Day 133

I got going nice and early today. Knocked out half a mile before 7 AM. Soon afterwards, I hit the 1,500 mile mark followed by a big stone called “The Giant’s Thumb.” It was then pretty smooth sailing until the first big climb to Lion’s Head then even higher up to Bear Mountain, which is the highest peak in Connecticut. That’s where I had lunch. The decline down was crazy steep! Glad I wasn’t going up that side! I shortly after crossed into Massachusetts. The walk along the Conn-Mass border was just beautiful, along a rushing creek with lots of waterfalls and large pools big enough to swim in. I only had two more mountains to climb for the day before reaching the last shelter before getting to the road to Great Barrington. The mountains were Mt Race and Mt Everett. While walking up Mt Race, I got notice of a large rain system heading right for me. The ledge walk of Mt Race was spectacular and I was taking lots of video and pics but also rushing as safely as I could because I wanted to get off the mountain before the rain started. There was a camp ground between Mt Race and Mt Everett. While I didn’t want to stop short of my goal, Mt Everett is listed as being one of the biggest climbs a SOBO would have done yet and is a great intro into what to expect in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Not something I want to take on in the rain, so I stopped at Race Brook Falls Campsite. I got my tent set up just before the rain started. Perfect timing. Now I’ll have 10.4 miles to do before reaching the road to Great Barrington. Hotel prices there are crazy steep so I’m not making any reservations. There’s a Quality Inn and a Marriott there that I’ll try to get a hiker rate by showing up. It’s an extra mile to Marriott and much more expensive but they have laundry. Quality Inn does not. I’ll try Marriott anyway so I can do laundry, do a resupply at the grocery store across the street and try to get back on trail the next day. I have a number to a local guy who shuttles hikers for free so I hope to hit him up and will definitely tip him for gas. I don’t want to road walk 4 miles off trail if I don’t have to. Most just hitch but I haven’t been comfortable putting my thumb out. Wish me luck tomorrow.