Date: 2015-07-09
From: Race Brook Falls campsite, MA

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: broken clouds

Yoohoo and I woke to a chilly morning, the first in some time. Originally supposed to wake up at 5:30am, I heard his alarm ringing and was glad when he followed by quieting it. We were finally up at 7:30am and on the trail soon after 8:00am. Within minutes we were climbing Mt. Everett, a mass of rock rising just under ~2,000ft above the surrounding countryside. Having camped at ~1,500ft, we'd only have to climb ~700ft to summit, but do so in .7 miles. With fresh legs, we soon crested the top under labored breathing, but feeling good knowing this would be the most challenging part of our day.Soon after we reached the Guilder Pond picnic area where we were treated to trail magic in the form of many gallon jugs of water. Having had close to no water since the night before, this was a nice treat after the climb. With a few mouthfuls and our water bottles topped off, we continued on the trail that would gradually take us down over the next ~8 miles to our ending location for the day. We passed both the Hemlocks Shelter and Glen Brook Shelter, both located within a couple hundred yards of one another, and began climbing a smaller mountain, Mt. Bushnell, soon after. As we reached it's summit we stopped to let put our go-to yells at an overlook of the countryside a couple thousand feet below. To our left in the woods a couple voices responded with a quieter version of my yell. As we approached we saw a line of teenage-aged campers from a nearby camp enjoying a 2-day hike totalling ~15 miles. They all stepped aside for Yoohoo and I as we quickly slid by.Within another few hundred yards we reached Jug End, the last view on the ridge before dropping down into the wooded countryside below. Again we paused briefly to let out a round of yells. We both agreed that this overlook provided the best echo location on the AT so far as our echoes bounced off the opposite ridge line. We continued down towards lower elevation, both listening to music as a form of break after nearly an entire day of chatting yesterday. We passed through a series of pastureland followed by a stretch through a soggy, miss lowland where we were swarmed by mosquitoes. Swatting and shaking our arms as we did our best to hurry while avoiding swamp-like conditions along the trail, we finally received a break as we exited the woods and were met by a gentle breeze just hard enough to push them back onto their shadowy depths.We sat along a quiet road for a ~10-minute break, finishing off our water supply before covering the last ~3 miles to our destination. What we thought were goat "baa's" from a small farm nearby, we were surprised to see that it was actually sheep as we hiked parallel along one end of the farm. I couldn't help but take several glances at a group of ~20 or so sheep followed in a line from one point of the pasture to another. I let out my own "baa" and smiled when a couple of the cotton candy-like creatures seemed to wobble along quicker. We soon reached the next road crossing where the AT passes right beside a large stone slab marking the location of the last battle of Shay's Rebellion in 1787 where some 200 men clashed.With the help of a few ibprofen and solid lineup of jams, the final ~1.8 miles disappeared quickly as Yoohoo and I huffed it to US 7 which leads into Great Barrington, MA. As we waited with thumbs out for a ride into town, we spotted more trail magic organized in a similar fashion as 2 we had previously stumbled upon - Red Panda & Co. once again. Knowing we'd be going into town, we kept our intake to a minimum each grabbing a soda, snack, and some extra TP for myself. After about ~20 minutes of failure, a kind woman finally pulled over and would gladly take us the few miles into town to a McDonald's. Over the next couple hours, Yoohoo and I enjoyed being lazy and entering a food coma, strolling through K-Mart, a light resupply at a Price Chopper grocery, and finally limping to a nearby Travel Lodge where we've remained all evening. Showers - check, laundry - check, snacking - check, and TV - check. Although an abbreviated version of a zero, it's been a much needed day of relaxing since my time in NYC was anything but relaxing.We'll return to the trail at some point in the morning and continue northward. No plans have been made as to a destination goal, and that's the way I prefer it.Here's to cotton balls with legs, Zebra Cakes, and clothes I'm not ashamed to put on in the morning.