Date: 2009-07-10
From: Conn. 4 - Trail Mile 711.3

To: Sharon Mtn. Campsite - Trail Mile 703.0
Miles today: 8.3

Day 20[Watson & Holmes arrived. Her journal entry:]Sharon Mountain CampsiteHad a great half-day with DD. (Thanks again for visiting!!) Both H and I got a good night's sleep, I got a shower, did laundry, some shopping (bug spray and water treatment drops, my supply of which I had used the last of yesterday - good timing!), had a delicious breakfast of biscuits & gravy, a reuben omelet, and tons of orange juice, then topped it off with fresh picked strawberries from a farm just up the road from the trail. The strawberries were so sweet you'd have sworn someone put sugar on them when you weren't looking. (Ducky later calls them 'sparkle' strawberries.) Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, I had to purchase no less than 2 quarts at a time. DD and I enjoy quite a few, but after he drops me off I'm still walking up the trail carrying a gallon ziploc bag a third of the way full of berries! I don't get too far, though, before I have an opportunity to share. First, though, things get messy: this day will forever live in infamy as The Day Jess Lost Harvey!!So H is normally very good at following the trail. He has an awesome tracking sense of smell, and can follow the hikers ahead of us. Whenever we come to a split in the trail, he'll check out both options, maybe explore one for 25 feet or so, but will then check back to see which way I go. Or, if he's completely engrossed, I whistle to get his attention as I take the other turn and he eventually follows.Now, those of you who know H know his one failing as a coonhound is that he doesn't like water. Today, we came to a split in the trail right at the edge of a roaring stream. And I mean roaring- it was only 15 ft wide but in the valley with steep banks it was impossible to hear anyone more than 5 feet away.So, H and I come up to this point where the AT crosses the steam, but H follows the side trail along the bank. I follow, not having noticed the blazes to continue across. H picks up a scent and is soon out of sight - not unusual in such a heavily wooded area, and as long as he's within howling/whistling distance, I'm OK with it. I soon realize I'm not seeing white blazes any more and start whistling for H to come back. This time, though, he can't hear my whistles. Uh-oh.I stop and wait, thinking he'll soon realize I'm not behind him and backtrack. I'm not sure how long it takes, but 5 minutes later I hear his 'Mom, where are you?!' howl. I whistle back. As I listen, though, his howls are getting further and further away, and I realize he either can't hear my whistles, or can't tell which direction they're coming from. Double uh-oh!!I decide to climb up the embankment to a bit of flat ground above the river valley, where he has a better chance of hearing me. That's when I realize the river is less than 500 ft from the road where DD dropped us off. TRIPLE UH-OH!!!I run out to the road and flag down a car or two in each direction, asking if there's a dog in the road. No luck. With a small sigh of relief, I go back to the woods to continue whistling. Every 5 minutes or so I run back to the road and check with motorists - still no luck. At 30 minutes I'm getting pretty scared and about to call the town police or animal services to start a search, when suddenly I think I hear that beautiful baying again. I whistle and run towards the sound. I realize there's also a man's voice mixed in - someone saying they've found my dog. Thank goodness!!!A very nice, helpful young man named Ryan picked up H along the road, and put him in his truck. He noted H's tags and drove down to the gas station where he knew he could get cell reception to try to call me and JR. When neither answers, he also got in touch with local authorities. Then he came back to the trailhead where he found me. He then even drove me down to the gas station so I could call JR and assure him thy all was well. THANK YOU, RYAN!!!Finally off into the woods and across the river, we meet a group of backpackers trying to figure out whose pack had been left - mine. I tell the story and after introductions all around, I share the remains of my two quarts of strawberries in celebration.We all start off up the hill, and I find my pace matches that of Ducky & Madison (aka Mad Dog), another woman/dog combo. We pass an easy afternoon hiking and chatting about adventures and kayaking and music (and, of course, how awesome DD is for visiting me on trail!). At one point Ducky mentions she is planning to hike all night to get to Salisbury to pick up chocolate chip cookies from her friend before the post office closes at noon. I remember i have a package at Salisbury, but instead of rushing, I call and have it forwarded up the trail to South Egremont, MA. Finally at shelter, and I'm pretty tired from the stressful afternoon. We take a long break for dinner. I'm now restless and not happy only having covered 5-6 miles, and the shelter is full of mosquitoes, so we push on two miles to Sharon Mountain Campsite. I happily set up the tent, drape the rain fly over a nearby tree to air out, and we settle in for the night.41° 54' 35.33" N 73° 23' 36.52" W, 1175 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop