Date: 2005-07-26
From: Great Barrington, MA (Mountain

To: Powerline before Mt. Wilcox South
Miles today: 11.4

Boy oh boy, today as hard for me! Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning. The first part of the day was pretty nice. We woke early and well-rested (well, I was well-rested...Bug isn't used to a real bed and tossed and turned during the night). The continental breakfast left quite a lot to be desired since the donuts were at the very least 2 days old and hard as a rock! The question was how to get back to the main part of town and from there to the trailhead. We started to hoof it with thumbs out. Luckily, a local artist who also does a bit of hiking, stopped to pick us up on his way to work.He dropped us at the outfitter in the heart of town, and they were great to us! Note: her store is not listed in Wingfoot or the Companion but it is a great little spot. She fixed us up with fuel and a few other gear items. They also offered to store our gear for us while we went to eat breakfast and grocery shop. We ate at a diner nearby and I had 3 plate sized, strawberry pancakes and an order of bacon. Lots of calories make for good hiking, but it is a fine line because today I felt ill after that many calories. We then bought over-priced groceries at the local general store. The owner of the outfitter was kind enough to offer us a ride back to the trailhead and refused to take any money.After getting back on the trail and hiking for 30 minutes or so, we ran into Jax, Mad Chapper, and a couple of guys out for the week. We started up the mountain and boy, did I feel the weight of the pancakes! I was hurting today....all day. It was extremel hot out today which didn't help much either. I got separated from Bug and Mr. Clean Jr. at one point, and the hike to the lean-to was taking much longer than certainly what I anticipated (the same held true for everyone else that day), the day's hike just seemed to drag by. It worried me that I could not yell ahead, and get a response from either of the guys. I was at my wit's end when I came up a ridge to see Clean sitting on a rock. I just fell into Bug's arms, an emotional mess. Throughout the morning things kept going through my head (i.e. did I hike past the shelter? did I somehow pass them? how would we find one another?). I got myself together with Bug's help and minutes later we arrived at the shelter.The original plan for the day was to hike to Benedict Pond and camp there or possibly a stream before the pond since we had gotten such a late start on the day. Well, the stream was out of the question....we had to stop long enough to gather water, but Bug just turned in circles clapping his hands killing multiple mosquitoes in one clap. They were blood-thirsty creatures and there was no way any of us were willing to set up camp there. We didn't even stop long enough to pump the water there. Instead, we filled our waterbags and carried them 6 tenths of a mile. On the other side of the highway we stopped for a break at the trailhead parking area. Here, we pumped water, cooked dinner, and cleaned up before hiking on.Around 7pm we got back on trail and decided we would immediately begin to look for a place to camp. The problem with this was that it was a climb straight up, with no flat spot really to set up a tent. So we continued to hike. After crossing over the bog bridges, Bug spotted a really nice flat, grassy area. Mr. Clean Jr. immediately got bit by a horsefly though, so that spot was out of the question. Clean found a spot about 1 mile later, but it was ugly and not very cleared out for a tent so I vetoed that spot. Long story short, we ended up hiking into the night because there were no places to camp at Benedict Pond as we had been told. Now we are fairly close to the shelter, but we were all so exhausted we decided to stop when we found a flat spot. I have been ready to go to sleep for quite some time, but Bug and Clean are still outside trying to get the foodbags hung. I'm not sure what the issue is, but it seems to be taking forever....they have been out there for ! at least 20 minutes. Just about the time they get it hung, I hear something hit the ground, and sighs of exasperation coming from both guys...it is that mixed with laughter, I think so they don't cry. Well, they must have figured something out, because Bug is standing here at the tent fly ready to come in.