Date: 2018-09-27
From: US 7 - Great Barrington, MA

To: The Hemlock Shelter
Miles today: 8.65

Heavy rains again last night for about 4 hours, just enough to get whatever dried out yesterday wet again. When it rains here, it really comes down! My shuttle picked me up at 9 and I was on the trail by 925. A relatively flat first 4.5 miles and a relatively dry first 2, mostly running along meadows and cornfields with an occasional turn back into the woods. I crossed the field where the last battle of Shays Rebellion was fought in 1787 and the trail turned to water. The trail was elevated on bog platforms (pictured) and worked its way through thick brush and what are probably flowering trees in spring and summer. These platforms are quite popular here here in MA, just in case of high water, but due to recent rains, many sections were under water or there was nothing there at all. This area is probably a wetland normally, but the water was rushing quite quickly and I had no choice but to step off the platform(s) and wade through 6-8. The important thing is to maintain balance and not slip or trip on anything under the surface; wet feet for the next 6 miles is one thing, but wet everything for the next 4-5 days would really, be unpleasant. So I got through ok, the water was surprisingly cold and because I was mostly in the woods from there on out, my feet never really warmed up.  I heard the strangest sounds for about a mile this morning, coming from a distance in the north. It sounded like a single engine propeller air plane with no variation in tone or strain on its load. But that wasnt the oddest part, I also heard faint voices moaning and wailing that sounded like those heard toward the end of Gold Dust Woman by Fleetwood Mac. Im thinking restless spirits from a plane crash!Once I got past the flat portion of my day, I began to climb; eleven hundred feet in over 2 miles. Notice I didnt say once I got past the flat, WET portion of my day. I never got past the wet portion, water poured down the trail in streams just like it did in the Smokies last spring, but at least this water was 50-55 degrees rather than 40! For this 2 miles I did a lot of rock scrambling, meaning the trail was steep, the rocks were big and sharp and I was required to stow my poles while I used my hands as well as my feet and knees to lift myself up the trail...dont forget I have a 40 lb. backpack pulling be backwards (down), so my footing has to be sure and my weight forward. Ive not yet had to do this going down, once I got to the top of this mountain, I was able to mostly walk a ridge. Ill go down the other side tomorrow, but hopefully it will be different terrain.Because of my scrambling, my eyes were down and I ventured off the trail by about 200, though I was still on a trail of some sort, perhaps created by animals or other hikers making the same mistake. I realized it because I saw no white blazes in either direction and the trail was getting increasingly steep and in my opinion rediculously dangerous. So I dropped my pack and ventured back in the direction from which I came looking everywhere for a blaze. Finally I found one, the trail turned straight up while I continued traversing the side of the mountain, which my map told me to do. Now I made a major error that could have been costly, thank God it wasnt. And Im not defending myself, but the trail introduced a series of short, steep switchbacks while my map showed only one and that was at the end of my maps traverse. Additionally, the trail is very poorly marked all the way up this mountain.  Old, faded blazes either weathered, worn and moss covered need to be inspected and updated from time to time. Still, veering off the trail is my fault.The views from the top of Jugs End were spectacular. One just cant beat a nice sunny day on an exposed mountain top. I saw what I had already done, not whats ahead.I ran into another NOBO turned SOBO today, Forager. I may have met him in NC, but it could also be another guy with that name. This guy is a hammocker, the one I met was sleeping in a shelter. I also ran into Swamp Fox, a 71 year old section hiker that completed the trail in 2017 after 5 years. Hes from CT and likes to come back out on the trail every few weeks for a couple days at a time to refocus and give everybody a break. Hes camping with me in the Hemlock Shelter tonight. He also eats pepperoni everyday for the Vitamin K...WHAT?Tomorrow I expect a pretty tough day in that there are lots ups and downs in a very short distance and its supposed to start raining around 1am and continue through 8 or 9. And not only will my highlight be getting through the day alive and hopefully, though doubtfully dry, I expect to cross over into Connecticut.