Day 50 - Monday, August 1

Linda

There was no sign of Warren when we got started this morning. Walked down about a mile and came on a camp beside the trail with two packs and a tarp set up. We could see someone on the ground, so figured they were still asleep. When we walked by we saw why old Warren hadn't passed us the night before. He was otherwise occupied with one of the three females on his expedition. I couldn't believe it! They didn't even bother to stop long enough to speak, so we just went on. Our big chance to meet the him - and all we see is his back! The myth dies hard! We'd been dying to tell him we met Steve Jackson in Maine, and that regardless of how quirky he might have been, he seemed serious about blasting non-stop through the AT, breaking Warren's current 66 day record. We probably wouldn't have mentioned it, but we did at least want to talk this living legend. Bummer!

Anyway, after that we went on down to Sage's Ravine and washed off in one of the pools. It was so cool and nice down there. The trail followed the stream for a good ways, then went straight up from the Massachusetts-Connecticut state line to Bear Mt. which wasn't particularly long, but had a lot of rock climbing. It was also very hot and humid by then. From there, it was pretty easy walking on nice trails over Lion's Head and through some farm areas. We were going to eat lunch at the Limestone Spring Lean-to, but it was no longer there. The spring was very cold and good, so we just sat on the ground and ate. There were two kids near the spring chopping down trees like mad to make a lean-to to camp in. Ronald spoke to them about stopping, but they kept on anyway.

After we left Limestone Spring, we went on toward Barrack Mt. mostly on roads. Met a guy who said there was good camping at Dean's Ravine, but the lean-to was a dump. We stopped for a refreshment break at the Village Restaurant just before Barrack and had root beer and ice cream and signed the hiker's register. The climb over Barrack wasn't long, but it was another steep, rocky one. It did reward us at the top with a nice view, though. We picked our way down the boulders on the other side, and headed for Dean's Ravine. Passed a group of 17 girls headed there also. When we got there we found a group of boys and no lean-to. Never trust a short term hiker for information! It was a pretty area, though, cool and shaded, with big trees all around, and a few picnic tables. Ronald was tired and his feet were hurting, plus we weren't sure how good the next shelter would be, so we set up the tarp and fixed dinner.

What happened next will be a story to remember for years. Our first big mistake was in not going the extra mile and a half to the next shelter. A thundershower was predicted, and it hit about 5:30. The boys packed up and left, and if we had any sense, we would have gone with them. That was our second mistake. As soon as the rain hit, we had a river of mud flowing right through the tarp. It was bearable at first, and we managed to keep things relatively dry through dinner, but it soon became obvious we couldn't stick it out for the night. It all happened so quickly, we just had to react without thinking. There wasn't even time for me to remind Ronald about how it was his idea to send the tent home, just days before, because we didn't need it and it was unnecessary weight. There will be time for that later. We got everything totally soaked and covered with mud trying to pack up, then once we had our packs on our backs we weren't sure just what to do.

Here we were standing there, in a dark, mud flowing ravine, soaking wet, covered with mud with a thunderstorm raging around us. We didn't know if it would be better to go on down the trail, or backtrack on the road. We opted for walking back on the road with the idea of finding a house to ask for shelter in a garage or shed or something. We didn't find anything, and ended up walking all the way back to the Village Restaurant where we had stopped earlier in the day. They also have cabins for rent. When we got there, they were closed, but we met two counselors from the girls group who were also flooded out were there waiting for a ride. They showed us a note on the door to call the owners if needed, and then loaned us a dime, since we couldn't scrounge up any change. We called Charlie the owner and explained our plight, and he came down to bring us a key. We gladly paid the $15 for a cabin and Ronald even bought a whole blueberry pie while we were back in Charlie's kitchen paying.

The cabin was much nicer than your typical "clean cabin", and it looked like a palace to me. We quickly unpacked all our rain and mud soaked belongings, then each took long hot showers. We washed off a few things in the shower with us, like the pads and the tarp and the muddy clothes. The placed looked like a Chinese laundry with stuff hanging up to dry everywhere. We ate most of the blueberry pie, then fell into bed. What a day! At least it ended pleasantly. We weren't struck by lightening, I got to see Warren Doyle's back, and I finally got a shower after 14 days! What more could I ask for!

Ron

Fortunately the storm did not break last night. The haze was so thick you could barely see houses in the valley. About a mile out of camp we found Doyle lying arm in arm with one of the female members of his group. We didn't think it appropriate to disturb him, so we just walked on by. Although I did want to ask him if he'd seen Jackson lately.

We continued on down to the beautiful Sages Ravine. It would be a nice place to camp with all of the campsites along the brook. We resupplied our water and I took a couple of pictures then headed on to the next state. I was a bit disappointed that there was no boundary sign between Massachusetts and Connecticut. Just a sign stating that the land was AMC owned. The climb up Bear Mountain was steep and the high humidity made it worse. There was a good breeze on top that helped to cool us down. Coming down off Bear Mountain, the trail was long and gradual. The only steep part was coming down off Lions Head.

There was about a mile of road walking followed by a steep ascent up a ridge. We hiked another couple of miles to where the lean-to was supposed to be. Seems like someone had burned it down. We stopped in the area anyway to eat lunch. A couple of boys were there cutting down trees to build a frame for there tarp. I gave them a lecture on the destruction, but it didn't seem to do any good.

Lunch was followed by several miles of road walking before Barrack Mountain. We stopped in at a coffee shop just before the mountain to fortify ourselves for the climb. Well, the climb after lunch wasn't bad at all, although the descent was mean to the knees and feet. We passed a group of 17 girls on the way down and we were off to Dean's Ravine.

We found a nice place to camp just down from a large group of boys. With a chance of showers we setup the tent fly. About the time I had just finished cooking supper the thunder began. Linda piled leaves under the fly for ground protection. Meanwhile, I raced around putting everything away. Everything was cleared and I was crawling under the fly when the rain began. It was slow and steady at first, and then came the downpour.

We sat under the tent fly eating our macaroni and cheese just hoping to stay dry. Soon, little rivers of water started flowing in under the fly, so we rearrange things and kept most stuff dry. By the time we finished our pudding, the rain had just about stopped. I went out and got a few things from the packs and spread around some more rain gear for protection.

Again the rain came - only this time there were big rivers of mud flowing in under the fly. There was no way to keep anything dry. We finally decided to pack out and try to find somewhere dry to reorganize. Everything was getting wet and dirty. The packs, sleeping bags, clothes were all sopping. Somehow we managed to keep the books dry. Linda was handing stuff out from under the tarp and I just threw them into the packs, and not trying to make sure it was arranged correctly or even in the right pack.

Finally we got it all packed up and we were off. I was nervous about hiking in a thunder storm, but we had little choice. It was getting dark and we had to go. The road was only 200 feet from our camp, so we hiked over and headed downhill. We stopped at the first house but no one was home. Hiking down the mountain we ended up back at the coffee shop where we had stopped earlier. When we arrived, two of the counselors from the girls group were calling for help to pack them out. The boys group had left before the rain.

There were cabins behind the coffee shop. We called the owner and rented a cabin for $15. I also bought a blueberry pie. We got our room and proceeded to unpack and spread out our wet stuff. While Linda took a bath I hung clothes lines and hung everything out. With that task completed I sat down and ate half the pie. It was very good. By the time I had finished the pie, Linda was through. I took my first bath in 14 days. Believe me, it was nice. We just finished getting things straightened out and finally hit the sack at 11:00.

(18.8 Miles - 674.2 Total)