Date: 2016-07-15
From: Hemlock Shelter

To: Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

For the second day in a row I let myself run out of water, and there was just no reason for it. Many of the streams listed on the map have gone dry, but I had ample opportunity to tank up where there was water.I started my day at Hemlock shelter. I woke up at first light being attacked by mosquitos and started slapping at them. My slapping woke up poor Smoke Signal, and she was pissed. She got up soon after I woke her and packed her stuff and left the shelter. Sorry about that, but that's the hazards of sleeping in a shelter, no mosquito protection and no hiker noise protection. I got up a bit later as the sun began streaming through the trees. It looked to be a beautiful morning after yesterday's rain. My clothes that I had hung up were still wet, so I just had to put them back on. I did put on dry socks and would hang the wet ones on the back of my pack to dry. Today's miles would take me out of the mountains and down in a valley and I would pass between the towns of Great Barrington and Sheffield Massachusetts. The morning's walk was beautiful with a walk along a ridge with a series of ledges with nice views of the valley below. As the trail descended from the ridge we went over Mt. Bushnell and Jug End, and then a very steep descent to the valley below. The Housatonic River runs through the valley, which is about 6 miles wide with picturesque farms and forest areas. There is a memorial to the last battle of Shay's Rebellion, a fascinating historical uprising in 1786 and 1787, which helped to influence the U.S. Constitution. When I reached US 7 the lure of town food was once again strong and I hitched into town with another hiker named Glassy. He was going to get a room in town and as I talked to him it was apparent he was not enjoying the trail. The 1500 miles had been taking its toll on him, and I wondered if he would be able to take it when it got really tough again in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. There are always tough days, but to really persevere on the trail, you have to be joyful about the experience.The driver giving us a ride stopped at the south end of town at a grocery store and we walked the rest of the way into town. I came upon a pizza place that looked like a descent lunch stop and Glassy continued on looking for a hotel. Great Barrington is a real tourist town in the Berkshires and has a lot of food options, but I was looking for a quick lunch and anxious to get back out on the trail.After lunch I started walking back to the trail. I wasn't having much luck hitchhiking until I got back to the south end of town when a pickup truck stopped for me. People driving pickups are usually the best to get rides from, they don't mind a smelly hiker quite as much as the rest of civilized folk.It was a breathlessly hot and sunny day back on the trail. The trail was passed through a number of farm fields and paralleled the Housatonic River. When I came to a spot where I could get into the river I took the opportunity for a cool dip. I stripped down to my shorts and waded out into the river. It was only about two feet deep, but I laid down in it and let the cool water flow over me. It felt wonderfully refreshing. I stayed in the river for quite a while, enjoying a sunny day and the cool river. Eventually it was time to get out and I stood around in the sun to air dry as I don't carry any kind of towel. Several hikers came by as I was drying off and one of them was Chuckles, who I had walked with for a morning back in Virginia. He had been cruising to make it up this far this fast. He told me he hadn't taken a zero day in over two months. That's being a beast!I geared up and walked with Chuckles as the trail wound it's way through more farm fields. I needed to get water and it seemed like every stream or spring was dry. I kicked myself for not getting water in town when I had the chance. We came to the base of June Mountain and started up. It was only a 500 foot climb but very steep. There was a nice big rock outcropping at the top with great views of the Housatonic and the valley. After winding through more forest with some minor ups and downs there was another steep climb up East Mountain. Another great view from the top looking down on the valley 1000 foot below. Unfortunately we were looking right into the late afternoon sun so my pictures would not do the scene justice. I had another 2.5 miles to go to the shelter and still hadn't found any water. It's only 2.5 miles but it's amazing how desperate you start feeling when you are out of water. I was really kicking myself now. I finally got the shelter just as it was getting dark. I was really thirsty and a hiker named El Tejano offered me some water. The water for the shelter was 0.3 miles down a ravine, but the hikers at the shelter had found a small pool in a dry stream bed near the shelter. I was able to dip out a couple of liters out of that pool, but swore to myself I would never be so careless again.At the shelter that night was Chuckles, Moldy Beans (a southbounder) and El Tejano (from Texas). They had a good campfire going and we swapped trail and life stories as we ate dinner. AT life, its always interesting when you look back over the day. Today took me down one mountain, across a valley, into a tourist town for pizza, wading in a river, up another mountain, a panic for water, and now I was sitting by the light of a campfire catching up with a hiker I had met 700 miles ago and a couple of hikers I would never see again. AT life.