Date: 2009-08-04
From: Sages Ravine Brook Campsite

To: Great Barrington
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

What a day! Like many other days on the AT, you never know where you'll end up or what the day holds. We began this morning walking out of the campsite with Otter around 8:30am. Sages Ravine was so beautiful this morning. For a mile or more we were walking through this narrow ravine- dark with pine and moss- a flowing river chiselled through the ravine the whole time. Toward the end of that section we ended up fording that river.From there we began the long climb up Race Mtn. Nearing the summit we came upon spectacular views. We sat and rested for a while and admired the landscape. Soon we heard the clickity-clack of Stewball's hiking poles, Sure enough, he caught up to us! After sitting a little while longer we continued walking up the summit of Race Mtn. For a quarter mile or more we were hiking on the ridgeline with breathtaking vista's. Looking to the left the world fell below us, it almost felt like we were flying. We are now getting back to doing some nice climbs and being on top of mountain peaks. The views completely take our mind off hiking- you don't even realize that you are exerting yourself and you stop thinking about the climb when you are surrounded by awesome sights. It was very rewarding to see the landscape, especially on Race mtn, and the weather was nice and sunny throughout the day.The four of us got over Race mtn, down a steep descent and right back up Evrett Mtn. We took a leisurely lunch break at the summit of Evrett and then continued on. Our hiking was slow today because of several sections of soupy mud and steep descents. Even though we were all pretty muddy and our feet were already wet, we tried our best to avoid any further damage.We came to a section called "Jugs End" with great veiws and ridge walking and began a steep descent into the lower lands of Mass. We had heard word from passing southbound thru-hikers that sections of the trail were flooded- even waist deep- and that detours were in place at particular sections. After our descent Otter pulled ahead of us while we took a break at Jug End Rd. The three of us walked through 4.4 miles of flat forrest and farmland. The forest was full of standing water and the mosquito's were on the offense...we moved VERY quickly! It was sad to see 100's of acres of corn feilds that were rotting from the roots up because of all the water- there were places where water seemed to be a foot or more in depth. We reached US 7 where we needed to take a detour because of a river and flooding. Before that though, we dcided to walk just a little ways down the other direction of the HWY 7 to a large, hiker friendly, antique store to fill up on water and grap a cold drink. Otter was there wating for us with a proposal....Unfortunately, while Otter was inside the antique store a dog urinated all over his pack! He had already decided to go into Great Barrington, MA, which was only 3 miles away, to clean his gear and wash his pack. If we all went in together we could split the room at $20 by 3. Well...we took a good look at ourselves, being five days without a shower and covered with mud- having the opportunity for clean clothes, showers, a bed and a hot breakfast in the morning for only $20- the proposal seemed more than reasonable to us! The owner of the antique shop was closing up and offered to give us a ride into town. So there we were at the end of our day at Great Barrington, MA. Who woulda thought!Great Barrington is a really neat town. I think, one of my favorites. Beautiful homes and a lovely downtown area- very artsy and unique. Right across from our hotel (Days Inn- hiker rate) there is a huge castle which is now a school for troubled teens. Best of all, a small movie theatre! Stewball, Otter and I watched a movie while Berry was excited to have the room to herself. She also took it upon herself to do our laundry...thanks sweetie!Tomorrow it's back to business. We are feeling good!