Date: 2006-07-28
From: CT-112 / US-7, Falls Village CT

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 80.3
Weather: light rain

July 21, FridayWe are glad to be getting back on the trail. Our trip to Michigan was very nice. Thank you jig and Ed for the hospitality in PA! We attended Lost & Found's 40th High School class reunion at Alcona Community High School. It was a lot of fun and we got to revisit some locations in Mich. that were big parts of both of our lives. It was great to see Larry, Pam, Gary, Michelle, Ellen, Lyle and Dori. Thank you Ellen for expediting L&F's crown, thanks to the entire dental office. It took us two days to drive back to the trail. We drove to Dalton, MA and got a shuttle from Dana Murphy back to CT-112. Thank you Dana for the great shuttle. We started hiking, had planned a short day, and arrived at the Plateau Campsite, pitched our tent, started cooking dinner and the skies opened up with rain. After sheltering in the tent we reemerged and ate our dinner which was still warm. We were joined that night by a family of 4 from Denmark and a father and son who were hiking over the weekend.Saturday brought more rain and a climb up and over Bear Mountain, which, wouldn't you know it, was a very rocky, wet hike. It was not boring. We crossed into Mass today. We arrived at Laurel Ridge Campsite and set up the tent on a platform for the first time. It rained during the night and while we had breakfast. We packed up our wet, but cleaner tent. You see, the rain washed the previous dirt off and since we were on the platform, no more dirt got on it. Sunday, July 23 we hiked over several peaks including Mt. Everett, Race Mtn. and Jug End. It was a dry day of trekking. Ohhh the Mosquitoes came out and we used a lot of bug spray. We had left a box of food for the next 5 days at a motel in Great Barrington. After getting a ride to the motel from a nice airline pilot, we got cleaned up and walked to the Micro Brewery next door and had a very nice dinner.On Monday, after doing the laundry, drying the tent and repacking our gear we were very fortunate and got a ride from a woman who lives by the trail and got dropped off where we had gotten off the day before. After hiking over East Mtn we came upon a porcupine that was climbing in a tree right next to the trail. It looked quite young and was a nice encounter. (Will add picture when we can) That night we tented on a platform on a rocky outcrop at the Tom Leonard Shelter area. What a view of the valley and the night sky was filled with stars, including the milkyway!!! It was awesome.On Tuesay we were both quite tired, a stop for Gatorade and snacks revived us somewhat and we had a nice hike over the Ledges and Mt. Wilcox. Late in the morning we had a wonderful surprise. A couple, Dave and Noel, Whose son thru-hiked in '04, were using their vacation time to bring trail magic to the AT. We sat down on CHAIRS and had egg sandwiches, drinks and brownies. Thank You very much. We camped that night at Shaker Campsite with a family of 4 and a section hiker. It was a nice evening, even a fire to keep some of the bugs away.On Wed. after breaking camp we climbed 900 ft. up Baldy Mtn. On our way to the Upper Goose Pond Cabin we met a hiker named Fiddlehead. She hiked with us for a couple miles and we taught each other the names of some plants. We wish her well on her thru-hike, she is a very delightful person. We arrived at the wonderful AMC Cabin and enjoyed a cooling swim in the pond, the hospitality of the caretaker, Deborah and the conversations with our fellow hikers. Thank you Jig and Flatwheel for the Hello in the Register. The Thursday morning pancakes and coffee were GREAT! From the top of Becker Mtn. we called our son Bill to wish him a Happy Birthday!!! The rest of the day we enjoyed a nice hike which included Finnerty Pond. We arrived at the October Mtn. lean to and decided to sleep in the loft, because it looked like rain again. We spent the night there by ourselves, not even too many bugs, and yes it did rain. It was nice to not pack a wet tent. On Fri. we had quite easy terrain to hike the 12 miles to Dalton. On the way we stopped at the "Cookie Lady's" house and filled our water bladders from their water spigot, enjoyed meeting Roy, the Cookie Lady and their dog Rufus. We most especially enjoyed the homemade cookies. Thank You. WE walked in the rain the last 2 miles into Dalton, it felt good to get cooled off. It also felt good to get to a motel and take a shower and have a good dinner.WE JUST UPDATED OUR HIKE IN NEW JERSEY ENDING ON 26 JUNE. SORRY THAT IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET IT DONE!