We woke up to rain and a really nasty storm forecast for the late afternoon/ early evening. Would have been nice to sleep in, but that wouldn’t have gotten us any closer to Maine. So, we did the next best thing and accepted Corinne and Jim’s offer to come pick us up after a day of hiking and bring us back for another dip in their hot tub…

Our initial three miles had one large climb and several small ones, all in the rain. At Caleb’s Peak, the clouds lifted a bit and the rain stopped. We really appreciated that break as we got to the St. John Ledges and had to deal with over 400 vertical feet of steep stone steps going down to the Housatonic River. About as tough a short section as we’ve seen on the trail, given the wet conditions.

This extremely hard section was immediately followed by one of the easiest, as for the next four miles the AT was a level roadbed along the river. Our pace picked up, but our walk here had an almost contemplative feel to it. Quite a nice break.

We climbed up and over Silver Hill to reach CT 4, where we took a break. While stopped, we were passed first by Gumby (on the way to town to pick up a package), and then by EZ Nomad. Everyone talked about the approaching severe weather and plans to deal with it.

Just past CT 4, signs warned of the danger of fording Guinea Brook during ice or high water. We didn’t have those conditions today, but the slippery rocks still made the crossing treacherous. We found EZ Nomad changing his socks after slipping into the water. The only other thru hikers we saw all day were northbounders Otto and Perch. Perch also fell victim to one of the day’s many wet roots, and was last seen getting some first aid for a leg scrape. Nothing major, but it seemed a frequent occurrence out on the trail today.

As planned, Corinne met us at West Cornwall Road. On the short drive home, she stopped so we could take pictures of the West Cornwall covered bridge (one of only two left in Connecticut). And after a hot tub session, she again fed us well! (She told us when we got here Wednesday afternoon her plan was to fatten us up!) The worst of the storms passed south of Cornwall but our thoughts are with hikers in that area tonight…