The Leite Sisters Hike The AT with Caterpillars And Cinderella

Sisters Petra, at left in photo, and Sadie Leite, at the entrance to one of the trails leading to the Connecticut section of the Appalachian Trail. Photo submitted
I don’t really know where the idea came from. There are a lot of sources I can point to. My family has a house in Salisbury, Conn. I often see thru-hikers stomping toward ice cream at LaBonne’s market.
Mostly, the lack of profound reasoning behind my decision to spend two nights on the Appalachian Trail (AT) with my sister, Petra, rests in the real, boring explanation. When I came home from college, there was this awkward space. I had three weeks before I drove to Boston, Mass., to settle in a house for the summer.
I’d done enough of sitting in parking lots with high school friends. When I suggested hiking to Petra, she agreed and, to my absolute advantage, she planned most of it.
Our mom dropped us off at some point along Route 4. We got our picture taken and started walking.
The AT is a trail stretching almost 2,200 miles between Georgia and Maine, passing through 14 states. The brave, sturdy individuals who hike the whole path are called thru-hikers. They’re either “nobos” (north-bound from Georgia to Maine) or “sobos” for the opposite.
Thru-hikers will hike 12 to 20 miles a day. Usually, it’s more like 20. Petra and I planned 6 for day one.
Petra is a lot of things. She’s a rising sophomore who is pre-med and a math major. She’s the other sibling in my family with red hair— though it’s lighter and straighter than mine. I’m not sure how people mistake us for twins, but I understand when they think she’s older. Petra is an EMT. She’s decisive, a little taller than me, and when we hiked, she always led.
We sat in the dirt, dodging caterpillars that fell from the sky. Creepy crawly things in places you can’t see is worse than wood chips stuck in socks. Petra took out a Sloppy Joe mix.
We were so excited for our first trail-cooked meal. However, it was inedible. It may have been our fault for forgetting the ketchup needed as an add-in.
Over the next 3 miles, we crossed brooks, passed a thru-hiker who lost his self-awareness for stench long-ago, and side-stepped boulders.
Pine Swamp Brook Shelter was quiet. We were tired, so we read some messages in the notebook left in the lean-to to keep us from passing out before 6 p.m.
A lean-to is a structure built at most campsites to sleep in, and they often have notebooks for hikers to write in.
“I’ve had two moths enter my mouth without permission! I hate Connecticut the same I always have,” Cinderella wrote.
Certainly, Cinderella could be a respectable name, but I’d bargain it’s a trail name — names gifted to thru-hikers for a personality trait or a funny story. Booty-shorts, Oomo and MadDog also wrote in the book.
Petra and I don’t have enough experience to have had someone title us, so we used a childhood memory for our signature. Once we dressed as Salt and Pepper for Halloween.
The next day, we had 11 miles ahead of us. It started off OK, until I learned walking uphill is as painful as walking down.
As we shuffled down the last stretch to our campsite, I thought my feet wouldn’t carry me. Crawling was a suggestion.
I made it because you always do. Until you don’t. Then you don’t make it.
My feet were puffy, purple, blistered. I laughed at myself. Petra approached, confused. Then I cried, she hugged me, and I stopped.
In the tent later we watched a television show before a sleepless night. We never learned about the dampness or how hard the forest floor really is. Petra’s head was closer to the flashing lights, and she turned back, notably, and stared at me.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Just checking on you,” she said.
Though I’m not going to detail it, we did get out. Our mom picked us up on the side of a different road.
I’m fully sure I decided on this adventure because I wanted something to do, but there’s the question of why I needed to fill an awkward space I could’ve just slept through. I could’ve enjoyed a summer break before returning to Boston, where I’ll work three jobs.
Though turning 20 in March seems widely unrelated, it really isn’t. Most of my life right now feels like an awkward three-week break at home in Connecticut between two things happening.
Hiking the AT was beautiful, painful and buggy. I came away with something I’ve known: My sister is the best. That’s what’s important now, and maybe I’ll continue with unjustified ideas just to learn I already knew their simple whys.
LAKEVILLE — Barbara Meyers DelPrete, 84, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at her home. She was the beloved wife of George R. DelPrete for 62 years.
Mrs. DelPrete was born in Burlington, Iowa, on May 31, 1941, daughter of the late George and Judy Meyers. She lived in California for a time and had been a Lakeville resident for the past 55 years.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, George, include son, George R. DelPrete II, daughter, Jena DelPrete Allee, and son Stephen P. DelPrete. Grandchildren; Trey, Cassidy, and Meredith DelPrete, Jack, Will and Finn Allee, and Ali and Nicholas DelPrete.
A Funeral Mass was held at St. Mary’s Church, Lakeville, on Saturday, Oct. 4. May she Rest in Peace.
Ryan Funeral Home, 255 Main St., Lakeville, is in care of arrangements.
To offer an online condolence, please visit ryanfhct.com
SHARON — Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti, daughter of George and Mabel (Johnson) Wilbur, the first girl born into the Wilbur family in 65 years, passed away on Oct. 5, 2025, at Noble Horizons.
Shirley was born on Aug. 19, 1948 at Sharon Hospital.
She was raised on her parents’ poultry farm (Odge’s Eggs, Inc.).
After graduating from Housatonic Valley Regional High School, she worked at Litchfield County National Bank and Colonial Bank.
She married the love of her life, John, on Aug. 16, 1969, and they lived on Sharon Mountain for more than 50 years.
Shirley enjoyed creating the annual family Christmas card, which was a coveted keepsake.She also enjoyed having lunch once a month with her best friends, Betty Kowalski, Kathy Ducillo, and Paula Weir.
In addition to John, she is survived by her three children and their families; Sarah Medeiros, her husband, Geoff, and their sons, Nick and Andrew, of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Shelby Diorio, her husband, Mike, and their daughters, Addie, Lainey and Lyla, of East Canaan, Connecticut,Jeffrey Perotti, his wife, Melissa, and their daughters, Annie, Lucy and Winnie, of East Canaan. Shirley also leaves her two brothers, Edward Wilbur and his wife Joan, and David Wilbur; two nieces, three nephews, and several cousins.
At Shirley’s request, services will be private.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Sharon Woman’s Club Scholarship Fund, PO Box 283, Sharon, CT 06069.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
MILLERTON — Veronica Lee “Ronnie” Silvernale, 78, a lifelong area resident died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Connecticut. Mrs. Silvernale had a long career at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, where she served as a respected team leader in housekeeping and laundry services for over eighteen years. She retired in 2012.
Born Oct. 19, 1946, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she was the daughter of the late Bradley C. and Sophie (Debrew) Hosier, Sr. Following her graduation from high school and attending college, she married Jack Gerard Silvernale on June 15, 1983 in Millerton, New York. Their marriage lasted thirty-five years until Jack’s passing on July 28, 2018.
Ronnie is survived by her daughter, Jaime Silvernale (Wm. MacDaniel, Sr.) of Millerton, her beloved grandson, Wm. MacDaniel, Jr.; two special nieces, Shannon and Rebecca and a special nephew Sean Hosier. In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her brother, Bradley C. Hosier, Jr. and her dear friend Ruth Fullerton of Millerton.
Visitation was private. A celebration of Ronnie’s life will be held in the future. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546. To send an online condolence to the family or to plant a tree in Ronnie’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Christine Gevert, Crescendo’s artistic director, is delighted to announce the start of this musical organization’s 22nd year of operation. The group’s first concert of the season will feature Latin American early chamber music, performed Oct. 18 and 19, on indigenous Andean instruments as well as the virginal, flute, viola and percussion. Gevert will perform at the keyboard, joined by Chilean musicians Gonzalo Cortes and Carlos Boltes on wind and stringed instruments.
This concert, the first in a series of nine, will be held on Oct. 18 at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, and Oct. 19 at Trinity Church in Lakeville.
For those unfamiliar with Crescendo, the award-winning organization was founded in 2003 and brings lesser-known works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods — along with contemporary fusion pieces — to new life. Its performances often blend classical composition with nontraditional instrumentation for a refreshing new take on an established body of work.
Gevert, who is German, Chilean and American, is a conductor, keyboardist and musical scholar. As the multi-national, multi-lingual (German, Spanish and English) creative director, she is a veritable whirlwind of talent, professionalism and inspiration who conceives of new musical treats for her audiences. She also hires and nourishes local talent, sources internationally known vocal and instrumental professionals, and provides her audiences with well-researched program notes for each concert, packaged in lush, full-color programs that resemble illuminated manuscripts.
“It is the excitement about and dedication to the music, along with the prerequisite vocal and instrumental talent, that characterizes a Crescendo member,” said Gevert. “I don’t care about things like how old or young you are or where you’re from — it’s all about bringing these performers together to provide unforgettable musical experiences for its audiences.”
“Traditional audiences for classical music performances tend to skew older,” Gevert continued. “For that reason, I’ve embarked on an effort to reach younger listeners, and have done things like taken a Crescendo choral group to perform at Housatonic Regional High School. I’ve also launched an effort to recruit and train young singers in Baroque singing techniques so they can perform with our existing choral group.”
The upcoming 2025-26 season includes, among other performances, a solo recital and benefit concert on Nov. 22 by the international Baroque opera star and countertenor Nicholas Tamagna. The curated program will include works by Handel, Vivaldi, and Monteverdi.
Two dazzling Christmas concerts follow: on Dec. 6 and 7, Crescendo presents J.S. Bach’s “Sweet Comfort” cantata and Mass in G minor, featuring the full chorus and soloists with a period instrument orchestra. On Dec. 21, the annual Holiday Concert will be presented: “A Tapestry of Traditions: Unraveling the History of Christmas Carols,” with the entire Crescendo vocal ensemble and Gevert on organ.
For the full schedule, concerts details and ticket information, visit: www.crescendomusic.org