Date: 2004-08-16
From: Riga Lean-to

To: Thomas Leonard Lean-to
Miles today: 24.4

Waterfall, Rainbows, Greenhouses, and Pain. These are only a few of the things I encountered on this monstrous day. I am so happy to finally be here at this shelter¢¦I thought we¢d never make it. The roof is leaking so I¢m spread out on the ground near the front of this shelter. It seems dry for now though, and I¢m pooped. I¢ll write about the day tomorrow morning, but now I sleep.         (Hulloh again :-)) Wipeout and I arose at Riga Shelter to the beauteous eastern view¢¦of mist :-( . Still, we had a nice morning joking with Big Perm and Grandma Spaghetti and we hit the trail by 7:30 a.m. It poured on the tin roof all last night, so I was tired and the ground was wet. The first 3 miles were easy and felt like walking through a car wash¢¦wee! Soon we hit the base of Bear Mountain. Bear Mountain quickly looked like a mountaintop with many rocks and shorter trees, but the mountain top seemed to stretch almost a mile before we reached a pile of rocks marking the ¢high ground¢.   Wipeout and I joked and took pictures. Then we set out to go toward Massachusetts. As we started to head down Bear Mt. the trail looked like a stream. As the trail descent became steeper the stream was transformed into a waterfall. It was unbelievable to be walking down a waterfall. I was half in love with the excitement and half dreading what damage would be done to my feet. After a treacherous yet exciting jaunt through the cascade we reached what we believed to be the state line. We took a ton of goofy pictures and then hiked on past Sage¢s Ravine. Sages Ravine was full with rain water and the flow of white swirling water just below the trail was incredible. After walking by the powerful ravine for half a mile we crossed it on a log bridge and saw a sign that read: Massachusetts State Line. Confused, we took more goofy pictures and laughed. Now we really had crossed into our 11th state.      It blows my mind that we have walked this far. As we walked on we began the gradual climb of Race Mountain. As we walked we reflected on the trail. We also talked about how hard completing the Triple Crown (AT, PCT, and CDT) would be. While in conversation we ran into a couple who said ¢Watch Out ¢ Mt. Everett is treacherous!¢. While we were still climbing it started to pour. By the time we reached the top of Race Mt. we were laughing and soaked.    On the way down we passed a large group of college freshmen from Bucknell on an orientation trip. It was kind of funny to see the drenched group. A second later we met a man who may be mildly insane. He claimed to be thru-hiking, but then said he was out for 5 days. Next he claimed to be trying to cover 100 miles, but said he was hiking 4 today. He did warn ¢Mt. Everett is awful!¢ As we left the crazy man we laughed more. The rain was still coming in droves. At the base of Everett we passed a group of gorgeous girls with a few guys mixed in :-) . They were on a trip with Americorp and we talked for 10 minutes. Then they wished us luck climbing Everett. I miss seeing women on a daily basis (just a thought :-) ).    Climbing Everett was fun and wet. It also was essentially a waterfall. We laughed as we attempted to avoid killing ourselves. Soon though, we were nearing the top. With fog-laden views on both sides we reached the summit. As though I had a lisp I yelled ¢I climbed Mount Everett¢¢¦of course this 2,600 foot climb is not exactly in the same realm as the 29,000 foot Everest. Wipeout and I continued to talk in a lisp as we further drenched ourselves hiking down the mountain . After a mile and with 9 total done for the day we reached a huge privy near a campsite. After both using the privy we did something gross: We pretended it was a shelter. Though stinky, it was dry. There in the privy we ate lunch and joked safe from the rain. Fortunately, no one else was around who needed to go :-).   After our privy stop we had 5 downhill miles. I warned Wipeout I would be praying. As we walked and I prayed, we carried a fast pace through the rain. With each step we avoided slipping on wet rocks. We both nearly killed ourselves multiple times. The descent was tough but I was lost praying. I gave God a lot of my big stresses and asked Him to guide me. I also prayed for my family and friends. (I miss my mom :-) ). The following big thought hit me as I prayed: I really wish I knew the ¢exact¢ direction for my life. The trail has ¢exact¢ directions marked by white blazes. This is part of what makes the trail such an ideal place to seek God. As we finished our 5 miles downhill the rain let up. There at the road we began to try to hitch into South Egremont.    No one showed us any love and we walked the 1.2 miles into town. (Why not add 1.2 to a 24 miles day?). In town I sent away the 7 pounds of extra stuff from my bounce box that I had been carrying as an extra load in my pack. Wipeout ate at a country store and I scrounged up my change for a coke:-). I also called my mail drop person and a guy named Rob, who runs a hostel in Dalton, Mass. I met Rob at ¢Trail Days¢ and we will have a place to stay in 2 nights in a hostel called the ¢Bird Cage¢. By 5:00 p.m. we received a ride from a friendly woman from New Hampshire and returned to the trail.    The next 3.5 miles were flat and easy. I walked and planned, constantly shooting ideas off of Wipeout. Then a thunderstorm started¢¦and Wipeout freaked. Wipeout was caught in a bad storm last week and as this one started she was clearly frightened. I tried to talk to her to distract her, but she was clearly bothered. As we hit a road we decided to hide out for a minute in a gazebo in front of a Flower and Garden Shop.    There in the gazebo a hiker came to greeted us named Lazarus. ¢The owners said we can crash in the greenhouse¢. We followed him back to the greenhouse to find 7 other hikers hiding from the storm. Poky and Gabby were there along with 5 sobos who go by ¢The Dysfunctional Family¢. The next hour and a half was wild. Two of the Dysfunctional Family were girls my age. We quickly began to joke around and we talked about reading on the trail. Our conversation was then interrupted when another girl yelled ¢Look ¢ a double rainbow!¢ The rain was letting up and we all stared at the massive symbol of hope. We all took pictures and laughed; it was great. After seeing the rainbow we told stories and had a ¢Talent Show¢. I rapped and sang, Gabby told jokes, Poky led a cheer, and a member of the Dysfunctional Family taught us a song. It was crazy fun and it took all of mine and Wipeout¢s reserve to finally leave at 7:45 p.m. Night was falling and we had 6.4 miles to go.    The first mile and a half flew by as we crossed wet cornfields at dusk. At the end of the field walk we took a break on a bridge over the Housatonic River (again). It was now night, I had a crappy flashlight, and a climb lay before us. Over the next 1.4 miles I struggled to climb. Trying to see with my flashlight, but failing, I stubbed my toes several times and my feet felt massively beat up. I slipped on the rocks and fell, though not too badly. When we hit the road I sat down unable to move. I was actually sitting in the center of the road staring at the stars. My body was aching, and my feet were throbbing. Then 2 things happened. First I saw a shooting star and was truly amazed. Then I saw the headlights of a car coming at me and I figured I should get out of the road. After dodging aside I packed up for the last 3.6 miles exhausted.    As we started to walk we hit multiple stretches of wet rock with few holds. We struggled to get up them and continuously slipped. I tripped about 60 times and my stomach was rumbling. All at once I started getting dizzy and sat down right there. I ate all of the snacks I had left and some of Wipeout¢s Fritos before I could move. I was feeling rough and could barely get up after my hunger attack. Wipeout was also tripping on rocks, roots, and mud, but she stuck with me. As I tripped and walked my dying flashlight fully died. The night seemed never-ending. I fell hard twice and was near tears trying to follow Wipeout¢s light. I felt like we had covered 10 miles, but the shelter 3.6 away still was not in sight. My feet were soaked and chapped, my head spinning deliriously, and my resolve dying when we finally found the shelter trail. Suddenly relief overwhelmed me and a smile captured my face. My body¢s pain numbed and my deliriousness turned into happiness. We had made it. Through rain, through night, through thunderstorms, through waterfalls, we made it.    Feeling more like ¢Beat¢ and Wiped-out¢ then our usual selves, we stealthily crept into the shelter and dropped out. The day was a mix of pain and joy, trials and beauty. It was unbelievable! My final big thought was this: It was near impossible to walk in the dark without a light. While this seems obvious, how many times do I do the same thing spiritually? Still God carried me and I made it :-). Goodnight, BEATBOX ttt