Day 63: Tom Leonard Shelter to Sage's Ravine Campsite

Today's Miles: 21.0

Total Miles: 682.8

I didn't sleep too well last night since I was constantly being woken up by the drone of mosquitoes as they settled in for a nice meal. I kept checking my watch hoping it would be time to get up and was pretty happy when it finally was. 

Today's hiking offered up a little bit of everything. After leaving the shelter, I was met with a saw tooth - lots of little ups and downs. They were rocky but not terrible. After a descent, I crossed a road and ended up walking through a lot of farms. The trail is usually interesting in this area as it will normally follow along the edge of a field. Instead of cutting across the middle, the trail will follow a complete 90 degree angle around the whole thing. Today it kept going in and out of the road for a small section before settling on corn fields to the left and the river to the right. It was still beautiful, and I love all these grassy field areas. I passed by the monument for the last battle of Shay's Rebellion which was just before a road crossing. I still can't express how much I love little bits of history like this. I'm always the one who wants to go to museums wherever I go because I find it all too interesting! 

As I began to climb up Jug End, I passed by a little boy out with his grandfather. He was maybe 4 and absolutely adorable. He talked about his blue water bottle and was so excited about it. He definitely brightened up my day. I had to ascend Mount Bushnell, Mount Everett, and Mount Race today. The middle one was kind of funny because there was a pit bull I passed on the trail named Everett. The climbs weren't too hard, but there were a few rock scrambles. This is something I haven't seen in a while. The trail also started to follow a stream bed, which is also unusual lately. It made it a little bit slower going, but I was still determined to make up some miles. As I reached the summits of the mountains, there were remarkable views. The day couldn't have been more beautiful, and the views were breathtaking again. I've missed being able to see mountains. I even had a bit of a walk along an open ridge on Mount Race - just beautiful! Once I was back in the mountains, the water quality became so much better very quickly. It was back to being cold, clear, and abundant. I was very happy to see this. It certainly hasn't been the greatest the last few days. 

I originally planned to make it to the next shelter after Bear Mountain, but decided to stop just before at the campsite. I had the chaffing on my back return, and it felt like someone had set my back on fire at that point with the sweat rubbing into it. It was also getting close to sunset, and I wouldn't have made it over the mountain in time to beat it. It feels good to be back in my tent tonight, even if it does smell a little mildewy. There's a group of college kids here singing and being a little loud, so I hope they plan on going to bed soon. I passed the Connecticut sign today, but I won't officially cross until tomorrow. I'm excited to be in my 5th state!