Date: 2008-06-26
From: Glen Brook Lean-to, MA

To: Tom Leonard Lean-to, MA
Miles today: 14.3

Slept like a rock. I'm adjusting my timing a bit. I'm getting up @ 6 instead of 5:30. I'm also not going for anything more than 15 miles a day for awhile, and see if this increases my enjoyment.Anyway, I was up and hiking by 7:27. Today was the opposite of yesterday regarding beautiful views, etc. The only exception was first thing as I hiked to the summit of Jug End, just before descending to the valley. The day was overcast, it lightly rained, zero sun, and just sort of icky.The 1 view I got was pretty though, with layers of grey-blue mountains and clouds and moisture hugging the valley. It looked ominous though, but I sort of figured it was just a rain thing, not storms.Getting down Jug End was challenging because it's very steep and a lot of the trail is actually going down slick smooth rock face with little to hold onto for traction.I just took it slowly, but almost fell about 5 times. Finally it leveled off and I was @ Jug End Rd., where I met a section hiker headed south. I've met more people (section and thru) who have shared that they looked @ the map and roadwalked between trail sections that cross the same road twice, or they said it's easy to go from town to town on roads instead of the trail. I guess it surprises me this happens so frequently. I prefer (for now anyway) not to skip sections to roadwalk, but I imagine making that choice for some is equivalent to my need for zero days. It takes the edge off the mental requirements of day after day of the woods.Now there was about 6 very long and mosquitoe-infested miles thru swamps, marshes, pine forests, and farm fields. It wasn't all that pretty to look @, but the skeeters were unbelievable. I must have applied repellent 10 times today. There was one section where all of the pine trees were unbelievabley symmetrical with the angle of the branches, so I took a pic. It looked like something created in Hollywood really.At one point, you go over some railroad tracks just before reaching U.S. 7, and then there are boardwalks through very swampy fields before the road. Well, one 6 ft section of the boardwalk was totally submerged under water. There was no other way around it, because the swamp was about 1 foot deep of standing water. So this is where I draw the line. I'm not about to hike through swampy water up to my knees to avoid missing some blazes, so I turned around, hiked 200 ft down the railroad tracks and cut thru the driveway of a landscaping business to get to U.S. 7. (purists are deleting the link to my journal now! LOL) I was not willing to submerge my feet and legs in that water...which was probably infested with water mocassins and leeches and I'm also sure Bessie (the Lochness Monster) had babies living in there too! So I essentially missed about 1 minute's worth of trail between this missing board and U.S. 7, where you cross the road.I stopped @ U.S. 7 for lunch and watched all the people driving by. Then it was another 1.5 flat miles before climbing again.The last road before climbing June Mt. is Kellog Rd. Here, there's a post with 2 blazes and 2 trails leading right and left. Hmmmm..which one is it? I could see on the trail to the right, in the distance one of the "No Motorized Vehicles" AT signs on a tree that I'd been seeing for 2 days now, so I went that way. I'm hiking, climbing up and something isn't right. I see no blazes, so I turned around (passed another sign like the other) and went all the way back to the road. The damn trail was the left one, not right. How was I supposed to know when those signs were visible? It ticked me off, but what else are ya gonna do? The trail has been harder to follow since NY for some reason.i started up and got over June Mtn., and then it was East Mt. next. I had to get the i-pod out this afternoon, I'm focusing too much on the pain of it all.I kept hiking, and hiking, and just as I thought I'd missed the shelter somehow...there it was. THANK GOD!!I got here and met Dodger, from OK. He said he's thru'd twice and about lives out here every year.The 2 guys from last nite are here too. It doesn't look like there are any campsites @ this shelter, but you go around this huge rock and there are nice sites.I got camp set up and cooked dinner. By the way, my 99% Isopropl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is working, but it doesn't burn as hot and leaves a black soot coating on everything. No biggie, at least I can cook.I'm actually quite tired @ 7:15 p.m. (73 degrees). The birds are chirping loudly, and I'm going to pass out. Hope tomorrow is nicer weather and hiking.~Certain