Day 105: Kent, CT

Day 105:Trail Angels of Kent, CT

Wiley Shelter to Kent, CT

Miles Hiked: 13.1

AT Milage: 1469.1

I barely slept last night. The forrest was so loud with things dropping from trees. I was nervous about sleeping next to all the bear bags that were hanging by my tent. My legs were also aching from the long day yesterday as well. I woke up at 6:30, got ready and left camp by 7:30. I felt so sore and exhausted today.After I started hiking, I passed a small piece of paper with writting on the ground. I paused for a second to read it and it said “wasps nest!” With an arrow. After that I walked away from it as fast as I could. I don’t know exactly where the wasps nest was but one of them got on my calf and stung me through my compression sleeve. I was so annoyed. I wondered if I hadn’t lingered to read the sign, if a wasp would have had time to grab on and sting me. Luckily the sting only hurt for a little bit.I crossed into Connecticut about a mile from camp. I took a picture of myself in front of the sign which took a few tries. Connecticut means I am officially in New England! I have been so excited about getting to new England and seeing the last part of the trail since I started. I have never been to Connecticut or any state north of it that the AT runs through so everything will be new! Once I reach Vermont I will be going through some of the most remote and physically challenging sections of the trail. First I have to go about 50 miles through Connecticut and 70-100 miles through Massachusetts.I had a lot of climbs today although none of them were insanely big, my legs were just so achey. The bugs were driving me nuts. Clouds of gnats constantly swarmed around me and I hit them away with my hands and trekking poles. I tried to use my safety glasses but they would get so fogged up I couldn’t see the trail that well. I started yelling at them I got so irritated.I passed the Ten Mile river this morning and didn’t get any water because it smelled kinds gross. I could have got water from a spigot at a small country store right off the trail, but I didn’t want to get off the trail so I passed by, assuming that I could get water from the sources listed as reliable at the top of the next mountain. Well I made a mistake by not reading the comments to find out that all of the reliable sources had in fact, run dry. I went 7 miles in the heat of the day without finding any water. I was getting really desperate and thought about trading my safety glasses for water if someone passed me. No one did. I finally got water at a nicely flowing Brook with clear water. It’s been the first nice water source I’ve seen in a long time. I put water in my broken water pouch, connected my filter, and started drinking straight from it. Then I filled up my water bottles and dunked my shirt and bra in the water to clean them off of all the sweat and dirt.After this, I hiked two miles to the road where I met a local Kent, CT resident named Amaya. She found my blog from one of the AT Facebook pages I posted it on and has been following me since the beginning. She reached out and offered to help me when I got to the town she lives in since she lives right off the trail and has been interested in helping out hikers. It was so nice to meet someone that lives in a trail town and is genuinely interested in what I’m doing. The first thing we did was go to the post office because I had to pick up some boxes and mail some things home before it closed. I received my first full resupply box of food from my parents which was super nice because I didn’t have to worry about going to the grocery store and picking stuff out. Everything has gotten generally a lot more expensive since I have passed PA so I’ve been very grateful that I’ve gotten some help via food in the mail! The other box I got was my dad’s trekking poles, a new water pouch, and a tent stake. I sent my old trekking poles home so I can fix them up when I am finished. They are broken in so many ways, I couldn’t fix it all while I was on trail so I just swapped them out until I can fix them. My dad’s trekking poles are a bit different than mine so I’m trying them out to see if they will work for me before I decide if I need to spend money on another pair.After the post office, and quick stop at the grocery, Amaya took me to her house where she let me shower, did my laundry and have a place to rest and get my pack/ food sorted out. It was so nice! She also made me a smoothie and we hung out until the local dinner place she wanted to take me to opened. We went to Bull’s Bridge inn for dinner where they had an all you can eat salad bar that comes with an entree and it was amazing! She picked it out because she knew it’s a place I would really want to go and she was right! Not only did I get driven around town, given a shower and laundry, taken out to eat, I also was offered a bed to stay in too. It was SO nice! I fell asleep right around 8pm because I was so exhausted.Thank you so much Amaya for treating me to everything a hiker could possibly want in a town after they’ve hiked almost 1500 miles to get there. You were great company and an amazing host I’m so lucky to meet a trail angel like you! ☺️Happy Trails!