Date: 2005-06-28
From: Fire Pavilion - Tyringham, CT

To: October Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: moderate rain

Miles hiked today : 17.015.8 AT miles + 1.2 roadwalk milesI awoke this morning at 5:15 a.m. to the sound of crows cawing. Not the best way to wake up! I groggily packed and ate 2 cups of yogurt for breakfast before hiking out with Opa at 6:00 a.m. Just as I left the pavilion, light rain began to fall, though it dissipated before I finished the 1.0 mile roadwalk back to the trail.I immediately faced a steep climb in a humid pine forest. On a slick downhill section, I lost somehow my footing and went crashing down. Cha-ching, fall #21. I hiked until 8:10 a.m., when I reached Goose Pond Road and stopped for a 10 minute rest break. 5 minutes after I resumed hiking, the clouds burst and the rain began to fall. It was raining hard enough that I had to stop to put on my rain jacket. At 9:30 a.m., I reached the turn-off trail for Upper Goose Pond Cabin, though it was 0.5 mile off the trail, so I kept hiking. At 10:10 a.m., I reached US20 and found Moosie, Tea Break, and Snail, who'd just returned from breakfast at Joe's Diner in Lee.Having already covered 9.5 miles, I suggested to Opa that we spend 10 minutes trying to hitch into Lee for lunch. We were quickly picked up by a lady named Leslie and she dropped us off at a gas station, telling us that Joe's Diner was about a mile away. The gas station attendant told me it was only a 3/4 mile walk and so I set out. About 0.2 mile down the road, Opa and I were picked up by a gentleman named Mike who took us the rest of the way to the diner, which as at last a mile.Joe's Diner is semi-famous and has been visited by many celebrities. The food was phenomenal and we stayed for two meals. The rain had stopped while we were in the diner, though when we departed, it began to fall with renewed gusto. We were picked up within a few minutes by a gardener, Amy, who was thoroughly covered in mud. I enjoyed talking with her on the drive back to the trail and wish I would have given her my contact info, as it would have been nice to talk to her again.I was back on the trail at 12:10 p.m., having had a 2 hour lunch break. I knew that I had a 680 foot climb up Becket Mountain over 0.6 mile coming up, which would normally be steep, though it didn't faze me. I reached the summit of Becket Mountain at 12:40 p.m. and continued hiking through the rain, stopping only once 2.8 miles before the lean-to to fill my water bottles, as the stream at the lean-to was listed at intermittent.At 3:25 p.m., I reached October Mountain Lean-to, which had a very active water source. I was surprised to see a large group of young girls on site. It turns out that the girls, with their leader, Casey, are part of a Girl Scout Camp and are doing a 2 day backpacking trip. Upon arriving, I talked with Casey for a bit and she told me that we could have their leftovers from dinner.While hanging my wet clothing, I spoke with a section hiker, Slowly But Shirley, who'd been on the trail for 6 weeks. When the topic of naked hiking day came up, she told me about hearing that the New York police had been looking for a hiker with a green pack who had been walking down the road in the buff. Hmm, I wonder...After hanging up my wet clothes, I treated 2 liters of water and then journaled for a bit. The girls finished with their dinner and rang the proverbial dinner bell for the hikers and we cleaned up what remained. I ate some more food out of my pack and then settled into my bunk to read. After a bit, I decided I was losing the sanity war against the mosquitos and pitched my tent in the shelter and crawled in to read some more. Tomorrow I'm headed into Dalton for my maildrop and will try to find Rob Bird so that I can stay at the Birdcage.Bedtime at 8:40 p.m.