Backpacker crosses Connecticut border into New York after trail trek

In a detailed first-person account published by The Trek, a long-distance backpacker chronicled a restless night near the Mount Algo shelter before completing a 26.1-mile trek that crossed the state border from Connecticut into New York.

A Noisy Interruption Near Site One

The journey on Tuesday, October 20th, 2026, began with an uneasy sleep at the Mount Algo shelter site. After rejecting a rocky patch at site one that was strewn with basketball-sized stones, the hiker settled into site two, roughly 30 feet from the main shelter. Around 11:00 PM, the rustling of dry autumn leaves broke the quiet. The sound of heavy objects crashing to the ground prompted a quick check of the FarOut app, where other hikers had previously logged suspected bear activity in the vicinity. Though the wildlife remained roughly 50 yards away and eventually retreated toward site one, the disturbances repeated during the early morning hours, compressing the overnight recovery window.

Weaving Through the Schaghticoke Reservation

With morning light breaking ahead of sunrise, the backpacker packed up and hit the trail by 8:00 AM to tackle a route back to the van. The initial mile delivered a punishing series of rocky ups and downs that bypassed the Schaghticoke Mountain campsite and brought the traveler to an early viewpoint partially veiled by morning sun. While an alternate parallel trail appeared on topographic maps—potentially connecting through the housing area of the small Schaghticoke Indian reservation—the junction remained obscured.

The path soon looped back across the New York State border, offering sweeping vistas of the Housatonic River Valley from an open rocky outcrop before swinging back into Connecticut to descend toward Schaghticoke Road. The final push up Ten Mile Mountain from the north proved physically demanding, yet crossing the state line delivered a much-needed psychological boost.

The Final Stretch Past Nuclear Lake

Re-entering the trail system via the Pawling Nature Preserve, the hiker faced a grueling seven-mile stretch through muddy pastures north of Route 22. Fatigue set in near the Dover Oak, where the landscape opened up to reveal stone walls and historic farm buildings typical of Dover, New York. Fortunately, the closing miles flattened out.

The route passed directly by Nuclear Lake, where the afternoon sun gave the water a striking bluish glow alongside its famous, lighthearted reputation for three-eyed fish. Crossing the rushing outlet stream, the backpacker covered the final miles and reached the van just before 5:00 PM, wrapping up a 26.1-mile day involving 5,7150 steps before heading to Fishkill for supplies.