Appalachian Trail (day 63) - Silver Hill Campsite to Salisbury / mile 1507

My main goal for today was to reach Salisbury where I've booked a nights stay. I've had a great animal encounter along the way!

Trail was very rollercoastery to start with, I've got chased and passed by Indy which was quite surprising as he wasn't planning to go far that day (but watch this space.) I've went past a car racing track called Lime Rock Speedway, it was loud even from the top of the mountain few miles away but it provided an interesting view and I knew few other hikers were excited to see it.

A mile or two later I've spotted something moving to the side of the trail, it was a big, black bear but it wasn't scared of me at all! I've seen fair amount of black bears at this point on both AT and PCT, every single one would ran away the second they realized I was close. I've understood my situation once two bear cubs ran from behind the mama bear and started to climb a tree. It looked like I wasn't getting a higher ground this time around, mama just stood by and gave me a calm and composed look, I've understood the assignment and carried on walking away from the trio. No one got scared or angry, life went on and I definitely didn't need a coffee to wake me up anymore!

Literally two minutes later I've stumbled upon K2 and his wife. K2 was a thru hiker from New Zealand, I told them about the encounter and they couldn't believe they've just missed it, which was a great statement to just how random and fast those kind of encounters could be, blink and you miss it.

Trail went down and was following Housatonic River for few miles, there was a Mountainside Cafe along the way and of course I went there to have a breakfast. Indy was already here, I've ordered a roast beef and horseradish sandwich and a coffee, it costed 22$ with the tip, New England prices were kicking in. It was decently sized and very good though, much needed nutrition before the last steep section of the day.

Twenty minutes later I was back on the grind, I've picked up a John Steinbeck's book from a free roadside library and saw "Great Falls" in Amesville before the climb to Mt Prospect started. It was much easier than I expected and soon enough I was cruising on the ridge line hoping to reach Salisbury by 4 PM.

I've met Indy again, he changed his plan and didn't want to stay in the shelter tonight but he also didn't have any accomodation booked in town. Rest of the way to town was an easy walk and soon enough I was eating Ben & Jerry's in front of the supermarket, resupplied and waiting for my host Vanessa to return home and check me in.

I've met DeeDee outside the supermarket, she was also staying at Vanessa's tonight and offered to show me where the house was located (it would not show up on GPS map). The house turned out to be a 300 year old wooden building with beds set up in two spare rooms, Vanessa was an older lady with Polish (of course!) heritage, her parents emigrated to Connecticut from Warsaw. She showed me the house and cooked us some delicious burgers for supper. I did the usual chores and had a good chat with DeeDee and California another thru hiker staying here tonight. DeeDee was a former Economy teacher who decided to end her career after 15 years and pursue her dream of hiking Appalachian Trail, her plan was to leave the US after the hike and keep on traveling in Europe and Australia. California was a jokester and it was hard to guess what his motivations and plans were, he was just here and now enjoying the journey.

Weather was not looking great for next couple of days and a thunderstorm rolled over Salisbury in the evening, I was determined to carry on walking tomorrow and hoping for a "regular" AT rain treatment, which I could deal with for a day or two.