. Made for a later start again,
about 8:30. While I was cooking up breakfast a guy who worked there at
the Garden Center pulled up and washed his car. He came over and gave
me 2 Gatorades and 2 cans of iced tea. When The Crusher and Ichabod
woke up I gave them the Gatorade (I don't like lemon-lime flavor) and
one of the ice teas, then I mixed my can with some water in my bottle.
Reduce the sweetness a bit. It was nice to have something to drink and
taste aside from water.

The first few miles was farmland walking. Gradual ups and downs.
Nothing to strenuous. About 5 miles in I hit a great cooler of trail
magic. Cookies, pink lemonade mix for the 5 gallon water jug they had,
and the juiciest watermelon I've had in a long time. That was my
favorite part. I passed by the first shelter soon after that and
didn't stop for another break until the second shelter, the first one
in New England! I just used the privy, then went back to the trail and
found a nice secluded spot I used for lunching. While there I called
Jen. During our conversation a shirtless guy carrying something
appeared out of the wood and started walking the trail. As he walked
away I heard flute music, and thus realized that was his mysterious
item. It was sort of a strange occurence to witness.

When I headed out I crossed a big river, Ten Mile I think it's called,
and was tempted to go enjoy the crazy rapids and currents tearing
through it. What held me back was the thought of hiking in wet clothes
afterward. It was a nice walk from there to Bull Bridge Rd., but then
I had the hardest mile of the day right after that going up
Schaghticoke Mountain. 1000 foot climb in a mile. I took a break when
I made it up on top and was able to enjoy a breeze going through.

When I started up again I soon passed by Seeker, stopped to talk to
her for a minute, then moved on. Less then a half mile up the trail I
saw a note for her (and everyone else too) from Trashman. Guess he saw
two rattlers at one time on some rocks, so he was giving out a warning
to all. Sure enough when I made it to where he said I saw one of the
snakes. I took out my cam and got some okay pics, but it was acting
strange, following me up the trail and whatnot. Almost as if it were
guarding it, trying to keep me moving and away from his section. I
waited for Seeker and then told her where it was when she came by. Now
I've seen two rattlers.

It was about another 3+ from the snake to the road you use to get into
Kent, and it was the longest and toughest section of the day for me.
Not because it was exceptionally difficult, but because my knee was
hurting me so badly on the downhills. Going up is fine, but when I
head down I feel it every time. A shockwave of hurt goes right to my
knee. So that was rough. When I made it to the road I started walking
in and was eventually offered a ride from a passing car going in.
Guy's name was Randy, nice older guy who lives in the area and has
done a lot of hiking. He ended up driving me around town, giving me
the tour, which is nice because as a hiker you are often overwhelmed
by a town and have little to no clue where anything is.

He dropped me off at a local pizza joint in town and I had dinner
there. Just a medium pepperoni. Very good food. Afterward I walked
over to the church and was going to check and see if i'd be able to
tent there (I'd heard you could) but all I saw was Ichabod, The
Crusher, and Jibbitz (another Mainah - girl) standing around. The
pastor wasn't home, he was at a book club or something, so while they
went to eat I stayed and waited to see if he'd show. Eventually I saw
lights go on in his house next to the church so I went over and rang
the doorbell. He came out, I gave him my story, and he said sure to us
tenting around back.

It's about 10:30 now and I'm very tired. Gnawing on some pizza while I
write this to try and keep me awake. I won't be leaving here super
early tomorrow because there are a few things I still need to do.
Laundry and a stop at the outfitters for another can of fuel. Still
want to try and leave by 10 so I can put in a 20 though. Hope I can
make it happen.

Total miles: 1456.7