Date: 2003-07-29
From: Riga Lean-To

To: Glen Brook Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Another day with good weather in the low 80's.Pushed out of Riga before 9 for a change. First 2.5 miles to Bear Mtn was quick (mostly flat to rising with steepish climb last .7 miles), taking me only an hour. Then down Bear Mtn -- another hellish descent leaving me with even more sympathy for the SoBos -- and through the "bad air" section of Sage's Ravine (no flares spotted) and into Massachusetts -- and then more climbing -- first over Race Mtn. and then Everett Mtn. Race was a long climb up to a half-mile or so of exposed ridge walking with breathtaking views of the Housatonic valley. After just 5 miles Massachusetts had already surpassed all of Connecticut and New York north of Garrison. Took a long break about half-way up Race with a camp group out of Rockland County, NY, and spent a while talking to one of the counselors. This was the first hiking trip for most of the kids (18 miles over 3 days) and he was planning on topping it off by taking the group up Everett Mountain for a sunrise hike the following day. It must have been his first hiking trip with kids as I suspect the difficulty of motivating 20 young teens to get up at 4:30 a.m. after having been up all night trading fart jokes and debating whether parents or girls are more yucky and getting them to climb 750' in a half-mile (that's very steep) hadn't crossed his mind. I hope it went well for him.The break site was a now-closed camp site called Beaver Brook falls. Nice waterfalls on a shaded ledge overlooking the Housatonic Valley. If I had been smart I would have gotten more water then. But I was not smart. After the break, I went on to the exposed ledges of Race Mountain, enjoying the view, getting hot in the sun and drinking all but a half-liter of my remaining water. No water sources in sight. Another mile or so down the mountain to a gap between Everett and Race and another 4 miles or so to the shelter. And I was running out of HOH and starting to feel it. My legs were getting tired, too. Thankfully, there was a camp site about 1/2 mile off the trail (a rocky half-mile) so I headed for that once I got into the gap between Race and Everett. Not-so-thankfully, every blue line on the map was dry as I crossed over it. After getting to the camp site I read the register and there was entry after entry inquiring about where the water was. This was not funny. I ran into a day hiker who said that he thought he saw water about 1/2 mile further south. That was even less funny, as every step was becoming a major pain in the ass. Well, having no other choice, I set off down the trail to the spring 1/2 mile down and thankfully found small filterable pools in a hollow just a few yards from the camp. A long rest and lots of water later, I was ready to move on.One of the lessons I've taken from my desert hiking is to drink plenty and refill your water every chance you get. I didn't follow my own advice and could have had a very unpleasant experience as a result. Believe me, I am going to be filling up every chance I get going forward.After the rehydration and rest the climb up Everett was tough but not bad. I managed to do it (very slowly) without stopping. Still, I was glad to get to the top, enjoy the view, and then head down the 2 miles or so to the shelter. Spent the night at the shelter with Young Jedi and Smooth, a southbounder. Thermo, a northbounder, camped up behind the shelter. No bears but a fire pit and stacked and sorted wood (tinder to kindling to small stuff to big logs). The shelter design was nicer than the CT ones (more overhang on roof, easier to get into, seemingly more animal-proof). We lit a fire, chatted for a while and went to sleep.