Flip Flop Hikers: Bubbles Day 68 (Friday, June 3rd, 2016)

Today we awoke to rain. We had originally planned on getting up at 5:00 a.m. and on the trail by 6:00 a.m. First we hit the snooze button twice and then the rain came. We wanted to walk close to 16 miles today, but the rain made us bunker down. We waited for an opening to pack our things quickly and be on our way.

Rainy day today

10 Mile River

It didn't rain terribly hard while we were on the trail but it was rocky and slippery and drizzled all day. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. I felt like a surfer sometimes. Cowabunga dude.

We hit 600 miles today in Connecticut yayyyy! It was a steep climb to our 600 mile mark and there was an overlook, but it was all clouds.

The hiking was slightly dangerous and I fell twice. The first time I went down I fell so hard that I thought I might have broken my tailbone or a hip. It was a black slippery rock that was a steep decline and I went down and stayed down. I just laid there sprawled out like a starfish. I didn't move for what felt like forever. My trekking poles were 5 feet down the steep rock, laughing at me. I couldn't believe I fell that hard. It knocked the wind out of me. Who falls on their behind and it knocks the wind out of them? I instantly started crying the second my lungs filled with air. When I calmed down enough to use my finger I sent a text to Robby and he called me shortly after. (He always goes ahead at a faster pace to set up camp and be a hero). He was about a mile in front of me and close to camp. We split up right after our 600 mile mark which was about 6 miles out. He felt bad but I was fine. I just felt like I had been in a car accident or maybe hit by a car. It was rough but I got up and pushed on.

The second time I fell was just as hard, but I thought I hit my head on a rock. I didn't though. I just knocked the metal frame in my pack. I decided to sit down and listen to A Storm of Swords the third book in A Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones if you watch the TV series) and take some Ibuprofen for my very sore hips. I made it to camp and didn't fall again. Just some close calls.

The boys went into Kent, Connecticut to the grocery store. They said it wasn't a pleasant experience. Apparently people from Kent don't like hikers. Whiskers said that the man working at the gas station was very unfriendly. When they walked in he yelled at them, "NO PACKS" and Robby and Whiskers replied "Not a problem", but they were sort of stunned. They had on empty day packs (not our huge 60 plus liter bags!) When they went back inside Whiskers asked if they had any tuna or protein bars for a resupply. Instead of just answering, “No” the jerk behind the counter said, "Haven't you ever heard of a grocery store"? They quickly left the store and headed that way. Whiskers said the kicker was that a student had entered the store with a giant book bag, bought an item, and left without the gas station attendant saying anything to him. My fellow hikers, stay away from Kent, Connecticut. Apparently money from hikers not wanted!

Karma and I spoke about the trail and the pain in her knees. I could see in her eyes how sad she was. I hope tomorrow will be better for her.

Even through all the rain, it was a beautiful day. The shelter area was gorgeous. Connecticut is a beautiful state and the maintainers and volunteers do an incredible job keeping it clean.