Date: 2010-05-04
From: Cobble View B&B (Jerusalem Road)

To: Pittsfield Road
Miles today: 19.1

May 4 Cobble View B&B (Jerusalem Road) to Pittsfield Road 19.1 milesI had a good breakfast of 3 very large free range eggs, bagel and juice and milk. Yum! Then it was off on a very long slack pack for this old lady.Who was it that told me this was easy? The Cookie Lady? She was told by thru-hikers? Don't I know that I can never do what a thru-hiker does? It started up with a 1000 ft climb. Well, it was much easier with a slack pack than it would have been without. And truth be told, the trail was exceedingly nice after the climb and not too bad going up. I took off the pack to remove clothing and for a potty break on top and then continued on at a good pace. Some 8 miles or so farther I discovered I no longer had my pack pouch that fits on my belt strap. I was sooo disgusted with myself! I couldn't go back 8 miles and I did not take the pack off except for those 2 stops at the start. It had to be way back there. Something else lost. This trip has been the trip of losing important things. The pack pocket has not carried much of great importance but today it had my headlamp in it, which is usually elsewhere in my pack but it had wandered into my pack pocket because of the confusion of not having my pack with me in my room to get ready. It made me less efficient and now, somehow I failed to put it on with the pack. Drats and double darn darn darn!!! It also had my candy, my knife, my pole tips, my hat toggle, kleenex, my combs, nailfile and importantly, my extra medications which I had been saving up for this very long day. I had just enough to get by but not that extra cushion of pain meds. But there was nothing to do but to go forward.I wrote a long note in the trail register near Goose Pond explaining that if another hiker found it I would really like it back. I left my cell number, my address and both my trail name and real name. That was all I could do. Later in the day I met 2 section day hikers and expounded my plight to them. They were so nice to listen to my rantings and promised to look for the pack pouch. I told them their trail name should be sweet couple but they said they were not always sweet. They were to me.Other than the pack pouch episode the day went quite well for the most part. I saw some nice trout lilies blooming now, and painted and red trillium. I also saw light blue chiming bells as I started in the meadow. There were also lots of nice Marsh Marigolds making yellow spashes and something that might truly be lily of the valley getting ready to bloom. (What I thought was lily of the valley early on in PA wasn't but I do think this was.) The white hydrangeas are lovely too. I looked more closely at the plants and remembered that was the low under-story in the forest in Maine that I wondered about last fall. They had occassional red or black berries then and were one of the first things to turn color, the leaves turning a maroon color.I also went by beaver ponds and saw moose turds so I know they have moose in Massachusetts.Toward the end of the day I was getting very tired. The trail was not as smooth and nice going by the pond areas, more rocky and therefore, for me, more slowly traversed. And I had no headlamp and HAD to get there before dark. And I was tired and the knee was stressed and I was running out of tylenlol coverage. To top it off the afternoon had some big thunderstorms go through and I kept hoping I and my trusty umbrella would not get hit by lightning as I came down from a couple of mountains in the rain.I went by a shelter and, at first, thought it would be too far from the trail to be worth going by and then the trail turned right around it and I decided to drop over, eat a little for some energy and then go on. It was a most fortunate stop. Another hiker was there, Steve, Goin' Home. In my quick stop I found out he was a SOBO section hiker and I asked him to look for my pouch, to which he readily agreed. He also said he was coming out at Great Barrington and would bring my pouch to me. He was from New Jersey and would even drive by West Point (where my daughter is). And then I found out that he would be renting a car in Great Barrington and driving up to North Adams where he would pick up his own car to drive to New Jersey. And when would he be doing this? On Friday. Wow! Would he consider a rider to West Point? Yes, and for only the cost of some gas. That would be a WHOLE lot cheaper for me than the shuttle I had arranged for. All this conversation while quickly chewing up a dozen almonds and some jerky and packing up and flying down the trail again. He had my name, address and cell phone number and said he would call if or if not he found my pouch.I was really pushing to my limit when I reached the road. OK, the book said the Cookie Lady lives .1 mile to the east and will let hikers camp in her yard. It was turning quite cold after the rainstorms and the wind was blowing coldly. My cell phone starts to ring and it is the Cookie Man wondering how I was doing. He had picked up my gear from Tyringham and brought it so he knew I was coming. I told him I was turning into his driveway and he came out to meet me.I now know what heaven is. Heaven is an old farm barnhouse/garage with old carpet on the floor and a John Deer tractor pushed out of the way to make room for my bed on the floor. It was out of the wind, warm from the sun in the day; there was electricity so I did not need a headlamp, there was a toilet flushable with pails of water. I was so grateful. And this wizened little elderly gentleman was so eager to help me and he even brought over a half gallon of WARM water for me to wash with. He is what an angel looks like.My knee hurt like crazy and I twisted my back getting ready for bed but I was sooo happy to have made it and to be in this warm and lighted place! And life is good.