Date: 2016-07-03
From: Great Barrington MA

To: Mt Wilcox South Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

7/3/16Today was the day to get back to hiking. I still had 3 1/2 hour drive of the 12 hour trip to get back to the trail. The trip was very pleasant, traffic was actually pretty light and there were no traffic jams the whole trip. My sister and I were going to eat at the cafe by the hotel but it wasn't open when we left so we decided to stop later for brunch. Time flew by and there were not a lot of places to stop and eat. When we got off a highway at 10:30 there was a cool dinner that sat right off the road. It kind of looked like a really wide train car made out of aluminum. It was wide and also reminded me of a double wide pre-manufactured building. Maybe the first of its kind. The waitress told us it was built in 1957. There was a addition on the back of it where the kitchen was at. After a few photos we were back in the car headed on to Great Barrington where I left the trail ten days earlier. My sister wanted to hike some so we parked the car ahead and got a shuttle back to where I left the trail. My sister also brought trail magic, pop, Gatorade, apples and snickers. We left it close to the car so we could retrieve it when we returned to the car. As we were driving back the shuttle driver pulled over to pick up a hiker hitching a ride. It was a guy from Germany who I had once ate lunch with. We rode a little further and was dropped off at the trail. We had a quick photo op and was soon hiking into the woods. My sister kept telling me about all the poison ivy around but I have never got poison ivy and never realized how much was around me. After just a short ways we came out of the woods and into a corn field. My sister laughed and said I could have done this back home. The corn was pretty low still and I think the lack of rain is the reason. They always say knee high by the fourth of July. It was knee high but these days corn is usually way past that by the fourth. We crossed a road and were back to the woods and heading up. It was a nice climb not too challenging but challenging enough for my sister and my first day back on trail. It soon leveled off and was just a good hiking trail with a few inclines and declines and large rocks from time to time. We past a couple of people taking a break and one was Spike...another German I had been around a month ago. I said hi and on we went. We got to one scenic view and stopped for some pictures. We had stopped for a water break a short time earlier so didn't stay long. We did a few more miles and came to a shelter. We stopped for a quick snack and a thru hiker that was camping came up to greet us. While we were talking we heard a large group of voices heading our way. It was at least a dozen of kids probably 12-17 coming in to camp. The thru hiker said "I'm out of here.". and went back to his tent. Me and my sister finished our snack and talked to a couple of the kids. The thru hiker came back and said those kids are pretty cool...they were respectful and asking about his trip and all wanted to shake his hand. He said he decided to go ahead and stay. My sister and I hiked the last mile back to her car. Some of the trail magic was gone and we packed the rest up and loaded it in her car. She gave me water to fill my bottles and a few snacks. We said our goodbyes and I was off. It was an odd feeling...being around family constantly for the last ten days and now being back in the woods all by myself. It wasn't the grand adventure feeling I had when I first started this trip because I now knew what to expect. It was a little bit of a downer but I just needed to get moving and back in my grove. It took me a little over an hour to make it to the shelter. A sign greeted me saying they have had frequent bear activity here. I was hoping I wasn't the only person camping here. A couple of other tents were up a d they had a bear box so that was all good. I read through the trail log to see if there were any names I recognized and there weren't. I set my tent up, got a quick bite to eat and was in my tent by 7:30 to escape the bugs. It was a great day for a hike and I'm sure my sister would agree