25 May.

25 May.
From: Kent, CT
To: Stewart Hollow Brook shelter
Mileage: 7
Weather: Sunny, warm, breezy

Cooper and Mary were wonderful hosts at Cooper Creek B&B and the accommodations were very comfortable. However, I still did not sleep well. Got up at 7am and began prepping my pack, joined others for breakfast of hard boiled eggs, cantaloupe slices, cereal and cranberry juice.
Decided to ride along with Cooper during drop off of Cinnamon Girl and Wilderness Hawk at West Cornwall Rd trailhead. They would hike south from there and stay another night at the B&B. Cooper passed Kent Falls, highest falls in New England. Cooper had a lot of interesting stories on the way and noted other points of interest. Cooper returned to Kent and dropped me off at the AT trailhead where I got off yesterday.
Hiked across field then uphill in woods. Again minor climbs and descents, but much less strenuous than yesterday.
Day warmed up so splashed some water on head and shirt to cool off.
Reached St Johns Ledges, where three hikers were eating. Did not appear to be a significant viewpoint so I moved on. Then descended steep and uneven rocky steps I was warned about, but not as bad as I feared. The three hikers were behind me on the way down.
At bottom, trail followed mostly level road along the very pretty Housatonic River, then became wide, level trail.
Reached Stewart Hollow Brook shelter sign and turned off the AT. Only 1pm, but sat to rest and read the shelter log. Saw Penguin made it here last night - she had a long day on the trail!
The three hikers I saw earlier stopped in for lunch. They are from Norwalk CT (IIRC) hiking from Kent to Falls Village CT over the holiday weekend. They moved on to a campsite three miles further. Even the weekend hikers are outdistancing me!
I am frustrated with the short hiking day and falling behind others like Penguin and Timezone - the weather is great, but I scheduled a hostel pickup at the West Cornwall Rd trailhead Saturday afternoon and the next shelter ten miles away is beyond that.
At least I should have time tomorrow to get off trail near Cornwall Bridge CT for a meal at the hiker-friendly country market that Cooper recommended.