Date: 2008-05-22
From: Bear Mtn Rd

To: Rte 41 (Undermountain Rd)
Miles today: 5.3

Thursday, May 22, 2008Bear Mtn Rd to Rte 41 north of Salisbury, 5.3 miles, plus 0.8 access trailGood morning Benny! No barking! Just a wiggly dog happy to see me. A relief to know I can leave him alone in the Element at night, if need be.Goodbyes and thanks to Tom and Ginny. I leave their house with the best homemade dried apple slices I ever ate.I don't record our hiking start time. We see gay wings and painted trilliums. Gay wings at peak, trilliums going by. One has lost all the white petal flesh, leaving translucent almost transparent water-soaked petal skeleton.Rain starts and Knitting Bull and I don ponchos. Because he's shivering, I put Benny's raincoat on him. Not appreciated.We walk through vivid spring beech-leaf green. Striped maple leaves similar in color but lacking the beech glow. Emerging from the green comes Symbol. Jacket matching leaves, pack and pants matching trunks and beard matching skies, we almost miss seeing him. Symbol has hiked from Springer to here except 150 miles in Virginia. He began section-hiking in 1995. This hike will take him from Kent CT to Great Barrington. He¢ll be staying at the next shelter. We warn him about the north face of Bear Mtn on a rainy day like today.Hello to a group of day hikers. Benny¢s barking prevents conversation. Many people come out in the woods seeking tranquility and escape from the noises and tensions of everyday life. A barking dog is canina non grata.I¢ve got to figure out how to calm him.Hello to Just Hiking, hiking with his dog Quinn. Benny barks at him. Just Hiking started at the halfway point in PA. He'll hike to Katahdin, then hike from the halfway point to Springer, hoping to avoid summer heat, and bugs. Quinn cut her footpad on railroad gravel near Pawling. Something to think about. I remember that railroad gravel is one of the few surfaces where Crocs don¢t work well, and can imagine that the sharp rock chunks could be rough on dogfeet. We tell Just Hiking about the north face of Bear Mtn in the rain. Also that Symbol is ahead just a little ways, will be stopping at the next shelter and sounded like he¢d appreciate some company and conversation.Hello to a group of about 12 young hikers from New Fairfield. Benny barks at them. I¢m embarrassed. Hikers are upset by the barking. What to do? Maybe Benny¢ll settle after more encounters. Maybe I will have to cut this trip short.Hello to a mother and daughter, hiking from 41 to Sages Ravine.Knitting Bull is now limping with pain. Pain in her both insteps, a knee and an ankle. I feel so bad for her. Her joints acting up unpredictably, sabotaging her hiking plans. At 41 I offer to go get the car and pick her up at the trailhead, but she wants to walk out. Out about 2:15. We drive back up to Bear Mtn to retrieve the other car and back to Salisbury. Long driving days, today and yesterday.At 7 The Lockup Road we meet Sticks. Last year he was hiking 25-mile days and not enjoying it. This year he¢s hiking for fun. Taking his time, and, as Stride would say, ¢taking it all in.¢The house at 7 The Lockup Road is old and curious. Its owner is an artist who has done many of the paintings that grace the walls and has tapped her artistic bent in decorating the house. We arrive late and leave early, unfortunately lacking time to fully explore the house or get better acquainted its owner.