Week 11

Week 11 Tuesday-Sunday I think Teddy Roosevelt put it best when he said, "There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm." There are also no pictures I can take that can do its beauty justice. This week, I have been hiking solo and have stopped to take a few more pictures of nature than usual. Every time I snap a photo though, I find myself looking from my phone, back to the real thing and thinking there is just no way to capture this beauty. I've realized it's not just what I am looking at, but the feeling I get being completely surrounded by it all that makes it so mesmerizing.

It is overwhelming sometimes. Toward the end of my hike today for example, the trail turned a corner and all of the sudden I was in this gorgeous open field. Beyond the grassy meadow I found myself gazing at a row of rolling green mountains backed by a wondrous sunset. It was heart-stopping. Oh how I wish you were all here with me to experience these amazing moments. They are so spectacular.

I have been hiking solo the past few days because my hiking pal, Wolfdog, is in NYC visiting his girlfriend. We had planned to both go visit our significant others around the same time so we could synch back up, after our visits, and continue hiking together. He will meet back up with me right before the Massachusetts boarder tomorrow in Salisbury, Connecticut. 

My New York City visit with the hubs was a great vacation from my vacation. We stayed in an adorable hostile off of Bowery in lower Manhattan, wedged right between China Town and Little Italy. We were so thrilled to see each other. Ten weeks is the longest we had been apart in ten years. It was so nice to have a few days with just us... and 20 million other people. I am not gonna lie, it was a little overwhelming going from seeing maybe a handful of people a day to millions, but the magic, the energy, and the rich culture the city possesses was wonderful to experience together. It was also Wes' first time in NYC, which made it extra special and fun. We did the museum crawl, visiting the Met and the American Museum of Natural History. We also went to Central Park, Time Square, Park Ave., China Town, Little Italy, etc. Paint the town red we did, and when we weren't walking and exploring, we were eating. We ate every kind of dumpling, hoagie, pizza, pasta, salad, hotdog, cannoli you can imagine. Wes even took me to one of those Brazilian steakhouses with all-you-can-eat meat and salad on the last night we were there. He figured those were the two things I crave the most and never get enough of on the trail. 

Alas, we had to part ways on Thursday. I cried like a baby when his taxi took off, but luckily I didn't have too much time to wallow. I had laundry to do, a resupply to shop for, and a train to catch. The minute I got back on the trail, I instantly felt serenity. It was so intense. It was like I could breathe again. All the hustle and bustle of the city was fun and great and all, but by the end of each day in NYC, my brain felt frizzle fried. I think it was a bit of sensory overload. Being out here alone the last couple of days has been the exact kind of decompression from the city that I needed. The first day, I didn't even talk to any of the few people I did see on the trail...complete silence. It was nice.

By my second day back on trail, I had made it to the Connecticut border. This state is beautiful. I haven't seen much wildlife, but there has been a plethora of streams and wild flowers that have made this state one of the prettiest yet. The smell of wild mint and the sound of moving water are pretty much constant. 

The beginning of the state was very peaky. While the elevation wasn't very high, there were a dozen or so tiny climbs that wore me out. It would constantly just go straight-up and straight-down, similar to the terrain of the beginning of the trail in New York. The last day or so though, I have spent many a mile down by the Housatonic River. The AT runs parallel to the river for several miles and then crosses it four or five times toward the end of the state. 

One of the sections of the river, next to a town called Falls Village, houses an awesome waterfall. There were all kinds of weekenders swimming and fishing and tubing. I took several pictures, but did not take a dip. ( I once had a bit of a waterfall accident years ago) 

I also got some awesome trail magic right before the falls. A group of trail runners has put together quite the spread. They had pancakes, cokes, coffee, sandwiches, sweets, and tons of other scrumptious things I can't even remember. After feeding me, they were even kind enough to point me toward the direction of a shower head located on the side of a building near by. In true "hiker trash" fashion, I preceded to not only shower, but also take care of laundry duty for the week.

Tomorrow will be a great day. It looks like rain unfortunately, but I get to reunite with my hiking partner and hopefully see a new state line. Weather permitting, I will hopefully be setting up camp in the great state of Massachusetts tomorrow evening.