7/05/06 Wednesday: Stratton Pond Shelter to Manchester Center, VT (10.6mi)

PICTURES:
1. 0833: Entering Another Wilderness Preserve
2. 0900: Lots of rain lately makes the trail a bit mucky...
3. 0926: A bit higher up and the trail improves. Lovely...
4. 1212: Suttons Place in Manchester Center, Vt.

I was feeling a bit run down when I awoke this morning, attributing it to a caloric deprivation over the last few days. The caretakers advised me that the hitch into Manchester Center was usually good with good shopping and reasonably priced accomodations at Suttons Place... The hike from the pond was cool, breasy and easy enough but I felt drained, and when I reached the road to Manchester Center I hitched and got a ride in 5min...:)... The driver took me to the info center in town and they helped find me a place.. I needed food and lots of it and also to get caught up on this blog... Well, I was able to get both and hope to update again as soon as possible from New Hampshire... Catch you all later...;)...

7/04/06 Tuesday: Melville Nauheim Shelter to Stratton Pond Shelter (28.0mi)

PICTURES:
1. 1124: Views of Stratton Mtn
2. 1654: A reminder that we were sharing the AT with Vermont's Long Trail...
3. 1930: From the Summit of Stratton Mtn. Overcast w/ T/storms...

I was first up for another big day... I wanted to check out the Stratton Pond Shelter, a newer one with a caretaker... I was on my way by 0730 with relatively nice weather, just a light rain occationally throughout the day... There were plenty of fine water sources along this stretch of the trail...some of the best spring water ever... But the mosquitoes and black flies RULED... Only short stops for water gathering were possible during the day. This was another "green tunnel" type day with no real vistas... I raced thru the day not stopping to cook for lunch, just snacking on extra Cliff bars... I did stop for a few minutes to chat with a family of 3 "Southbounders", my first contact with hikers starting at Mt Katahdin,Me and traveling south to Springer, GA. Unfortunately the buggs were too much for us all and we soon pushed on each in our own direction... I arrived at the Story Spring Shelter at about 1500 to find a couple of hikers had started a fire. The bug situation was tolerable and I made dinner while chatting with my new friends... By 1615 I resolved to continue my trek, another 11.5mi... the terrain was good except for the ascent then descent of Stratton Mtn to get to the shelter by the pond... I arrived at the summit at 1945, pretty good time for an old guy. I treated some water I had picked up at a spring near the summit, and great water it was too... I chatted for a while with the two caretakers who reside at the summit. By 2000 though, I had to excuse myself, wanting to get down the 3.2mi to the shelter before dark... A storm seemed to be brewing in the distance also, with thunder heard approaching... So I wasted no time and was at the shelter by 2045... There were 2 other hikers there, one a southbounder who said he had already quit the trail...too much rain and bugs for him... The other hiker was heading for Katahdin but admittedly slowing a bit with all the rain... The buggs had invaded this shelter so I pitched my freestanding tent inside this 16 man shelter so I'd have the netting to keep them off me... I had a pleasant nights sleep... with the exception of the other thru hiker getting up at 0300 and for an hour making quite a bit of racket...

7/03/06 Monday: Mt. Greylock, Mass. to Melville Nauheim Shelter, Vt. (20.4mi)

PICTURES:
1. 0804: View from Mt Greylock...
2. 1215: Entering Vermont... Always a thrill to cross state lines...
3. 1215: Southern terminus of the Long/AT trail
4. 1258: Large rock left years ago by the glaciers...
5. 1755: Some mucky sections of the trail from a very rainy spring/summer

I was up and out of the "Garage" (they called it a Hostel but we all know better ;))... Well for $10 bucks what do ya expect... I had a roof over my head with the threat of severe thundershowers during the night... I was on the trail again by 0630 for the 6 mile decent to N Adams, Mass. and the chance to get some groceries for the upcoming trip... Just .4mi off the trail I met a number of hikers resupplying at the grocery store there, indulging in the fresh fruit and other delicacies... We had a late breakfast on the side walk out side the store before pushing on ... In 4 miles we all reached the Mass/VT state line for a pic in the middle of the wilderness... I picked up the pace a bit due to the horrific mosquito and black fly infestation... I knew it was gonna come but the recent rains seemed to help tremendously... Most of the group I had been associating with were planning to attend a July 4th party at the home of a section hiker in Bennington,VT. These hikers slowed their pace and were all planning to stay short of VT9 at the Congdon Shelter... I had dinner at the Congdon Shelter which sleep 8... There were already 6 hikers there and it was the swampiest area I had seen... I was happy to push on and get ahead of this pack of nearly 15 hikers... The days walk was thru ankle deep mud or hopping from rock to rock if you dared to try to avoid the mud... After a while, it simply doesnt matter, your feet are wet and are going to stay that way... The 1000ft descent to Vt9 was pretty tough with a series of uneven rock stairs, muddied over with the boots of previous hikers... I must say I was feeling week in the knees after that... I then crossed the street for the 1000ft ascent to the M&N shelter...LOL... My poor knees...LOL... I was out of water when I arrived and found some nice yellow tinged water for the night...LOL>... There were 7 hikers at this shelter, not one an AT hiker... We were sharing the trail with the Long Trail now and all these hikers were hiking the 500miles, or sections therof, the Long Trail... I got in at 2045, just before dark. They were all very friendly and had made a fire to help keep the buggs at bay.. I cleaned off and after chatting a bit with the folks there and phoning home, retired for the night...

7/02/06 Sunday: Dalton, Ma. to Mt. Greylock, Bascom Lodge (17mi)

PICTURES:
1. 0749: Thruhiker breakfast at a Dalton diner... Thats Tom sitting beside me...
2. 1122: Views from the Cobbles
3. 1241: A monument on the trail thru Cheshire, MA
4. 1411: Trail Majic near the base of Mt. Greylock
5. 1507: Beginning the ascent of Mt. Greylock... nice trail...
6. 1657: Reaching the top.. first glimpse of the Mass Memorial to its fallen soldiers...
7. 1658: Once on top, many easy trails with large boulders and inscriptions from notable poets..
8. 1705: One view from the top just before checking in to the hostel...

Today I had a short day planned... I wanted to check out Bascom Lodge on the top of Mt Greylock, the highest point of land in Mass. There was a bit of a climb leaving Dalton with a equally challenging decent to Cheshire... It was only an 8 mile trip and lunch in Cheshire appealed to me...:)... So I was off at 0830 after we all returned from breakfast... Tom piled us all into his truck and drove us to a great diner. I had a wonderful omlette, my morning favorite, and everyone packed into the extra large booth... Just as we finished it started raining, to bad for us that didnt take our tents down before breakfast...:(... Well, it didnt rain too hard and I soon packed everything up for the days outing... It was another rather uneventful day and soon we arrived in Cheshire for an early lunch and ice cream... after a quick snack I was again off to find about 2miles up the trail some more trail majic... All sorts of drinks, hamburgers, hotdogs, homemade cakes and cookies, chairs, all from the relatives of a thru hiker... I was already quite full but did the only reasonable thing, eat some more...:)... I met the Maine Train, a group of 6 hikers all from Maine. They left shortly after I arrived so I stayed with the Aunt of the thru hiker until another 5 hikers stopped by to keep her company... The Mom and Dad soon arrived with some more treats including Sam Adams...:)... Well after being thoroughly stuffed it was time to climb Mt Greylock...:(... It was slow going at first as you could imagine, but soon enough, things began to digest and I was moving along pretty well... I had signed up for dinner there and needed to be there by 1700 to shower and get ready... Well I made it in at 1700... and was ready for dinner by 1800... I met Old Man, who had actually drove me to Springer Mtn in Ga., on April 5... Wow!!! We caught up at dinner and talked about the challenges to come on the trail... I returned to rinse off my clothes for tomorrow and call home to wish my girl a good night as I do just about every night...

7/01/06 Saturday: Upper Goose Pond Cabin to Tom's Place, Dalton, Mass. (20.6mi)

PICTURES:
1. Typical morning for this caretaker of Upper Goose Pond Cabin... On her way by canoe to the spring on the other side of the pond to get water for her guests.
2. 0854: Crossing the Mass Pike (I-90)
3. 0857: Entering the Berkshires
4. 1912: Greeted with Tom's famous sunday
5. 1937: Thru-hikers relax on Tom's porch

I was one of the last ones out at 0815, with the 3 late arrivals choosing to stay for another relaxing day at the cabin. I was having a bit of trouble with my water treatment device... After fiddling with it for about 20 min I was able to treat both 32oz water containers and I was off... At about 1000 I caught up to Crumbs, Today, Low Key, and Soft Lipped Swamp Donkey (I still need to ask him how he got that trail name)... I had met the other 3 girls on the street in Great Barrington two days earlier and again last night at the cabin... All four were seated having lunch in a sunny spot on the trail... I was feeling a bit calorie deprived so I decided to have an early lunch... I cooked one of my entrees and felt a bit better... I guess 6 small pancakes wasnt quite enough...LOL... Anyway a bit further down the trail was some Trail Majic... I met the 4 hikers again with soda and juices and we again took a break and walked the .1mi to the home of the "Cookie Ladie/Man"...LOL... Unfortunately they werent at home but they had gived all hikers permission to relax on a picnic table on the front of their yard and replenish their water from the spicket.. Well, I replenished my water and found a rather high sulpha content in the water which, yes, makes the water smell and taste like rotten eggs.... :(... The water in that part of Mass was all discolored and funny tasting but although this was clear it simply wasnt palitable... I dumped one out and kept the other until I could find better... I was expecting to get spring water from a jug back at the trail majic but after relaxing for an hour, playing cards and just putting our feet up, the trail majic was gone...:(... Well I was stuck with this water only for a couple of miles and a couple of drinks... Soon we all arrived in Dalton at about 1900, and on to Tom's house where he greeted each hiker with a bowl of Ben&Jerrys Ice cream and a soda... Tom offers all hikers the opportunity to camp in his backyard for free, allowing us to make use of the towns facilities; restaurants and grocery stores, etc... I met Sparrowhawk there and was joined by Grizzly again later... We all went to the local sandwitch shop for subs and I had a 12" Meatball and a 12" Italian with fries and a liter of coke...:)... I love to eat... Unfortunately I keep loosing weight...:(... We returned to Toms house to chat again for a bit before all retiring to our tents for a peaceful nights sleep on a cushion of grass...

6/30/06 Friday: Great Barrington to Upper Goose Pd Cabin (27.5mi)

PICTURES:
1. 1137: View from East Mtn.
2. 1426: A short break overlooking Benedict Pond
3. 1611: Ridge walking in Beartown State Forest.
4. 1659: Picturesque but rather sharp descent near the Shaker Campsite.
5. 1747: AT passes through a pasture outside Tyringham

Well a combination of a poor town to hitch from, getting up at 0730 and getting breakfast all helped to delay the start of our day... Grizzly joined us when we decided to start walking after 20 min of no luck hitchin... The three of us, Snapper, Grizzly, and I finally got picked up by Frederick, a local man who kinda scared Snapper a bit with his hippy appearance... I chose to ride in the cab of his pickup and strike up a conversation while the other 2 sat in the bed of the pickup.. Frederick was born again and I could see he had recently found new direction in his life... We chatted a bit during the 20min ride in traffic before he dropped us off at the trail head... We both resolved to pray for each other to meet our future challenges, whatever they might be... After shaking hands, I thanked him for his kindness and he was off... We were soon back on the trail and I had thoughts of Goose Pond right off... I was feeling good and chose to begin quickly for the 27+mi day... With such a late start I wasnt sure it would be possible... But after a look at the map I thought different.. By 1215 I had already covered 7miles and hadnt seen the other 2 since we got off the truck earlier... It was another "green tunnel" type of day with few photo ops as I arrived at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin just before dark. The caretaker there showed me around and directed me to the pond for a rinsing...;)... I removed my boots and took a dip carefully washing off the days sweat and grime... I hung everything up to dry and found a vacant bunk upstairs. There were about 8 other hikers, with another 3 showing up well after dark at about 1030... The caretaker found a bunk for everyone and we all got up at 0630 for our pancake breakfast...:)... We were all soon on our way after breakfast with the caretaker off across the lake to get more spring water for the a new day of hikers... A very pleasant stay and well worth the extra milage to experience it...

6/29/06 Thursday: Plateau Campsite, Conn to Great Barrington, Mass (21.2mi)

PICTURES:
1. 0838: A more pleasant section of trail before Lion's Head...
2. 0901: Approaching Lion's Head...
3. 0910: Bear Mountain Peak
4. 0922: I had company up top... tough climb for this little guy...
5. 0950: A steep descent down to Sages Ravine but what a wonderful area...
6. 1000: A nice walk through Sages Ravine
7. 1014: Entered Massacheusettes while passing through Sages Ravine..
8. 1042: A lovely section of trail.. a welcome relief from the steep climbs and descents...
9. 1205: Lunch @ Race Mtn with some lovely views.
10. 1208: More views from Race Mtn.
11. 1434: Views from Mt. Everett
12. 1514: Views from Jug End summit
13. 1631: Shays Rebellion Monument

I had a nice quite night camping, thank God it didnt rain since I had to pitch the tent on the dirt and with a little rain the mud would splatter all over leaving the tent coverted in mud... I hate it when that happens...LOL... Anyway I packed up and was out by 0630... I had a nice view within a few miles just past the Riga shelter before it crossing over into Mass. Climbing first up to Lion's Head and then Bear Mountain were the last two challenges in Conn. And they helped take the wind out of my sails early... Once in Mass., I decended into Sages Ravine, a wonderful area, as beautiful and rugged as any seen thus far on the trail... Though highly used, we all knew we were returning to the wilderness after the hills of New York and Conn. I had lunch on top of Race Mtn around 1115, and enjoyed some sun and views before continuing for the day... I passed by the Shays' Rebellion Monument, a tribute to the post revolutionary farmers uprising that occurred near the AT... I had come across Snapper a little earlier and we pushed on to Great Barrington, with the hope of camping on the grounds of a local gardning center... Well, it was getting late and when I arrived at the center they were closed... There were no signs to indicate where to camp so I called some local hotels and got a room in town... We were fortunate to also get a hitch quickly to the Lantern Motel and split the $85.00 cost of the room for the night... The hotel was nicely located near a supermarket and restaurants where we got salads and did our best to dry our gear off... I had the luxury of watching the Red Sox play on the tv... Now this is really living...LOL... We both made calls to our loved ones and turned in for the night...

6/28/06 Wednesday: Caesar Brook Campsite to Plateau Campsite (20.0mi)

PICTURES:
1. Trail takes a turn for the better in the late afternoon... Always love to experience a pleasant stroll..
2. The village hydro-electric plant provided a shower for perceptive hikers... Can you see the shower head poking thru the vines?
3. A look at the rather intense falls while passing through Falls Village...
4. It was a beautiful day as I begin my climb back into the mountains
5. Views back to Falls Village...

The morning started well with a little humidity and cool temps but that changed to light showers by 1000... Showers while your walking in the woods isnt so bad, the tree canopy absorbs most of the water and you just get a light soaking...and when your moving quickly and working up a sweat thats usually good... I had a few opportunities along this section of trail for pictures but again mainly walking in the woods... familiar sights and sounds experienced daily... still soothing and refreshing... I exited the AT for lunch at the Mountainside Cafe just .2mi off the trail... I ordered a 2 sandwitches and had plenty of soda to help me get throught the final 10miles of the day... A couple of miles later I stopped at the Hydroelectric Plant, right along the trail, for a free shower and a refil on my water supply before the trail returns back to the wilderness... The Great Falls of the Housatonic River were living up to their names today, with all the recent rains they were thunderous... I had some nice vistas in the afternoon, though some low clouds deminished the view some, to help remind me how beautiful the area outside the "green tunnel" is... I arrived at my destination around 1930, and was very disappointed with the area... A very poor camping area but I was tired and it was getting late... Soon I was asleep...

6/27/06 Tuesday: Ten Mile River Campground to Caesar Brook Campsite (22.3mi)

PICTURES:
1. 0626: The shelter may have been full but the campsite was beautiful along the banks of Ten Mile River.
2. 0829: Views S from Schaghticoke Mtn. range
3. 0942: First views of the Housatonic River from Schaghticoke Mtn.
4. 1354: Views of the Housatonic River from Calebs Peak
5. 1507: Views from St Johns Ledges
6/7. 1535/1536: Got pretty steep decending to the Housatonic River.
8. 1719: Friends along the trail
9. 1919: Views from Silver Hill

I was up and out by 0730 and ready for another big day....Again the day was full of green... A familiar site... There were few vistas or other unique sites, just the familiar "green tunnel" of the AT... It was a pleasant walk with nice weather, some light rain early but mostly very pleasant... I walked the .8mi into Kent,Ct to get some "real" food for lunch and found a number of other hikers doing the same... After about an hour of eating, and chatting it was time to return to the task at had and get back to the trail... Not long after returning to the trail I happened on the St Johns Ledges... These offered some nice views of the surrounding valley and were quite picture worthy...:)... After a short break there I continued on, aware of the 10 more miles that needed to be completed before the day was out... I made good time throughtout the rest of the day and arrived at the Campsite by 1930... This was a secluded state site with a water spicket at a pump station across the street, that I showered in...:)... Brrrrr... but refreshing... I gathered all my gear and walked the .1m to the campsite with all the water I would need for that night... Another hiker arrived a little later and we had dinner together before retiring for the night...