8/10/1999 ~ Mt. Algo Leanto (12.4 miles hiked)

Cumulative miles this leg:  62.7

I did not want to do 12.4 today. I wanted to tent with Bango on Shaghticoke Mtn, but this was not to be. The water source for those campsites was dry. In fact, there's no water here either, and the town of Kent is 1.1 miles away. I knew this morning that Mt. Aglo was dry, and I also knew that there was no place cheap to stay in Kent, so I couldn't see making either of those places my destination for the day.

All this would be OK except that there was nothing in the register at the previous shelter. Evidence in the register showed that Ridgerunners signed in 2 days ago and did not bother to mention that both the campsite (which CT requires you to use -- you can't camp "just anywhere" in CT) and the last shelter before Kent had no water. That *really* pissed me off, especially since I took the trouble to read registers to find out this information. In any case, I will be going into Kent tomorrow.  It's not like I didn't have access to the Housatonic earlier today...but the water in there is contaminated with PCBs, and I don't know if the filter will deal.  Besides, I didn't think I *had* to carry water up Shagticoke.

I was able to filter some less than wonderful water out of a nearly dry brook (Thayer) between here and the campsite. Those without filters would probably not choose to use that water since it would be cloudy and full of floaties no matter how much iodine you put in it. Other people were forced to go into Kent and backtrack here as the next shelter is 7 miles after Kent and because they weren't warned. I don't think that anyone would use that brook for water unless they were desperate, so if they hadn't been warned, they'd pass it by.

I seriously need a shower and a day off and I'm not sure when I'll get either. I bathed with Wet Ones this evening in an attempt to keep some of the filth out of my sleeping bag.

8/11/1999 ~ Stewart Hollow Leanto (7 AT miles hiked)

Short day -- spent some time in Kent. I found a solar shower at the outfitters for $2, so I didn't have to get a very expensive hotel room after all. I had a salad and a beer and did laundry too. I'm tenting on a bed of conifer needles, and I'm definitely into that.  The bugs are appalling here, but with the river nearby it's quite peaceful.  And it's blissfully flat.

It's not that I don't usually try and tent somewhere flat, but most spots are not perfectly so.

8/12/1999 ~ Pine Brook Swamp Leanto (10 miles hiked)

In 10 miles, I climbed 3000 feet for a total elevation gain of 600 feet. As you might guess there were a few ups and downs. There was more water today, as well as many more bugs. Also, we had to carry water to this site up the last 800 feet which was pretty much straight up. One section was a tight squeeze that also included a ladder.

I'm tired and the bugs are bad here, so I'm trying to talk myself into eating dinner. I'm hungry, but it seems like too much trouble at the moment.