Connecticut: Where Happy Noises Get You Killed?

This was the first sign I saw in Connecticut.

But this was the most memorable (mostly because I misread the last line and only when I published it on my blog did I realize it encourages, not prohibits, happy noises). I was actually telling people on the trail that a sign discouraged happiness because it might lead to a bear attack. It’s actually rather disappointing to see that the sign made sense all along.

The best part about CT was my reunion with Alien and Swiss Miss, the couple from Switzerland that I hadn’t seen since the day I left the trail for my broomball tournament. On June 4, I hiked the ~12 miles into Kent, CT, and met them at the library, where there was a joyous, yet hushed reunion. We quickly moved outside so we could exchange stories at full volume and chatted over lunch next door at The Villager.

We then stopped at a small grocery store to resupply and I caused a funny scene. I was in conversation with a nice older local lady. Just as Swiss Miss was walking up to us, I heard the woman ask me, “So are there many chicks on the trail?” I gestured towards Swiss Miss and replied that there were very few, but that almost all of them were married like Swiss Miss or dating someone. At that point, it became obvious that I had confused both Swiss Miss and the local lady. It turns out that she’d asked me not about the women (“chick”) situation, but about the “ticks” on the trail!

I ended up doing some other errands on my own in Kent and meeting back up with the Swiss for dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where we were the only customers (not because of our smell). After dinner, the Swiss stayed in town for the night and I hiked back to the trail and stayed at a shelter 0.3 miles south of the road into Kent.

That next day was great! First, it was my Mom’s birthday (happy birthday Mam!). I managed to call home from my tent that night and the Swiss sang the Swiss-German birthday song to Mom over the phone.

Before that, I hiked alone for most of the morning but I kept running into day or section hikers. I enjoyed meeting a couple from Arizona, that was out visiting their adult son John in CT. I talked with them for maybe a half hour along the edge of a river. Here’s a shot of me and John taken by another hiker named Pete that looked like a pirate with a purple backpack.

I also met a woman walking three of the most obese dogs I’ve ever seen.

After a break for lunch at a shelter, I hiked on and came to a section that the CT trail club “strongly recommended” hikers detour around. I at least had to check out this impassable stream crossing, which turned out to be not very difficult.

I then caught up to the Swiss who had followed the recommendation and taken the detour way out of the way. We hiked together the rest of the day until the shelter and I really enjoyed their company and conversation. Ideally, I’d like to hike with them through Maine and summit Katahdin together.

The next day followed the same pattern. I walked alone in the morning (I’m a later sleeper than most hikers) and then finished hiking with Swiss Miss and Alien. One motivation to pick up my pace and catch up to others was a potentially rabid dog I saw in the woods. I noticed something running towards me from far ahead, and I assumed it was simply an unleashed dog running up the trail ahead of its owner. As it ran closer, however, it became clear that it was not on a path, its owners were not around, and it looked mangy and was dripping foamy drool from its mouth. Unfortunately, I’d already drawn attention to myself by calling to it in a friendly voice, which caused it to stop close to me and bark ferociously. After seeing the foaming mouth, I quickly made my exit and checked often to ensure I was not being followed.

There was also a nice walk past some cool houses and a dam with waterfalls.

I loved that this house had one wall entirely made of stone and another made up of mostly windows.

Here’s a shot of Swiss Miss and Alien on an overlook.

On June 7 my little brother turned 21! That morning I hiked a short distance uphill to the highest point in CT, where I met Chef Boyardee, a Canadian translator who hiked the AT for three months last year.

After a slippery, rocky downhill section, I said goodbye to CT, crossed a wide stream that many hikers complained needs a bridge, and entered Massachusetts!