Connecticut: Nice Hiking and Friendly People

Connecticut welcomed me with beautiful weather and friendly people.

The first thing I hit in CT was trail magic in a parking area right on the NY/CT state line. More about trail magic in another post.

Woohoo! I’m in Connecticut!

I hiked to Ten Mile River shelter and pitched my tent around 5:00 p.m. and was surprised no one else was there. As the evening wore on, a few hikers stopped to use the privy, but all were intent on making more miles.

The privy at Ten Mile River Shelter had a door knocker, adding a touch of class to the woods.

That’s my tent, off to the left behind the shelter.

Since I had cell signal, I chatted with family until exhaustion took over. Really, it was the only way for me to fall asleep. When you’re alone, every sound is suspicious.

I’m on my own out here…

Being a woman solo hiker, I do my best to stay at shelters or tentsites where there are other people. Safety in numbers, you know? Having a site all to myself is a bit… unsettling.  But all was well, and I hiked into Kent the next morning.

On my way to Kent! The Housatonic River was raging.

Town chores in Kent are a delight. The visitors center has a coin-operated shower (which I used) and outlets where hikers can charge their phones. The laundromat is next door to a grocery store. Cafes abound. I spent five hours doing my town chores before heading back to the trail.

The kindness of a stranger

As I walked, trail angel Bob pulled up and offered a lift back to the trailhead. Again, more about that in an upcoming trail magic blog.

Glad for some company

I made it to Silver Hill tentsite and was happy to see other hikers already there. Silver Hill had a picnic pavilion, a bear box, and a swing. So far, CT tentsites have been really nice.

I managed to make it into Falls Village the next night. The same folks who were at the previous tentsite camped with me in a backyard set aside for hikers. Then, just across from Falls Village in Amesville, I passed the1,500-mile marker.

Wearing the bug head net, I crossed another milestone.

One last stop in CT

In Salisbury, I stayed at Maria’s Hostel. Maria is 95 (her birthday is at the beginning of August). Her grandson runs the hostel now, but Maria was there and loved chatting with the hikers.

This is Maria. If you stop at her hostel, be sure to chat with her about her life.

The bug suit

Up until this point I had been wearing a big head net to keep the gnats from dive-bombing my eyes. But now it was time to break out the full-body bug net suit as the mosquitoes were hunting in force.

As I continued on the trail, hikers took photos of me in the bug suit, asked how to get one, and passed the word up and down the trail grapevine. In one town, a hiker asked for my name, and when I told him, he said, “I’ve heard of you! You’re the one with the bug suit!”

Full-body bug net suit, for fighting the hordes of mosquitoes.

Giant’s Thumb monolith.

I hit the trail again and before I knew it, I was crossing another state line.

Welcome to Massachusetts!