Date: 2008-05-21
From: Guilder Pond picnic area

To: Bear Mtn Rd
Miles today: 7.7

Wednesday, May 21, 2008Guilder Pond Picnic area to Bear Mtn Rd, 7.7 miles, plus 0.8 access trailWe had a great stay at the motel despite some misunderstanding about the rates and the duration we would be staying there with a dog. Benny barked only once, but that "once" unfortunately occurred when the desk clerk was reporting for duty at 6AM and I had him out at that hour for a pee. That "once" also disturbed a guest.9AM We leave my car at Bear Mtn Rd. Sunny, blue sky, a few horizon clouds, 50s. We take Knitting Bull¢s back to Mt Guilder Pond Picnic area. Road to both Bash Bish Falls (4 miles) and to the Taconic Campground (6 miles) is off to the west. Tonight on our way back from Bear Mtn Rd, we¢ll scout these out as possible lodging sites. Lone Pine Campground in CT (which accepts dogs) is another option, but involves more driving. None of the CT state-run campgrounds, such as Housatonic Meadows, which is ideally situated, accepts dogs.Start 9:20 11:15 We meet a young couple from CT hiking from the CT/MA line to the MA/VT line. No trail names yet. Benny barks and growls at them. I¢m trying to teach him to not bark by gently saying ¢No barking¢ and holding his jaw. Not working.Check and sign the register. I see Stride and Skittles signed on 5/6 and the Canadians on 5/10. Crazy Diamond on 5/8. Sebastian and Hillary on 5/20, yesterday.Sages Ravine. Memories of June 1, 2003, when I was first backpacking the AT, still seeing myself as a flip-flop thruhiker. Taking the bypass trail around Bear Mountain, I came to flooded Brassie Brook and pep-talked myself, You can do this, Amoeba. I took off my hiking boots and put on Tevas. Hoisted my pack, carried my boots, and walked across. It was my first big water challenge and my first big water success. One minute giddy with accomplishment, laughing, proud, the next I hear fearsome thunderous roar of water ahead, as raging Sawmill Brook comes into view. Well. I guess this is the end of my thru-hike. I¢ll have to turn around, and retreat out to a road somewhere, and figure out how to get home. As I was in the process of quitting the trail, Moses (AT¢81, AT¢01), hiking from Hanover to DWG, arrived on the north side of Sawmill Brook. The stepping stones I see today were then hidden under 6 inches of body-toppling current. Facing downstream Moses crab-walked across the submerged stones.I'd not seen anyone perform a feat like that on the AT.I felt like I was in a front row seat watching an acrobat at the circus. Moses greeted me saying Just Ducky and Soft Serve had told him to watch for an older woman on the trail. Meaning ME. How's your balance? he asked. Not so good, said I.So, upstream from the stepping stones, Moses scouted a passage across the torrent where I could place my feet on the stream-bed bottom, and he held my hand for the first few steps. Walk across like a crab, he said. Meanwhile a man named Bob, hiking south, had reached the north bank. He decided not to attempt to cross, but waited for me and extended his hand in case I needed it coming out of the water.Moses never told me his name. I only found out what it was when I read the register at The Hemlocks Lean-To. I couldn't believe that the man who helped me part the waters and saved my hike was trail-named "Moses".Today, the stepping stones are well above waterline and the crossing is dry for Knitting Bull and me, wet for Benny, who steps down into the (relatively lazy) current, casually holds his own, and then hops up onto the next stepping stone.Both Knitting Bull and I stop to photo an imperturbable green frog, which lets us get close enough for a sharp photo not only of the frog but of a stonefly crawling on its foreleg.Hello to a group of AMC ridgerunners, out maintaining CT trail, Milkman, Erin, Dan, Nate and Matt.   Benny barks. I take him aside to quiet him, missing out on most of the conversation.This happens repeatedly. Journal of my hikes with Benny is short on conversations with other hikers.I love the climb up the rock of Bear Mountain. Benny likes it too. No way I would have made it descending Bear Mountain in 2003, taking the blue-blaze trail was the right choice. We find Bear Mtn Rd access trail on our right with no problem. Easy 0.8 out to the car at 4:15, just before thunderclaps, lightning and 3/16-inch soft hail. No ticks on Benny today.We stop at Bash Bish. Talking more about our options, we decide to go to Salisbury to reserve lodging for tomorrow night (the Thursday of Memorial Day weekend), which we find at Vanessa Breton¢s, 7 The Lockup Rd. Then we drive to North Granby CT where we stay the night with Knitting Bull¢s brother and sister-in-law. I appreciate the blunt direct conversation we have with them. Stimulating exchange of ideas and information. Their farm and orchard are beautiful. I fall in love with their antique homestead. Their dog All-of-her ignores Benny which is exactly what Benny needs. He beds down in the back of the Element, his first night sleeping alone. No barking!