Date: 2004-07-23
From: Rt. 9, Bennington

To: Rt. 2, North Adams
Miles today: 18.4

Weather: Warm, humid, cloudy, then rainyMajor Landmarks: Harmon HillMajor Milestones: Back on the trail againAfter nearly two months off the trail with little hiking, I finally got back on again today. Nancy and I traveled to Southern Vermont, where she will visit some art galleries while I complete a couple of pieces I had to skip during my section hike this spring due to a wedding. So today¢s hike was to be from Rt. 9 near Bennington to Rt. 2 in North Adams, MA. After an early morning start from Williston, we got to the trailhead at about 8:30 and I was soon back on the trail.Things started out quickly with the scramble up rock stairs to the height of land on Harmon Hill. I soon met my first thru hiker, who was getting off at Rt. 9 to meet his parents for the day. I enjoyed walking through the open areas on Harmon Hill and signed in at the log book at the top of the hill. After meeting a few more hikers, I arrived at Congdon Shelter, where a group of kids from a camp in western Massachusetts were just breaking camp. Their counselor was a young man from the Czech Republic who had only been in the States for a few weeks. He spoke very good English and planned to do some traveling after the end of the camping season. This was their last day and they were to be met by a camp van at Rt. 9.I met a few more thru hikers, including one from Australia, plus a number of weekend hikers. One guy was out for a week and planned to go as far as he could in that time. Another fellow warned me about the mud in the trail ahead, as if there hadn¢t been any mud on the trail behind me. He said he had taken a picture of his feet totally immersed in mud. As it turned out, the trail was no more muddy than it had been and you could avoid being completely immersed in it if you stepped on rocks or roots. But the mud was just another indication of all the rain we¢ve had this month. We are up to 7¢ this month already, while the average is normally 3¢. And just to remind us all, about half way through the day it began to rain again, and continued all afternoon, most of the time quite hard.I was soon soaked through, but it felt a lot better than it had in the morning when I was sweating in the warm humid weather. In the middle of one of the downpours, I met a couple heading for Katahdin. She had on a rain coat and he had on only his shorts. We both exclaimed how great it felt to be cooled off by the rain, and as they were leaving, he gave out an excited whoop, enjoying the coolness of the water.After the climb over Consultation Peak and the next mountain, I finally came to the MA line. Like most of the afternoon when the woods were so dark it was difficult to make out the features of the trail, it was hard to read the signs. But I paused for a moment, enjoying the completion of the southern section of the Long Trail. Soon I was on the downward trek to North Adams, following what is apparently one of their water supply brooks, which was becoming swollen from the rain. Fortunately, I didn¢t have to cross it at any point. I finally reached Massachusetts Avenue, crossed the funky bridge that goes over the railroad and then drops down to cross the Hoosic River, and headed for the Catholic church parking lot where Nancy was to pick me up. She wasn¢t there, and I had no idea what time it was, since I didn¢t carry a watch. So I headed west to the supermarket for a cold Coke and found out it was only 4:30. She was planning to pick me up at 5:30-5:45. So I took my time and was slowly walking back toward the church, when she drove by in the car without even seeing me. She drove into the church parking lot, and as I was hustling the make it there, she came out again and headed back in the direction from which she came. I let out a loud scream and she finally stopped to pick me up.I was glad to relax at a motel that night, having done 18 miles after two months without hiking. It must have taken 2-3 hours for my dishpan hands and feet to finally dry out.