Hello from Kent, Connecticut. I am officially 2/3 done with the trail! That's right, NJ and NY are outta here. Yesterday we walked into CT and are now in New England. In 2 1/2 days I will be in Massachusetts and making my way to Vermont. We are taking a zero day today (no hiking) and hanging out in Kent. This posh New England town is definitely different from the small southern towns we have been used to. The outfitter here is more like a boutique with jewelry and cutesy clothes. Yesterday, we treated ourselves to a haircut at a salon and the lady actually told us 'it was on her.' Our buzz cuts are growing out nicely, but it was definitely time for a trim. My uncle Doug drove down from Massachusetts and treated us to a nice evening out with real food and yummy beer on tap. Thanks for the pick-me up, Doug, come see us anytime!
We are slowly getting back on track since Kris's absence and plan on doing about 16+ mile a day average to make our goal of northern Vermont by the end of the month. Kris's second day back we walked in absolute downpour. At 10 o'clock in the morning it looked like 10 o'clock at night and we walked with sopping wet shoes (water was pouring out of our shoes with every step) and later that day we were haled on. NJ was a beautiful change from rocky PA and NY was actually one of my favorite states to hike in so far. The mountains are coming back and my legs are happy for the challenge. Last week while sitting on top of a mountain we could clearly see the NY City skyline about 40 miles away. Pretty cool.
One of our trip highlights, for sure, was staying with the Mayor of Unionville, NY. Its not listed in the guide books and the buzz about his house has been traveling down the trail by word of mouth. We walked into the small town's country store and inquired about the mayor. The girl made a call behind the counter and ten minutes later a bronco pulls up and a guy says 'Put your stuff in the back, lets go.' We hop in and ask 'are you the mayor?' 'No, we're his secret service men.' Ok. We drive down the road and expect some palatial mansion, but instead pull up to a modest two story house. We got free dinner, showers (I actually wore the mayor's bathrobe around the house while doing laundry!) and a scrumptious breakfast the next day. We slept in bunk beds in the basement and were woken up in the morning by a yelling mayor saying 'Get up here for breakfast you jerk, your eggs are getting cold!' Their NY hospitality was a little harsher than some our recent stays in the south, but definitely an experience.
We are just starting to hike passed south bounders (thru-hikers hiking from Maine to Georgia who leave around June). It's great to stop and chat and compare notes of places we've been. It's crazy to think that they still have 2/3 of the trail to go. I feel like we have been SO far, I'm actually glad I only have 1/3 of the trail left. So, some of our friends ahead of us jokingly told a south bounder named Smoothie to hide and scare us, just 'be careful one of them might punch you.' Well, last week, sure enough, he hid behind a tree and jumped out at us. Kris froze and screamed like a girl and without even thinking I ran up to him and punched him in the stomach and said 'It's not cool to scare girls out here! What the hell, man?' Hey, he WAS warned. haha.
It's starting to get chilly at night and the days have been absolutely beautiful. I'm thankful everyday that I am outside and have the opportunity to be on this great trip. It's going to be hard to be confined to four walls when I get back. Talk to everyone soon...
Madison County View
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