#9

... A detour sign. To get to Falls Village all I needed to do was cross that bridge behind the sign (you can see part of it in the bottom right corner) but the text below the detour sign stated that the bridge was closed to pedestrian traffic and to follow the detour signs.

So close but yet so far! If I could just walk across the bridge then I might have been able to eat supper in town. Two "real" meals in one day on the trail ... unheard of ... and so it remains, since I found myself road walking for miles.

After the first mile, I was annoyed ... by the second and third I was just plain mad. My knee was hurting and the sun was beginning to set, yet I was walking on a road that had no shoulder and endless blind turns. How "unsafe" could the bridge be since I almost got run down by a passing, not to mention speeding, Porsche? By the fourth mile I was angry and constructing a letter in my head, "Dear Connecticut Chapter of the AMC..."

By the time I reached the end of the "detour" (which left me nowhere near Falls Village) it was dusk and the sun was setting fast. Annoyed that I didn't simply disobey the sign and cross the bridge (it was open to cars, just not foot traffic) I pulled out my map in an attempt to locate a place to camp for the night. After a nineteen mile day, finally, luck was on my side. I found Belter's Campsite on the map which was only six-tenths of a mile up the hill from me. It was a steep hill too but I wasn't going to complain ... I just wanted to set up my tent and collapse for the night. Which, thankfully upon arrival, is what I did. No dinner, bear bag hung, tent up by headlamp and tucked into my sleeping bag ... only to have the wind kick up and drop a tree branch on my tent (no kidding!). It was a small branch, so no damage. I checked for more but all seemed secure, and it was. Oh well, I survived ... and today was a MUCH better day. Thank goodness for that!

Till next time ... rollin on,
Yahtzee



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