Date: 2008-05-20
From: Guilder Pond picnic area

To: South Egremont Rd
Miles today: 6.6

Guilder Pond Picnic area to South Egremont Rd/Shay Rebellion, 6.6 milesBecause today¢s hike is short, we have time before we start to scout a possible road to just south of Bear Mountain to split up the 13-mile section between Guilder Pond Picnic area and Salisbury. Fortuitously, at the AMC trailhead, we meet Abe Allen, the famous author of ¢Unfinished Odyssey on the AT¢, who has hiked in this area for 45 years. Abe is not only a wealth of information, he has a detailed map of the immediate area, including the 0.8 mile foot access to the AT from Mount Washington Rd. And he gives us a copy! Park just south of here, he says, in the Bear Mountain Rd parking area. Thanks, Abe. P.S. to Abe, if you're reading this I made a mistake telling you the road to Mt Everett summit is open. It's not. It's gated. The road to Guilder Pond picnic area is open, until 8PM.I¢m wrong about so many things lately, things I tell other people as if I know them (because when I say them I think I do), that I¢m in the process of earning a new trailname: Sourceof Misinformation. :¢(((Start 10:45 hiking north in sunshine on dual trail, white AT and blue Guilder Pond Trail.Hello to Tea Dog and Second Lunch from Newburyport, Tea Dog owns a tea shop there. They are hiking north from 5 miles south of the CT/MA line to North Adams.Today I work on training Benny to come when I call him, to stay without starting to walk again until I say so, to walk well behind, not at the heels of, the person ahead of him so he doesn¢t get stabbed in the eyes with hiking poles.Knitting Bull says you don¢t sound like you're in charge. I¢m sure she¢s right. That¢s why whenever I¢ve gotten on a horse, it laughs and runs away with me or it sits down and I slide off. Knitting Bull also says Benny wants to be a member of the pack and positioned right up with the leader. That¢s why he pulls on the leash when she¢s in the lead and I'm following with Benny. And why when I let the leash out he¢s right at her heels instead of hanging back.Benny starts to drink from a stagnant pool, but I don't let him. Another advantage of the leash.Last 2/3 of today¢s hike we¢re blanketed in mosquitoes. We come upon Tea Dog and Second Lunch putting on long-seeved shirts and pants and headnets. I¢m already wearing long pants and shirt, white kerchief and visored hat. This get-up looks weirder than the flying nun, but it sure works against bugs. Kerchief and wide brim for me is better than a headnet because I don¢t mind heat and I¢ve got cataracts. A headnet reduces my vision way too much.Last half of hike no water for Benny until we come upon a good stream near the end of the hike. He tanks up.This marshy area has a bridge and puncheon. There is an iron-rung ladder up to the bridge walkway and one down from it. We can¢t get Benny to attempt the climb. I lift him onto the bridge walkway, and lift him off it. He does fine on the puncheon.Today¢s Hiking with Dog lessons: see above. Plus hiking with one pole works better than hiking with 2. I descended Jug End with no problems.Yesterday Knitting Bull took wonderful photos and today she takes more. It's really hard for me to winnow them down to 4 or 5. Take a look at her photos of Benny's smile, his Richard Nixon face, and the dog bridge obstacle we encounter just south of Shay Rebellion trailhead.Out at 3:30. Here in the heart of tick country, using a flea and tick comb, I'm de-ticking Benny before he gets into the car. I take 3 deer ticks off him today.