Date: 2005-04-18
From: Rt. 20/Lee, MA

To: Mt. Wilcox North Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: clear sky

After the first two days of strong winds and heavy rains, April has surprised everyone. My April 3-6 hike in Central Virginia featured perfect if not hot weather. 2 weeks had passed and still most of the Eastern third of the US was bathed in sunshine and warm temperatures. Surely, I thought, this would come to an end when I began hiking in Massachusetts. It might seem folly to schedule a hike at this time in this place but I¢m trying to finish the AT this year. I hiked Northern Mass. (Rt. 20 to Rt. 2) in Fall of 2002 and hiked all of Connecticut in Fall of 2003. I decided I¢d rather finish this missing piece in the problematic weather of April than the heat and mosquitoes of summer. Wouldn¢t we have ¢normal¢ April weather ¢ cold rains, temperatures in the 40s, maybe some wet snow in New England? Well no, another perfect day as I got off to at 10:13 AM (I couldn¢t secure a shuttle from the parking lot at the Undermountain Trailhead until 9:30 hence the late start) and began hiking south. Any thoughts of sticking with my original idea of hiking only to Tyringham the first day were dispelled when I covered the 8.6 miles in less than 4 hours. And that included lolling around Upper Goose Pond which shone like a jewel in the bright sun. I met many dayhikers today, undoubtedly prompted by the Patriots Day holiday and the nice weather. Seemed like most of them were older (i.e. older than me) men but I did encounter one family with a vicious dog (¢he¢s friendly¢ - right). Lunch was enjoyed on the planks of a boardwalk over a stream and wetland ¢ imagine trying that in the mosquito-infested summer!Crossing Tyringham Road brought a little more difficulty with steeper uphill ascending Tyringham Cobble (another one of those endearing New England terms) and traipsing through muck (this is New England Spring hiking after all). Tyringham Cobble was also home to a garter snake who was sunning in the middle of the AT and stopped long enough to pose for a photo before sauntering off.   But the turning point was passing Shaker campsite where the real ascent started. With the temperature rising and sun beating through the leafless trees, I¢m drinking a lot of water and deciding to settle for Mount Wilcox North Shelter tonight despite its siting 14 mile off the AT. 15.6 miles for a first day with a late start isn¢t bad by my standards.I¢m raking in the scenery, both the views and the woods I¢m walking through. Partway up the ascent, I came to a literal wall of boulders rising about 100 feet covered with flattened ferns and housing snow patches in the crevices. ¢Do I have to scramble up this?¢ No, the trail wound around to the right reaching the top and affording a view down the slope of boulders. Again typical New England as is the increasing amounts of muck to wade through. But I¢m pleasantly surprised by the abundance of mountain laurel.I¢ve been impressed with the blazing and signage ¢ much superior to what I experienced in my Virginia hiking earlier this year. The AMC Berkshire Chapter deserves kudos. Although the generally open forest and the presence of sometimes still deep dry leaves (a walking hazard) obscure the Trail, the frequency of blazes enables one to find the Trail easily. Perhaps this is due to winter use when the snow renders picking up the Trail nigh impossible, thus necessitating frequent blazing.Filled my water bottles at one of the frequent steams and trudged mostly uphill the last mile to the shelter side trail. Arriving at the shelter at 5:58, I was greeted by a voice emanating from a tent within the shelter. That is how I met Deb, out for a one-night out-and-back hike starting at Lake Buel Road. I told her the shelter had sufficient capacity for both the tent and me but she decided to move out and sleep in the tent a short distance away. Just as well since I¢m rising early tomorrow and don¢t want to disturb her.It¢s nice to have good company ¢ this is my 9th night of AT backpacking in 2005 but only the second with a sheltermate. Deb¢s very familiar with the AT in Mass, Conn, and NY and has also hiked in NJ near the Delaware Water Gap.   She recognized my name from TrailJournals.com and WhiteBlaze. Like me, she has done several ¢bike-hikes¢ on the AT, biking on connecting roads one way and hiking the other.Deb built a fire which helped warm the rapidly-chilling night air. Of course, the ¢rapid chilling¢ was nothing like I experienced 7 weeks ago in SW Virginia but was still noticeable after the warm day.