June 14 / 15

Back on the trail at 8:10 this morning.  The  weather is perfect right now.  It feels cool and dry. 

So I crossed into Massachusetts about seven miles into the hike.  Goodbye Connecticut.  I have four states left.  Hope nothing goes wrong at this stage of the journey but you never know.  My feet are what hurt the most.  My knees on the other hand feel fine.

There was a lot of elevation gain today.  And then it started getting warm and sticky.  I was sweating profusely again.  The highest elevation today was Mt Everett at 2602 ft. and the hike to reach it was straight up on a rock covered AT. It's good that the trees offer up a lot of shade on the trail otherwise it would really be a miserable hike with the sun bearing down on you.

I saw some wild turkey again today but still haven't seen any bears on this entire trip.  Last week in Smoky Mountains National Park a father and son were in their hammocks when a black bear attacked the boy and mauled him until his dad was able to run the bear off.  We were thinking that the kid was eating something while in his hammock and then fell asleep.  According to the news release they did hang their food bag.  You just never know with bears.

I'm tent camping near the Housatonic River after doing a hard 20+ miles.  I'm dead tired and sticky and will take a sponge bath to clean up and cool off. 

6 / 15  It started raining around midnight and continues this morning with a light sprinkle.  I'm going to pack up in the tent, wait for it stop and start hiking.  At least the temperature has dropped down to a comfortable level.  

The rain never really stopped. All of Massachusetts is getting hit with bad weather.  I'm considering staying at a hotel and doing another slack pack because I can cover ground quickly without as much work and strain as with a full backpack.  I can catch a bus to the trailhead and hike back to town and the hotel.