Date: 2011-08-05
From: Wilbur Clearing Shelter

To: Seth Warner Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

I was up at 5:30 am again, and on my way at 6:35 am, on a cool, cloudy morning. The day started with a short climb to an outlook. There was limited visibility so I continued on the toe-banging descent to North Adams without taking a photo. I arrived at Route 2 in North Adams at 8:25 am and decided to go west 0.4 miles to a super market where there was a public phone. I called Rocky and told her about my missing credit card and how it would curtail my hike at Bennington. She thought I had enough cash, provided I didn¢t stay in towns, to complete my planned hike. We decided to put off the decision on whether to end my hike in Bennington when I arrived in Bennington in two days.As I was finishing   my phone call, a woman pulled up along side and asked if I wanted a ride back to the Trail. Absolutely, I would always appreciate a ride to avoid 0.4 miles of walking that doesn¢t count. It turned out my Trail Angel was Bagel, a 2000 thru-hiker. When I told her I was Swamp Fox, she said ¢Oh, you¢re with Rocky¢ (it seems everyone knows Rocky). She has followed many of our Trail Journals. (Glad someone reads these things.) We had a very enjoyable chat about the world of hiking and travel. We hope to see her again at this year¢s ALDHA Gathering, which will be in her home town of North Adams. From North Adams the Trail leaves Route 2 and crosses a river. It then passes though a driveway between two houses, on either side of the Sherman Brook stream channel. Once again I had forgotten to fill up on water at the shopping center (I¢m doing a lot of forgetting on this hike, wish Rocky was here to remind me of such things). I asked a woman on the right of the stream channel if I could fill up. She allowed me to use her garden hose to fill up my water bottles. Then we chatted at some length about the work she had done to stabilize the steep banks of the deep stream channel that passes through her lot. This was interesting for me as I am a retired civil engineer and have dealt with a number of bank stabilization problems. It was cloudy and muggy as I climbed the Trail away from North Adams. At the Sherman Brook Camp Site I filled my water bottles again, as I did not expect another water source for five miles. A couple of miles later, I came to a sign pointing to a weather bypass to the left. I wondered what this bypass was all about and what it was bypassing. I soon found out as I started to struggle up a steep rock slide. After a number of rest stops I finally reached to top of the rock slide at Eph¢s Lookout. It was now 11:15 am, so I stopped for lunch and a lengthy break. The Trail leveled off after Eph¢s Lookout to the Vermont/Massachusetts border. At 12:17, I finally reached the sign marking the southern end of the Long Trail. This was kind of a big thrill me to finally reach the Vermont border, as it has taken me six years and four section hikes to finish the Trail in Massachusetts. The Trail from the border to the Seth Warner Shelter is relatively level and easy walking except for some muddy sections. Shortly after leaving the border, I was passed by three thru-hikers. They flew by me like I was standing still, without so much as a word. There was one last short climb before I reached the Seth Warner Shelter at 2:15 pm.The three flying thru-hikers who passed me earlier were already at the shelter, along with two section hikers. The three thru-hikers barely acknowledged my presence, and made no effort to move either their bodies or gear out of the way so that I could enter the shelter. Finally I pushed my way into the shelter to get my gear organized for the night. Occasionally one notices a kind of thru-hiker snobbery on the Trail, and this may have been one of those occasions. I suspect many thru-hikers at this stage of their hike are obsessed with the miles, and are oblivious to other virtues of the Trail. I was not sorry to see them leave a half hour later to go on to the next shelter.The two section hikers were a bit more sociable, even though I never learned their names during the 22 hours I was around them. The older of the two was an ex-Marine (USMC 1981-1985). I enjoyed chatting with him about our service experiences and comparing the Corps between my Vietnam era and his time. Interestingly, in 1985 Marines were still being issued the heavy canvas camping gear that was issued 40 years earlier. It turned out to be a sunny and warm afternoon that I spent relaxing in the shelter. Around 5 pm I started dinner and took care of the evening chores. The only others in the shelter for the night were the two section hikers, and they had no objection to me setting up my tent (minus the fly) in the shelter. It looks like it will be a buggy night.My left toe nail is coming off and I have a blood blister below the nail. My right toe nail is also getting mangled. There is no question but that I am getting off the Trail. Hopefully I can get to Vermont Route 9 reasonably early in the day tomorrow and I can call Rocky for a pick up. I will have to get a hitch into Bennington to call however. Buenos Noches, RockySwamp Fox