Date: 2008-06-01
From: Wilcox Mt South Lean-to

To: Jug End Rd
Miles today: 16.2

Woke to a bit of fog otherwise it was looking to be a good day. The Parade O¢Fools rolled in by 8:30 or so and we were off. Today was going to be a big day of 19 miles or so ending with a climb up to the Hemlocks Lean-to. Tinker, Chatter and Freebird were going to end just short of this at Jug End Rd. We had one short climb to start the day and then there was a good drop after that down the Ledges and down to Lake Buell area. As we started down this area I got my first glimpse of the day of Mt Everett and Race Mt which were the goal for the day. I was hiking with Freebird for most of the day and I know that River and Man Bear Pig were ahead of us. We hiked this way for a while with Tinker and Chatter somewhere behind us. We were at a pretty good pace that seemed to match up. As it was getting near lunch I was coming up to Ice Gulch I spied River & Son up ahead of us. The gulch is really an amazing rock cut. It looks like it could be a road cut it is so shear and deep but it is in fact a natural pass through this ridge. I have to say that I was half surprised when the trail didn¢t drop to the bottom of it and then back up. This seemed like a missed golden opportunity to add a sadistic descent for no reason. After a picture or two we pushed on to the Tom Leonard Lean-to for a bite of lunch. I was surprised to see that River and Son were not there and that they had chosen to push on. I began to think that given the number of miles needed to cover this may not be a bad idea but I did stop for a short lunch and fill up with water. Tinker came in with news that Chatter had hurt his knee and was back at the car waiting for everyone.After lunch I kind of put the hammer down for a while to make up some lost time. This was fine until we hit the up and down sections along the south edge of East Mountain. Remember that sadistic comment. Yep I found the section where they did this. They keep you on the edge of the cliff going up and down these short steep rocky sections with only limited views. I bonked at this point and it just really sapped my energy. That and for some reason I began to think of how good an ice cold Coke would taste. We were drawing close to the flat 6 mile stretch where the bus have been so talked about. As we dropped off the hill we met River and Man Bear Pig at Holmes Rd. Turns out that Rivers Ankle has been giving him issues. My feet have continued to go down hill and the rocky descent didn¢t really help any. They said that they were going to call it short and bail at Jug End. I told them that I would think about it but may do the same thing. We hiked along and began to hit the bugs. Lucky for us as we hit the open fields there was enough of a breeze that the bugs were kept down. This was also the point at which I ran out of water so the wind just helped suck any moisture I had away with the breeze. My decision was made as we continued to plod along and the feet just felt more and more raw. For what should have been the simplest part of the hike I was struggling this was a sign to call it a day and an end to the section as the best chance for a ride home was with River and Man Bear Pig. After the Shays¢ Rebellion monument the bugs began their true onslaught. I could see a Halo of the mosquitoes around each hiker. You just had to walk and slap and slap some more. At one point I got some Water from River and it was like manna from heaven but it wasn¢t a cold Coke. After what seemed like forever we made it to the road and then squeezed all of us into Tinkers car. It was like a clown act. We got to Maria McCabe¢s house where River had left his car. She lead us to a Pizza joint in Lakeville Ct where we had a good dinner and then said goodbye to Tinker and Company. Once again the Parade O¢Fools was disbanding until the next misadventure.Ascended 2790         Descended 3860        Duration 10:17Daily Miles 16.2 Grand Total 436.4