Date: 2014-08-12
From: Sages Ravine 

To: Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It was barely light enough to see as I left camp this morning and descended the canyon-like hollow. This is my second day in a row to get up "on time." If this were my job I would have been in trouble. I can only get more miles by walking more hours. For safety's sake those should be daylight hours.I have read that to do a thru-hike on the AT one had to treat it like a job in that one gets up early and puts in the hours. I am sure they thought of a job not as drudgery, but to engage joy. My wish for everyone would be that they could find paying work that is a source of satisfaction rather than "just a job." I have been blessed to always have had jobs I enjoyed.It brought back a good memory of a summer afternoon in a hayfield as a hiker spoke of his work along the way at an organic farm.The rewards for my "hiking job" are intrinsic. One source for reward comes from observing nature. Another is just the experience of passing through the variety of terrain. The more I take time to observe nature, and the more I reflect on the experiences, the greater my pay.Mt. Race included 0.6 miles of "views along the ridge-line" walk but I could see only a few feet of solid rock beyond the edge due to the dense fog. Later, a local day hiker informed me there was a 1,500 feet drop off.I started my day worrying about the rain in the forecast and whether I would make it to a shelter before it started. The heavy rain was for after midnight, so my main concern was to be at a shelter rather than in a tent. I kept telling myself to forget about the rain for the day. There was nothing I could do about that. But the thought kept plaguing me and giving an unnecessary sense of urgency.Mt. Everett looked tough on the map with the steep slope but wasn't too bad. There was some rock climbing but I was able to keep moving gradually all way. At 2,602 feet it was the highest peak in the area (on AT map) and until recently, it was the site of a fire watchtower.Both Sages Ravine and Guilder Pond sported swimming holes according to passers-by but it was too chilly for me dare to take the dive.The trail dipped down into the Housatonic Valley and provided several miles of relatively flat trail through forests and fields. I hoped to gain time on the clock by striding through this area, even skipping a side trail that led to a Coke machine. I was thinking every minute closer to the shelter I am, would be one less minute of walking in the rain.The approach to my last mountain of the day was through a lovely pine and hemlock forest with a carpet of emerald ferns. However, the trail seemed to begin winding aimlessly through the trees. Since I had been besieged by mosquitos since passing the river I concluded the crew laying out the trail had just been running madly through the pines trying to escape the pests.East Mountain did not look bad on the map because it was under the 2000 feet mark on the grid. I neglected to consider the river level was 1,000 feet below the top of East Mountain. I had another reason to hurry going up the mountain now. The moment I stopped to rest, my arms and legs would be covered with mosquitos. (Note to self--when forecast says mosquitos likely, wear long sleeves and pants and maybe a bug net.)I only had an hour of rain sufficient enough to wear my rain jacket before I reached the shelter. I thought I had gained time in the flat lands but ended up going 15 minutes longer due to the slower pace of traveling the "benign" East Mountain.I climbed into a bunk 4 X 6 feet and 7 feet up. I almost choked from the smokey campfire but welcomed the smoke because it drive out the Mosquitos.East Mountain Retreat Center is only 2 miles on the trail plus a 1.5 on the road distance from the shelter. I debated for miles whether to go the extra distance and check out the center as well as be in the dry during the storm. I was exhausted by the time of reaching the shelter, so that settled the decision. I heard a hiker calling later about space and it turns out they were "pretty much full up." I expected I would probably rest better in the simpler environment of the shelter than the retreat. I may stay here until noon which is the time set for the rain watch to expire.