Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you’re scared to death. ~Earl Wilson
June 14, 2023
AT miles: 18.9 <NOBO>
Ascent: 3563’
Descent: 3554’
Weather: sunny in the morning, with a HUGE thunderstorm in the afternoon
Sightings: too much lightning
High points: descending from Caleb Peak without a fall!
Today I started a 3-day solo section hike of the 44.6 miles remaining in Connecticut. I drove up yesterday, spent the night at a questionable hotel, and took a shuttle down to Hoyt Road at 6:30 AM.
Connecticut is about the most welcoming state to AT hikers anywhere. The signs are abundant, there are cute little boxes with trail maps almost everywhere, and the privies are immaculate!
The theme in Connecticut for AT hikers is rivers, all of which are very scenic but highly polluted.
I spent a mile or two yesterday morning walking along Ten Mile River.
Then the trail went up. The woods were pretty and open. Ten Mile Hill (1000’) was gentle and definitely not ten miles!
The mountain laurel was gorgeous!
However, there was supposed to be a very bad thunderstorm in the afternoon, so I hurried along the trail as fast as I could. I kept on hearing rumbles from the sky, reminding me that I did not want to be hiking in a thunderstorm.
Since I was hiking nearly 20 miles, I couldn’t outrun the thunderstorm. At first it was just grumblings and growlings, but eventually there were sharp cracks, and then the rain came. The sky let loose, and it torrented.
I made it to the top of Caleb‘s Peak (1160’), walking carefully to keep my footing in the downpour.
The descent from Caleb‘s Peak is described in one guidebook as “steep and rocky –– be careful in wet weather.” Only rarely do guidebooks give warnings, so that should tell you what a challenging descent it is!
I couldn’t exactly avoid coming down the mountain, so I just did so super-carefully. Since the rocks formed a demented jumbled-up staircase, I did a fair amount of this descent on my butt. That way I had less far to fall!
With the rain pouring, and the lightning, flashing, and the thunder cracking and me trying to scramble down the mountain, I felt a little bit like I was in a movie. Thankfully I made the descent safely (though my shorts were in a sorry state afterwards!).
Then I had about two miles of very flat walking alongside the Housatonic River. The rain was still coming down, and by this point I was wet, cold, and absolutely miserable, but at least I wasn’t worried about falling off a mountain!
I finally found the shelter. A very sweet young and adventurous couple was already there, and I really enjoyed talking with them. After all those miles and all that adrenaline, I slept incredibly well!
Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods.