Day 107: The bugs!

Day: 107 Miles:  15.1  Trip: 1488.9 Started: Cornwall Bridge CT    Destination: Housatonic River

Steep section near West Cornwall CT

The past few days have been mostly uneventful.  I picked up some new bug spray in Kent and have for the most part worked out a routine that keeps the mosquitos at a barely tolerable level.  Every time I stop it has become a routine to break out the spray and cover my arms, legs and shoulders.   I bought a head net back in NJ and have been using now on a regular basis.  With the heat as bad as it is, the head net has a slightly suffocating effect, but it is better than constantly eating 'noseums' and hearing the buzz of fly and mosquitos in my ears. 

The terrain has been pretty good for the most part and this section would be very enjoyable if it were not for the heat and bugs.  The section by the Kent river was a nice flat change of pace.  The heat is the big challenge and if continues it will definitely slow me down.

I was planning on staying at the Toymakers Café in Falls Village tonight.  According to the guide book, the café lets hikers stay in there back yard.  On they way into town I stopped at a store and the clerk told me that they were no longer letting hikers stay there.  According to the clerk some hikers went to the barn and accidentally knocked over some of the owners motorcycles.  Hoping this was a temporary situation I walked over anyway, but when I got there nobody was home.  It was getting late and I could not afford to wait so I pushed on another mile and found a stealth camping spot just outside of town.  From my impromptu camping spot I was able to see several houses and was reminded of the fine line between being a thru hiker and just simply being homeless.