It felt so wonderful to walk through the door of my house with Heather, to greet my dog Tally and finally be home again. I got to wish my parents a happy anniversary, too!

Heather picked me up in Kent, CT around 6pm. We had dinner with our friends Diana and Joe and got a tour of their nearly finished house. Then up to MA and to our condo. Getting clean and sleeping in my bed was amazing.

It was made even more amazing by today’s hike, 22 miles of saying goodbye to NY in true NY fashion! It was absolutely the worst bit of trail I’ve encountered on the AT! The last five miles of the state were full of thorny brambles, poison ivy, and poorly blazed trail blocked by long, wet weeds and bushes. The coup de grâce was a dead deer on the trail! My guess was that it was 2 weeks dead and the recent thunderstorms had scattered the maggots and stench 50 ft down the trail. I will not miss NY!

In my hurry to get to Kent I didn’t eat or drink enough and bonked with 5 miles to go. This led to some really ugly slips on the final hills leading into town, and slowed me down by an hour. By the time I reached the trailhead, I was so done! Good thing Haiku and his sister happened to be there and gave me a lift into town.

I guess it wasn’t just my low blood sugar. On further inspection, I’ve worn the carbide tips of my hiking poles to nothing. I guess they were just sliding off the harder rock that we’re seeing up here in New England.

I’m so looking forward to my zero at home tomorrow. I need it!