Date: 2004-08-17
From: Limestone Springs Lean-to

To: Race Brook Falls Trail Tentsite
Miles today: 15.7

Today it finally struck me, ¢ I¢m actually doing this!¢I was standing at the top of Race Mountain taking in hundreds of square miles of vistas to the east and south, when I started to retrace my steps to where I had began the day in my own personal lean-to, one half mile down a narrow side trail in a lovely pine grove. I got out my map and found it pretty easy to orient it, given the readily recognizable trail features of the Taconics. Using the trail map as a guide I was able to follow the trail back from where I stood, over each mountain I had crossed, around the town of Salisbury, along the ridge paralleling the Housatonic River, and finally to an obscure wrinkle in some distant mountain, which is where I had began the day. If that spot that I was now looking at, was in fact where I had begun today¢s walk, it appeared to be a long, long, distance from where I now stood.   It was hard to believe that, that¢s how far I had walked in just one day. But I did.I am actually hiking the Appalachian Trail! Long distances on the Appalachian Trail! It¢s one thing to look at a line on the map and say, ¢ I went from here to there¢ but when you can actually see the distance, as I did today, it¢s a long way! Actually I¢m quite impressed. For the first time (honestly!) I really allowed myself to appreciate what I am doing¢to let in the feeling of ¢Wow, I¢ve covered a lot of distance with my own two legs since I set out this morning, and this is just one day!¢ frankly, I am impressed. Another thing that impressed me about me today was my judgment. I made a surprising (for me certainly) ¢command decision¢ while standing at the base of Everett Mountain at about 6:10 this evening. I had just finished changing from sandals into trail shoes, in order to tackle Everett Mountain and get to the Glenbrook lean-to on the other side before nightfall. The trail over Everett is reportedly steep and rocky and based on the reports of several SOBO¢s I¢ve talked to during the day, it sounds to be quite wet, just the way Bear Mountain (the highest peak in Connecticut) and Race Mountain were when I crossed them earlier. Slippery.   I was anxious to get going because the trail runs up the eastern ridge of Everett, meaning that it would get darker sooner and probably well before official sunset. Further, I knew there were at least three NOBO¢s heading there, from reports of people I had passed along the way-- and I could use the company.Normally, I think I would have just gone for it inspite of the mounting concerns regarding the conditions. Suddenly though the notion came to me, ¢Whoa--slow down¢you¢ve got options¢maybe there¢s a different way.¢ I looked up, and tacked to the tree against which I had propped my pack was a sign that said, ¢Race Brook Campsite .5 mile¢. And it dawned on me that Everett will still be there in the morning. The light will probably be better in the morning. I will be better rested and stronger in the morning. The trail will probably be drier in the morning. I think I¢ll go in the morning.So instead of talking about gear, weather, and trail conditions with other long distance hikers at Glenbrook as I had originally intended; I am in my tent tonight with no one within miles of me, bedded down for a good nights sleep, with my belly full of teriyaki chicken and rice.   I think I¢ll go north tomorrow¢¦ Another long-distance for Bumpo.