| August 19, 2005 |
| I enjoyed my
stay at the Hemlock shelter. There was a group of girl scouts
that came in and 5 kids with 2 adults. It's a pretty
morning, hopefully the sun will come out after a while. It a
cool morning and it was cool last night too. It was 7:55am
when I left the camp ground. |
|
The trails since I got into Mass. are
very similar to PA and NJ with the exception that the rock in the
trail are flat rocks. There's just jillions of rock in the
trail. Sometimes you have a place to put your feet and
sometimes you don't. The laurel is really growing alongside
the trail now and over into the trail, so sometimes it's a little
hard to hike because of the brush. This is rugged country.
More that you think it is. Now going in between large
boulders. |
|
This area is undulating more than
difficult. Here you have some large and small boulders, but
most of it I've been able to hike without putting down my poles. |
|
I'm right on the ridge top just hiking on
top one boulder right after another and the same thing going down.
One boulder step right after another. |
|
A little on the hazy side today. May
be some rain tonight and maybe in the morning. A little cool!
It sure is nice for hiking. I'm getting ready to hike down a
real rocky section to Jugs End Road. What it is. is shear rock
down the side of it and it is dangerous. Once you get the
through shear rocks, then you get into long switch backs of rocky
terrain. Some boulders. A lot of roots that be very
dangerous or helpful as steps. It's tricky hiking through
there. It is also about a foot wide trail and if you get to
close to the edge you could drop off very easily. I don't know
where you'd land and I don't want to find out either. This is
one of those stretches last night I listened to my body instead of
my head. If you were tired it's not a good section go through.
I've come three miles in two hours. |
|
This is a flat pine forest with a lot of under
growth, a lot of weeds sticking out in the trail. A lot of
beautiful in this area. It covers the whole area. A lot
of poison ivy. I'm crossing a stone wall fence with a lot
beautiful moss growing on those rocks. Came out into an open
pasture field that they're letting secession take over. The
fence is still running down through and a wire fence right beside of
this pasture that I'm hiking through. |
|
I'm getting ready to hike on log plank
boards across the swamp land. These planks have been sawed.
As a matter of fact that what I've been hearing. Just came
over #41 and went back through an open field and now back into the
pine forest again. Still good hiking. I'm crossing a
swam on planks and to my right there's come beautiful cardinal
flower growing. Really tall. Probably the tallest ones
that I've ever seen. The trail coming through the #41 to Rock
Heaven had been flat and smooth for the most part. A lot of
board walk hiking and a lot of weeds in certain areas where it's
real swampy. Some crazy looking bridges in this area too. |
I'm at the monument for Shays Last Rebellion Monument.
Last battle here Feb 22,
1787. I must have not hiked very far on Rt. 7 because I never
saw the Corn Crib. It was supposed to be only 7 tenths of a
mile. I was going to go in and get something to drink, some
ice cream. I guess that have to be another time.
I came out of corn fields on to a little
tiny road. Started up the hill and have been hiking in a
hemlock forest for quite a distance. Easy terrain. Going
across an used farm field. Just crossed over Holmes Road into
a dark woods area that probably close to the Housatonic River.
Very swampy and wet in this area, also a lot of large hemlocks
growing on the banks. Touch-me-nots are blooming. Going
to be crossing a major swamp area. This might be where we are
to get water before we start up the mountain, but the water doesn't
look to good to me. I'm going to hold off. |
|
Just crossed the RR track into some really weedy
areas, some of these weeds are taller than my head. I was on
the right road I finally found the Corn Crib. I stopped in
both Simon and I had ice cream. I had a tomato, a plumb, a
orange, a banana, some little Oreo cookies and some coffee. It
was real, I was hungry and it was good to have a change in diet. |
|
Back on the trail again, going through the
golden rods and the weeds. There some beautiful milk weed pods
in bloom. And some of that small purple stuff. Going
across the board walks again. This is the swampiest area.
The weeds are bad through here. Most of them are higher than
my head. Multiple roses that stick out and get you legs.
The bees are swarming pretty good. |
|
You should have seen Simon this morning.
Whenever he had to go up a rebar ladder. I didn't know if he
was going to make it or not. So I went up the bridge first and
was going to try to help him get up and he wined a little bit and
give a big old leap and jumps. I caught his collar in his fur
and up he came. It amazing to see him along the trail.
And also the things he has leaned to do. He's really good at
going up and down the big rocks. |
|
Hiking again by a corn field and the
Housatonic River I believe. This corn field must be 8 to 10 feet
high. Nice big ears on it. Crossing the river. The
bridge was build in 1963. We're following this little road
around. Chickweed is beautiful growing along the highway.
Crossed the highway and going into the woods again. |
|
Starting up East Mountain through a hemlock
forest. Tom Leonard Shelter is 5.1 miles away. The trail
going straight up the hill on rock steps and probably switch backs
until we get closer to the top. About half way up this mountain
there was a backpack open, a roll of toilet paper going down into
the hill, a pair of sock laid out on the rock as if they were
drying. They had been there for a little while because it was
pine needled covered. I said "Hello" but nobody answered me.
It didn't seem like there was anybody around. I'll bet you
anything that is a stolen pack. I have a feeling that this
mountain is going to be undulating too. |
|
The trail has been really going coming up this
mountain, but every once in a while you get these really steep
places where you have to up large boulders and a real rooty area.
The rest of the trail has been pine covered and leaf dusted so it's
real soft. I can't believe I'm hiking straight up this
boulder. I got a picture of Simon standing at the top of it.
He just scoots right up them. |
|
Made it to Ice Gulch, Tom Leonard Lean-to
1,512.8 miles from Springer
Mountain. It was around 6:30pm. I debated weather
I wanted to go on to Lakeview Rd and go on to the hostel or to go on
to #23 at Great Barrington and hike 1 tenth of a mile down to the
motel. At the shelter there was an older guy and a couple of
fellows from Zanesville section hiking and some of the through
hikers cam through. Before I got there Simon had already gone
into the shelter. The younger guys told the old guy that Simon
was hiking the AT by himself. He finally figured out who the
dog belonged to. It turned out that the guy was Ken Boardwell
from Cincinnati OH. and he was also on the Buckeye Trail Board for a
long time. He knew that I needed to go into Great Barrington
the next day to get some dog food for Simon. He said he had a
car about 2 miles from the shelter and said that he would take me
into Great Barrington. That worked out great. Ice Gulch
is a big canyon or a deep, deep ravine. It's nothing but rocks
and water runs underneath those. It never thaws out until late
Spring, or early Summer. When you hike down into that gulch
it's real cold. |
|
Swing'n Jane and
Simon |
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