Date: 2009-07-18
From: Brassie Brook Lean-to, CT

To: Great Barrington, MASSACHUSETTS
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Cell goodOG notesWe spent a rainy night inside the shelter alone. The only person who came up to the shelter stayed about one minute and all he said was "I just wanted to see if anyone was here." I think he meant anyone he knew was here because we were there and he turned around and left. I laid there all through the night listening to the rain and thinking about the steep rock climb down from Bear Mountain. I was very sorry I didn't have a map for this section of the trail, they also show side trails that touch the AT. I then read the ALDHA Companion and noticed a note about a foul weather route around Bear Mountain. We discussed this option this morning and took it this morning. We hiked 3.1 miles instead of 1.7 miles on the AT. This trail was a lot safer and a comfortable hike.The rest of the day had enough climbs and descents to make up for skipping this one. We even climbed Mount Everest, without the second s and an extra t (Mount Everett). On our descent off of Mount Everett I slipped on a wet rock and fell. I landed on my right side right on top of my hiking pole. The point of impact was on the outside of my thigh. C6 falls and hits her head, I fall and hit the part near where she sometimes thinks my brain is located. I was able to get up and hike after a minute so I guess I'm okay.As we were coming down from Everett we were on a plateau called The Jug End. There were 4 locals sitting on the top of the mountain looking out at the valley below. They asked us if we knew why the name for the plateau was named Jug End and we told them we didn't. They then told us that the farm below, and possibly the plateau, used to be owned by a German family named Jugund. The area was called the Jug End because of the family name.We decided we wanted to sleep in a bed tonight rather than out in our tent. We pushed hard after deciding to go into town and made record time getting here. We made two stops during our dash to town - one to get water and make Gatorade, and the second was to eat a second lunch. C6 realized she was getting weak and needed some nourishment. We realized if we hiked while we were weak we might not pick up our feet high enough and trip on a rock. I don't know if it made a difference or not, but the rest of the hike went well.We both took showers before going out to get something to eat. The first place we saw was Subways, so in we went. It felt so normal to be eating familiar food in a familiar store. After we ate we walked around downtown Great Barrington, Massachuttes. We wanted some ice cream, but decided that we were full and the line at the ice cream store was too long. We decided to pass on the ice cream and walked back to our room. Goodnight   C6 notesIt poured a lot throughout the night last night. Knowing we had Bear Mtn, CT, to climb today had me worried with all the rain. OG said the CT Bear Mountain has a North side descent that's vertical in some parts. One has to hold onto trees to not fall. When we got up this morning I found out that OG was worried about the mountain, too.Our concerns were for two reasons...the weather, and because yesterday I fell again. This time I slipped on a wet rock trying to avoid a large mud puddle. When my foot slipped on the rock, I fell face first again. This time I landed in the mud, so my head wasn't hurt. I must have looked quite the sight with mud all over the side of my face, my ear, and my hair. I did hurt my right shoulder though, when I landed on a tree that was lying on the ground. I didn't want to write about the fall yesterday; I wanted to wait a day to make sure I'm okay. My shoulder is still sore, but it's a little better now, and I have no other lingering affects from the fall.At some point in the middle of the night OG took out the AT guide book we're using and discovered there is a side trail with blue blazes one can take to go around Bear Mtn instead of over it when the situation calls for it (safety first - e.g., bad weather). When we got up we talked about the risk of going over the mountain with all the mud, wet rocks, and my sore shoulder. We decided to take the blue blaze trail and be safe. I feel a little bad for doing that, but it was the smart thing to do today. This afternoon we had to go down some wet rocks. I got down the rocks this afternoon okay, but it convinced me we did the right thing.We were going to do a short day again today and stay at another shelter, but once we got going we changed our minds and decided to go 8 more miles and go into Great Barrington, MA. So now we're in a motel room for two nights. We have a resupply box at the local Post Office, but since we couldn't get here early enough today (Sat) to get it from the Post Office, we'll enjoy a zero day tomorrow and head out again after we get our box on Monday.When we got to town (around 6:30 pm), we checked into the Days Inn. We were lucky. We didn't have a reservation, and with a race going on at the Lime Rock Race Track in Salisbury, CT, most local motels are full. We got one of the last 3 rooms at this motel. If we were just a little later, we wouldn't have a place to stay! Thank you again, God!Old Goat & Check Six