Day 6 - Saturday, June 18

Linda

I didn't sleep very well last night. The rain had stopped for the most part, but there was still a lot of water dripping off the trees. Also, in the night most of us were awakened by low snarls and snuffling noises we were convinced were coming from a bear. We were all packed into the shelter, and it would have been hard to make a quick break for it if a bear did suddenly spring up onto the floor. Turned out it was just Ronald's snoring. I thought I was used to it by now, but what threw me off was it wasn't nearly as loud and persistent as usual. But, once I was awake, the idea of a bear was stuck in my mind, and I spent the rest of the night with one ear cocked in case a real bear paid us a visit.

When the first light of morning finally did come around, we just didn't want to get out of the bags and face another gloomy wet day. Steve Jackson was up and out very early, to jet off toward Monson, but we didn't get on the trail until 8:30. It never really rained hard all day, just misted a bit in the morning, but it was still soggy and wet everywhere. We had on rain gear to keep warm and dry. Stayed neither warm, nor dry. We came to a ford early today, and the guidebook told of an easier crossing at an old dam about ¼ mile upstream. We bushwhacked through all kinds of muck to get there, only to find it broken down and under two feet of water, so we had to wade anyway. The wading wasn't so bad, but I was so fed up with crashing through trees, I wanted to cry. Lost at least half an hour there. Since we were already soaked, there was no point in trying to go around swamps, so we plowed right through. Stopped once to wring out socks, then pushed on some more.

At one point we saw a cow moose standing in the trees along a gravel road we were on. She came loping toward us, picking up speed all the time, then just as it seemed she would run right over us, she bounded off into the wood on the other side and disappeared into the trees. We're not sure if she saw us or not - once again, because of the eyesight thing.

Just as the trail headed up off the road, we saw a car. We were totally disillusioned! Here we are supposed to be in total wilderness, surrounded by nature, and we see a car. Can't escape civilization, I guess. Got to White Cap Mt. Lean-to around 2:00 and stopped for a leisurely hot lunch to get the chill out of our bones for a while. Sure hated to put those soggy socks back on, but the trail was calling. From there we started up White Cap Mt., and that's what it was, straight up, and just for good measure, it wasn't even a trail, but a stream most of the time. It didn't let up at all until the top. I was tired, but surprisingly, not winded. Was this a fluke, or was I beginning to get used hiking all day, every day? The jury's still out on that one.

Along the trail we saw that Steve Jackson had tacked his business card to a trail sign. Proved he'd at least been there. I was beginning to wonder if we'd been taken in. After an hour and a half more of some hairy ups and downs, we came to the Sidney Tappan Campsite. We covered 12 miles, but it was hard work. Mr. Super Hiker was still there, just finishing dinner. What's with this guy? We were covering mileage as fast as he was, even with getting a late start and taking a long lunch break. He said was heading to the next lean-to 10 miles away for the night, and expects to be in Monson tomorrow afternoon. Monson is still 37 miles away, and at that rate, I don't see how he'll do it. Steve and John came later also. They stayed around the lean-to this morning to dry out some clothes, so they must have made good time this afternoon.

Ron

Tonight we are holding up in a tent at Sidney Tappan Campsite. We have high hopes we don't get run over by a moose tonight. Today the miles were long and hard, clouds prevented the sun from coming out to dry things off. Occasionally we hiked through a light drizzle. After several miles of stomping through bogs we came to the head waters of Pleasant River. The swift cold waters did not look particularly inviting. According to our guide book an easier high-water crossing could be found ¼ mile up stream at an old dam. We slogged across the dam in water thigh high. The water seemed to run just as cold and deep as the normal trail crossing. The heavy rain had made any chance of an easy crossing disappear.

After crossing the river we slogged along the trail another ¼ mile past another swollen stream until we decided to stop and wring out our socks. After about 8 soggy miles we reached White Cap Mt. Lean-to. We stayed in the lean-to for about almost two hours to fortify ourselves for our meeting with the mountains. The trail leaving the shelter was extremely steep with and slope of that felt like 50 degrees. The 3.8 miles the here from lean-to were very difficult and tiring.

Physically we are improving every day. Hopefully our shoes will dry out in a couple days - if the sun ever shines again. We saw our first car today since Abol bridge. We caught up with Steven Jackson after 12 miles. He'd better hurry up if he want's to beat the record. Tomorrow we hope to make 17 miles.

(12.0 Miles - 75.9 Total)