Maria Francesca Maier and her Husbands

Maria Francesca Maier and her Husbands
Pine Swamp Shelter to Maria’s House, Salisbury, CT 17 Miles

The night was great. The temperature was nice and I slept well. The Mosquitoes were so dense in the area that you could hear a hum emanating from everywhere. I woke up and there were several Mosquitoes sitting on my tent fly, presumably waiting for my exit to seize upon any bare skin or even clothed skin that they can fit their proboscises through. I have been bitten through two layers of clothing several times in the last few days but today took the cake. My back felt fine and I decided to try and go it without any acetaminophen. When I’m in camp I wear long clothing including an anti-mosquito sweatshirt that covers my hands too. It’s a pretty effective system but the Mosquitoes have been known to bite through the pants and my thick wool socks, believe it or not. I don it like a beekeeper’s suit as soon as I get washed up in camp and I don’t take it off except in my tent or just before I take off in the morning. I suit up before I slip out of my hammock and it’s pretty effective. The swarm was on me all morning; in fact, I thought it was because of my proximity to the swamp so I moved on without eating breakfast. I managed to get out of camp with only ten or twelve bites. I probably killed twenty of the bastards but for some reason they are very tough to kill even though they fly pretty slow. I got on the trail and it was damp everywhere. This rain has been causing a lot of problems. The Mosquitoes are absolutely unbelievable. I’m moving at an average of three miles an hour, that’s a pretty fast walk even without a pack and these guys are biting me at will. Right through my Under Armor, my hat, my legs are fair game even though they are always moving. There are deer flies and green head flies too which were landing on my hat and biting me through it. It makes me move faster up the hills and as soon as I’m out of breath and slow down, BAM! They’re on me again. It’s dangerous trying to hike up these crazy hills with poles attached to my hands and trying to slap my arms and legs as I walk over treacherous and slippery rocks. Every once in a while a pole will fly between my legs or catch on a tree and jerk me around because I was trying to defend myself against the hoards. It was a tough day with the bloodsuckers and the kamikaze gnats that seem to aim right for my eyeballs just as I’m about to go over a technical rock field or down some ridiculous decline. I’m going to have to start wearing my Natives again. Hopefully that will help. I was trying for Salisbury CT to get a few items and possibly stay in a real bed for the first time in over a week and although it was only 16 miles, it seemed pretty long. I had to use a Privy something fierce and there just weren’t any anywhere so I had to pull a stealth deposit off-trail and I got bit EVERYWHERE. It was horrible. I got in to Salisbury around 4PM and walked in to town to get a sandwich at the local deli. Thank God I’m in the Northeast. Sandwiches are marvelous here and the delis have great food. Oh how I have missed thee, fair East Coast of my Youth! I got a hold of Maria Francesca Maier, a woman who puts up hikers at her house and she’s a hoot. She’s an eighty-year-old woman, originally from Germany/Italy/Austria area, with two former husbands and lots of ex boyfriends in the local cemetery, she drove by her last husband’s grave just to show him she had three men in the car with her. Ha! She’s crazy and I have had a great time here. You have to hear her Austrian accent as she rants about this undt dat. She took us to the local Laundromat and rushed back to see her favorite TV Show, then she came to pick us up after we ate at the pizza place (Which had a great Calzone By the way…) and she rushed back because it was during a break in her show. She said, “Isn’t this crazy? I’m going crazy about some stupid TV show! I know she’s going to pick the one with the snow thing but she really should pick the one with the boy.” I haven’t seen “The Bachelorette.” I guess tonight was the finale and Maria wasn’t very happy with the Bachelorette’s choice. We sat up and hung out for a while and I sat down to blog. Hopefully I’ll get to the library or something tomorrow so I can post these. I also have to write a few articles about some things I have wanted to rant about: Pretzels and Mosquitoes. It is definitely more expensive in The North to stay in hostels and people’s houses. Maria’s wasn't bad but Down South you could stay in a hostel or someone’s house for 10 or 20 bucks while here I’ve seen signs for 75 bucks per person and it stipulates: “one load of laundry.” I’m staying in the woods as often as I can but tonight I was just plain tuckered out and I’ve been trying to get internet access so I can put up all these blogs. Tomorrow is the climb up to Mt Everett which we have been calling “Everest” since it’s one of the highest mountains around here. I haven’t had a 2000 foot climb in a while so tomorrow will be testing my mettle. On one hand I hope the sun dries up all the Mosquitoes and on the other hand I hope it’s overcast so I don’t lose a gallon of water sweating all over Connecticut. What do you do with one hot hand and one wet hand? Rub them together!

David AKA “Mister Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.wbafinc.org/
Photos:
http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproof
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1

Naked Mosquito Dance

Stewart Hollow Lean-to to Cornwall bridge to Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to: 11 miles

I slept OK considering my back. The hammock was probably the best alternative on the trail but I sure could have used a nice bed to lay belly down and let it just relax. I could have used some Tylenol or something too but I don’t carry any of that stuff. It was pretty sore all morning and I took a while to get my stuff together. It was about a 4 mile hike to get to a road which went into a little “town” called Cornwall Bridge, which consists basically of a package store (alcohol) a fishing outfitter, a general store and a few other weekday businesses like a chainsaw repair shop or something like that. I walked the 9/10 of a mile in to the general store and saw the Preacher boys with Papa Bear and Mama Bear; Shakedown Cruise was there; along with Cat, Indy and Zeke. They had a deli in the general store where I picked up a huge Hoagie (they call them “Grinders” here). We sat around for a couple of hours. I wanted to let my back get a rest and so I blogged a bunch but no signal so I couldn’t post them. I was only planning on doing a 6 mile hike in to the next shelter anyway. I picked up some Generic Acetaminophen and took a few. I couldn’t believe how much it helped. I very rarely take stuff like that but it fixed me all up. Later, while I was climbing I was cruising and didn’t feel a thing until the sun went down. Maybe it was laced with some other stuff… The climbs were definitely significant but I felt great and went right up them; plus, I had half a hoagie left that I was saving for dinner Yee haw! I couldn’t wait. The Mosquitoes are unbelievable. If you stop for a minute they are on you. They were part of the reason I was cruising so fast. I’ve never seen anything like it. Beset by Mosquitoes I moved on! From now on I’ll be talking about two types of mosquitoes. There are mosquitoes and there are Mosquitoes. Today I was marauded by Mosquitoes. When I got to the shelter it was even worse. The shelter is called Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to and anywhere there is a sign that says “Swamp” that’s basically short for “MOSQUITOES.” The water source was brown; full of tannic acid from the leaves in the water. At least, I think that’s why it’s brown. It almost looks like Iced Tea. It’s clear but it’s brown and I don’t like using it. I’ll have to figure out whether it’s safe or what. I went down to the brook and washed up. I wash standing in the middle of the swamp stark naked, dancing on the mossy bank, trying to swat Mosquitoes and get my pants on at the same time. Next time I’ll film it. Cat and Indy were up at the shelter and we all got in our tents at dusk just to get away from the marauders.

David AKA “Mister Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.wbafinc.org/
Photos:
http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproof
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1

Drunk Skunk and a Broken Back

Mt Algo Lean-to to Kent to Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to. 8 miles

It rained like a mother last night again. My tent was great though and nothing got wet. There was a lot of tree cover but still there was a thundering cacophony on my rain fly. I got up early and tried to beat everyone in to the town. I didn’t want to miss any washer and dryer spaces on account of lassitude on my part. I caught up with Jukebox and Wet Sox and we all walked to the Laundromat. It was great, I washed up a little in the bathroom and rinsed my stuff out before I threw it in the washer. I also washed my sleeping bag. They had showers but you had to purchase a one day pass to the local gym sort of thing. Oh well. The outfitter had nothing I could use. I almost wish I had skipped Kent and just gone ahead and gotten to Salisbury. I had a great burger at Carolee’s restaurant and blogged a little but I couldn’t get online to post it. If you need anything in the town of Kent, you had better find Carolee. She’s got the Restaurant, she owns the Laundromat, the Curves fitness center and she’s also the Ambulance Driver. When I settle down in a small town, whatever happens, I want to be the ambulance driver. I got to see her do all of those things in one day. I saw her at the Laundromat, got a me4mbership from her at the shower, saw her when I got a burger and then as I was trying to make a call on the cell phone on my way out of town, the ambulance came screaming past and I was about to yell out an expletive to the driver when I saw that it was Carolee! I smiled and waved and got my 2 ounces of fuel at the outfitter. That outfitter was EXPENSIVE and didn’t really have practical stuff for a thru-hiker. Just weekend camper stuff and the really expensive camping attire. You know, fashionable stuff from Patagonia and North Face and stuff that looks great in the mall and on your speed walking trek around the neighbors’ windows but as far as thru-hiking, they didn’t have much I could use, except for fuel. The guy was nice enough though. I wish they had pack hooks outside though. That would have been nice. I look for them everywhere now: a place to hang my stinky pack. I ended up having to hustle out of town after they closed the restaurant where I was typing. I didn’t realize it had gotten so late! I had 7 miles to go to the next shelter and that doesn’t count the half a mile out of town to the trail. I didn’t manage to get out of town until about 5 something and the trail was rough in the beginning. Eventually it leveled out and followed the Housatonic River for a while. I ran into a skunk that was having some serious equilibrium problems. I thought maybe he had been bitten by a rattlesnake or ate a funky mushroom or maybe had some of those brain worms or something. Regardless; I was concerned for my olfactorial well-being and so I filmed it from a distance and scooted past when I could. The skunk was falling all over the place and sleeping and whatever. There was a good climb up to Caleb’s Mountain and shortly thereafter was a horrible descent from a place called St John’s Ledges. I’m so glad I didn’t have to climb UP that bastard. It was unbelievable! I was Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the Halleluiah Chorus glad that I was going DOWN that bastard. The world was still damp from all the rain and it was very hard to maintain footing on the wet leaves and slick, mossy rocks. It was like some sick, twisted, rock staircase that took longer to go down than it would to go up. My pack shifted sickeningly as I went from foot to foot down the treacherous pointy rocks, slipping and reaching out for trees and stopping to figure out how I would navigate the next five-foot section. Near the bottom, it happened. I fell, and it was a bad one. I was on this smooth rock that was about the size of a Lincoln Continental on a 30 degree slant. Suddenly I started to slide. It wasn’t one of those kind of slip a little slides, it was an accelerating oh shit slide. I saw that there was about a five foot drop at the end and I prepared myself for the drop by promptly falling flat on my ass. This didn’t stop the acceleration like I thought it would, rather, just put me a little closer to the ground. I launched off the end and my feet hit the ground. My original idea was to stop; however, the hill and my boots had other plans. I launched out over the hill and bounded frantically from foot to foot, screaming as I landed each time. Like a beginner skier in a dense mogul field, I avoided disaster about five times before I realized I was inexorably heading toward a large tree. I couldn’t stop, in fact, I just kept falling faster down the hill. The pack was too heavy and I knew I was going to have to ditch or get smashed eventually by a tree or a rock or worse, tumble over the next rock field that was coming up. I took a dive in the least rocky section I accidentally saw and tumbled with a roar as I came to stop in a cascade of exploding dirt, leaves and rubble. The pack was on top of me and I was having trouble breathing. For a moment, even the chipmunks were silent in anticipation. I took a few breaths and contemplated my fate for a moment. Strangely enough, I heard a distant voice inquire, “Are you hurt? Do you need help?” I replied that I didn’t really know yet but I thought I was OK. I seemed to have all my parts and they seemed to be working in roughly the same way as they did before the fall. I had to get up though. My back felt funny and the pack was kind of holding me down, not to mention I was still on a steep slope, held aloft by the large divot my body made when I went down. I felt like an asteroid come to Earth, only more embarrassed. I wonder if asteroids would be embarrassed to land on earth instead of continuing on their way and hurtling through space? I let that thought go. It was tough to lift myself with the pack on and not go hurtling down the slope some more but I managed to get up with flotsam and jetsam all over my body. I did a little inventory and seemed to be ok except for a small raspberry on my left knee. My back seemed sore too. I hoped I didn’t break a rib and I shakily continued down. This Rock-Climber guy came up to me out of nowhere and asked about my welfare. He said they had some first aid stuff and I told him I thought I would be OK. He followed me down for a while and then disappeared off some side trail. As I walked my back began to ache more and more and I started to worry about it. Will the injuries never end? I got in to the camp late and it was dark. The blazes along the river were sporadic and sometimes non-existent. I backtracked a few times just to find out I was on the right trail in the first place. They need to get some more paint out here in Connecticut. Cat and her Dad, Zeke were at the shelter with Shakedown Cruise and Jukebox and Wet Sox. There were two young guys from Texas there too, just camping and stuff. I set up in the dark and ate some ramen and tuna. I hope to get some sleep and I hope when I wake up, my back isn’t worse. We’ll see

David AKA “Mister Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.wbafinc.org/
Photos:
http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproof
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1