Date: 2008-05-19
From: South Egremont Rd

To: Mass 23
Miles today: 10.2

Monday, May 19. Kellogg Rd to Rte 23, 7.5miles, plus South Egremont Rd/Shays Rebellion to Kellogg Rd, 2.7 miles, total 10.2 miles Oh boy! I get a chance to hike again with my friend Knitting Bull (formerly Mountain Goat).And boy, oh boy! I get a chance to hike on the AT with my grand-dog Benny!Knitting Bull and I have hiked quite a lot of the AT together in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey (where, in 2005, she saved my life) and Maryland. She was trail angel #2 to me when I first started hiking in 2003. We¢re well-acquainted with each other and each other¢s hiking styles. But hiking with Benny, a dog? First of all, I don¢t know much about handling or training dogs. Benny is my daughter Margaret¢s dog. I've never owned a dog. All I know is that I¢ve adored 4-year-old Benny since he was a tiny pup. Second, I know even less about hiking the AT with a dog. Benny and I have walked groomed trails around Syracuse, but nothing like the AT.Margaret has been kind enough to let me take Benny to hike from May 19 to May 28. She thinks he¢s going to have fun.I¢m about to have quite the learning experience. I think it¢s going to be fun too. And hopefully fun for Knitting Bull, who agreed right away about me bringing Benny as soon as I asked her.Expect my TJ entries from May 19 to May 28 to be doggy.First thing I do is check the ATC guidelines.Here¢s what the ATC has to say about Hiking with Dogs¢Regulations and restrictionsDogs are NOT ALLOWED in three areas along the Trail:Baxter State Park, MaineBear Mountain State Park Trailside Museum and Wildlife Center, New York¢alternate road walk is availableGreat Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North CarolinaLeashes ARE REQUIRED on more than 40 percent of the Trail, including:Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Pennsylvania and New JerseyMaryland (entire state)Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West VirginiaShenandoah National Park, VirginiaBlue Ridge Parkway, Virginia500+ miles of A.T. land administered by the National Park ServiceIn practice, it can be difficult to tell when you are on NPS-administered A.T. lands. We recommend dogs be leashed at all times, as a matter of courtesy to other hikers and to minimize stress to wildlife.Trail ethics for dogs and their ownersPeople hiking with dogs should be aware of the impact of their animals on the Trail environment and their effect on the Trail experience of others.Do not allow your pet to chase wildlife.Leash your dog around water sources and in sensitive alpine areas.Do not allow your dog to stand in springs or other sources of drinking water.Be mindful of the rights of other hikers not to be bothered by even a friendly dog.Bury your pet's waste as you would your own.Take special measures at shelters. Leash your dog in the shelter area, and ask permission of other hikers before allowing your dog in a shelter. Be prepared to "tent out" when a shelter is crowded, and on rainy days.¢Here¢s what the Adirondack Mountain Club has to say about Hiking with Dogs: ¢Hiking with dogs is regulated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).According to the DEC in the Adirondacks you should:Keep your pet under control. Restrain it on a leash when others approach.   Collect and bury droppings away from water, trails, and camp sites. Keep your pet away from drinking water sources.Furthermore, in the Eastern High Peaks Wilderness Zone, it is mandatory to keep your pet leashed at all times.Keep in mind that your dog is part of your hiking party and you must take its abilities into account when planning your trip. Rugged, rocky trails can be tough on paws and long, steep hikes are tiring. Just like you, your dog has to work its way up from easier to more strenuous hikes.¢On Friday, Benny, who is a cockapoo (part cocker spaniel, part poodle), is shorn of his curly locks with #7 clipper. The better to see ticks, the easier to keep him clean.Last night Knitting Bull and I stayed at a motel that will accept dogs. This morning the desk clerk, on finding out we¢ll be hiking, is very helpful. She tells us the weather forecast and tells us that right now in Massachusetts each day until noon it¢s turkey-hunting season and many hunters resort to hunting on the AT because not many private landowners allow hunting on their propertyIt¢s been fun catching up with Knitting Bull again. As usual she¢s working on a knitting project, this time a pair of beautiful socks.She¢s had trouble with her foot and ankle, I¢m hoping she¢ll be OK. Today we¢ll hike south to north so we get the ascent done first, leaving a descent at the end which is more gentle than if we went north to south.I hadn¢t considered that we¢d be running into a hunting season. I tie an old blaze orange vest to Benny¢s collar. My orange pack is colorful enough.Park at a cut-away on Kellogg Rd. Start 10:40. Temps in 50¢s. No black flies. Overcast skies. Roadwalk. Some painted-out blazing?Meet section-hiker Mike, hiking a little ahead of his Dad Bill. Duncannon PA to North Adams MA.Benny keeps his cool, no barking.Both Mike and Bill are well into their end-to-end hikes of the AT, but won¢t finish this year.Hello to Bill. He asks where is the nearest sandwich shop. I¢m not carrying my Companion, and when we were looking for Kellogg Rd street sign, we weren¢t looking at the businesses along Rte 7. Both Knitting Bull and I feel bad that we aren¢t able to answer his question.Single lady slipper.Benny is pulling me. He¢s trying to catch up to Knitting Bull. I worry he¢ll lose energy trying to pull against me and not have enough left to finish today¢s long hike. I try to restrain him and get him to pace himself. This doesn¢t work.At the first stream crossing, a tiny one, he laps up water, stirring up sediment with his feet and walking farther upstream to drink undisturbed water. Smart boy, Benny. I decide I¢ll let him drink from streams that are clear and running well, and if they're a water source for people, I'll let Benny drink far enough downstream from the trail crossing. I won't let him drink from springs. I'll dip out springwater and pour it into a doggie bowl. I won't let him drink from stagnant pools or puddles.We come to a bridge-out section. Blue-taped detour is nothing too difficult.11:15 top of June Mtn. It starts to rain. Knitting Bull and I put on ponchos. I remove Benny¢s blaze-orange to keep it from becoming soaked and weighing him down. Turkey hunting is close to being over with anyway for today. Benny's not shivering. He shakes, but only to dry his coat. So I don't put on that dog indignity, his raincoat. I'll force him to wear it only if he seems to be chilled. At the top it¢s less mapley, more oaky and beechy. Native azaleas, Canada mayflowers, starflowers, ladies slippers, black cherry and pin cherry blossoms. We see poison ivy at lower elevations, but none up here.3PM we pass the trail to the Tom Leonard Lean-To, without stopping.Hello to Ridgerunner Dave Campbell. Dave¢s first day out and ours too. Can you believe I¢m getting paid for hiking? he asks.Benny is barking at Dave, but Dave just continues talking as if Benny didn't exist. That appears to be an effective tactic. There¢s a beautiful view from the Tom Leonard Lean-To, says Dave. Since last fall the Lean-To¢s been chewed up by porcupines, he adds.Dave walks north with us past what he calls Massachusetts¢ answer to the Lemon Squeezer. Enormous crevised rock faces, boulders. We leave Dave near a place where he says a note in the shelter register 2 weeks ago says there¢s still ice.Dave¢s trailjournal is on this site under his trailname Greylock and his wife¢s Scamp.Knitting Bull, Benny and I hike on, through hemlock forest, then hardwood.Trail becomes rocky.Benny gets a scare. A forked limb blows out of a tree and falls over him. Not hurt that I can tell. I¢m not sure it even hit him. I think we would have heard quite a yelp if it had hit him. For a while afterwards, Benny cowers whenever he hears rubbing branches and creaking sounds in the wind.Dog hiking issues:Waste: for now I am tossing it well into the woods away from the trail. On my next AT hike with Benny, I¢ll bury it or pack it out.Water frequency: I read that dogs take more small drinks than people do. But Benny seems to prefer large less frequent drinks (like me).Drinking water: see above.Owner carrying hiking poles: 2 poles plus leash doesn¢t work. Tomorrow I¢ll try one pole.Out about 6:15. Benny, you sure did good on your maiden hike. This was a long hike for you.As I type this both Benny and Knitting Bull are in dreamland, zzzzz, Benny after me taking 3 ticks off him. Goodnight.