Date: 2008-06-28
From: Shaker Campsite, MA

To: October Mtn. Lean-to, MA
Miles today: 18.7

Well, it did not storm or even rain last nite. I passed out and slept almost 12 hrs waking only briefly to someone moving around. I'd find this morning a thru-hiker named Cricket came in close to dark. I never heard a thing. I woke up once chilly, so I got my sleeping bag out. Until then I'd been sleeping in my fleece pants and a tank top. It was 63 when I woke this morning.So today did not end up being the typical hiking day at all. You'll notice the 18.7 miles? Nope...not my intention to do that, but it became necessary as you'll see.I had been told it was going to rain all day, but the sun was out for the first time in 1 or 2 days I think. I was happy about that. The hiking first took me through some farm fields and through a really gorgeous pine forest with lots of streams.Then the climbing started.1 mile up and over Cobble Hill then 1 nice mile and then 2 miles to the top of Baldy Mtn. I was playing leapfrog with Juanita and her son who were only going 8 miles to the Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Wish I could have stopped too, there's pancakes in the a.m., but I wouldn't have enough food to get to Dalton.So a bit past Goose Pond Road, I see a gentleman coming towards me (he's going south). He's hiking, and goes, "Did you see some people ahead?" I said, "Yes, there were 3 guys sitting down taking a break." He asked if there was water and how far the people were. I told him about 1 mile and yes, water was ahead. I picked up a bit of a panicky vibe, but figured his friends were waiting for him.So I'm hiking along and about 2 miles later, I reach Upper Goose Pond which was beautiful. A guy was floating in the water in a little raft, reading a book. It looked so nice. I noticed a hiker with his shoes off, kicking back and reading. I thought, man..wish I could do that. I almost hiked right by but he looked up and said hello. We chatted for just a minute and he asks, "Did you see an Asian guy back there by chance?" Well yes, that was the guy asking me about water and people, so I told this guy (whose name is Tom). Tom asked how far back and I told him a few miles, but that the guy was heading south, not north.Uh oh...Tom's face dropped. See, Tom and Tony (the Asian guy) and their 2 kids, Louisa and Alex (15 and 17 yrs old...a couple) are out for a 7 day hike. This is Tony and Alex's first time. Well, apparently the 2 kids took off ahead on their own, and Tom was hiking @ his pace and then stopping and waiting for Tony. My guess was that Tony, alone and new, got turned around which is easy to do, and started hiking the wrong way.So this put Tom in a bad position. He needs to go catch Tony, but the 2 kids are way ahead and have no idea this is happening, and they do not have a plan other than getting to the shelter.I saw panic on Tom's face and he was torn, so I told him I'd catch up to the kids while he went back for Tony. Tom originally asked me to just stay put with the kids wherever I found them, but my concern was being in a safe place for the nite if it came to that, so I suggested that when I find them, we all go to and stay @ the shelter until Tom and Tony get there. Tom agreed, and figured the kids would just go there anyways.Then Tom was undecided about taking his pack to find Tony, so I highly suggested he take it so that just in case, he'd have everything he needs to survive, and he agreed. I think he was just panicking....this was day 1 of this trip and he said he's already learned a big lesson about separating.We exchanged cell #'s, I asked him about the gear the kids had and if they had food, and they had everything they needed except a way to treat water, and I told Tom I'd take care of that for them. I asked about their experience level. Tom said his daughter has backpacking experience, but like Tony, this is Alex's first trip.So I assured Tom the kids would be fine and that I would make it to the shelter tonight and relay to them to stay put until Tom and Tony showed up either late tonight or tomorrow a.m.So we were off in opposite directions. I continued north and really had no idea how far these 2 were from me. I met several day hikers and asked them if they'd seen the kids and they had, but they were almost 2 miles ahead of me. I wasn't worried about acually catching up, because we were all going to the same place.So ironically, I had just decided (prior to meeting Tom) to stop around 14.7 miles and stealthcamp by Finery Pond, so this plan went out the window.The hiking today was not easy. I made it to U.S. 20 and then it was a tough 1.75 mile climb up to Becket Mtn. It did level out for a bit, but I had to tell my feet they were just going to have to perform today. Having something other than "just because" to hike to did help me today. The almost 12 hrs of sleep I got last nite did too.At 3:15 p.m., I still had about 5 miles to go. I passed a few more ponds and Finery Pond is also quite beautiful. The sky clouded up and it began to sprinkle, but nothing significant thankfully.At 4:30 p.m., I saw a tent set up next to a pond outlet. As I hiked by, a girl popped her head up and I asked, "Are you Louisa and is Alex with you?" She said yes! So, I went over and gave them the lowdown. They stopped because they were out of water and didn't know if they should drink the creek water untreated, so they were waiting on their dads, and were very thirsty. They also weren't sure exactly where they were, and had no idea how much further the shelter was and were starting to wonder if they'd passed it.So I told them to get some water so I could treat it for them, and let them know we were about 2.5 miles from the shelter. I sat there and waited for them to pack up, got them some drinkable water and the 3 of us set off. I let them lead, because I'm slow and I felt a sense of responsibility because I knew there were 2 dads out there worried. If it were me in this situation, I'd want someone with experience staying with my kids, even if they are 15 and 17 yrs old.They were tired, as was I, and I think they were a little cautious about me at first, but eventually they were cool with it all. It rained on and off, but the forest canopy kept us dry.Finally, after 2 more short climbs and tons of muddy wet trail, I saw the shelter. Man was I glad.We got here and I didn't want to assume they were ignorant, but I made sure they had a way to eat dinner, which they did, and I suggested they sleep in Alex's tent otherwise the mosquitoes would eat them alive. I also told them about hanging their food, and there are cables here. They didn't know hanging it on a nail 5 feet off he ground wasn't good enough.I was too tired to cook, so I ate my lunch, which I hadn't eaten today (I had snacks though).It's currently 8:30 p.m., and Tom just showed up without Tony, who decided to stay @ the Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Tom said Tony was a ways back, but had eventually realized he was going the wrong direction. They've all agreed to meet in Dalton, so Tony will be there in a few days I think.So wow, how easily a vacation can go badly when everyone is not totally prepared. Louisa is hiking in tight jeans, fashionable puma tennis shoes with suport equivalent to a piece of cardboard, and a "cute" little cotton top. I have to question the judgement of someone who plans 16 mile days, 7 days in a row for beginners and lets his daughter hike in very inadequate shoes. Tom was already discussing a new plan for checkpoints with the kids though, so that's good at least. I don't think they were aware of how hard backpacking really is, I just hope Tom is flexible ad adjusts this plan.Hey, I knocked out almost 19 miles today...so that's cool. Oh, and one lady who is from the area, she gave me her cell # when I told her I was trying to catch up to the 2 kids. Cool how people come together when we need to. Now, if we could just do this for each other all of the time.It's 12 miles into Dalton tomorrow. I have been unsure about staying the nite there, but I had planned on resupplying to get to North Adams, so who knows. Nothing about this leg of my hike has gone how I thought it would. I'll see how I feel.I'm glad everything worked out today. It could have been a disaster. The kids would have been fine without me, so I didn't do anything but sort of babysit, but Tom was appreciative. I understand. Now...the question is, does he tell his wife? LOL~Certain