Appalachian Trail Section Hike #9 –Race Brook Falls Trail (Sheffield, MA) to Jerusalem Road (Tyringham, MA)
Dates: 8/11/06 – 8/13/06
Participants: Tim & Jeff
Friday August 11th
This was almost a spur-of-the-moment hike. The planning was in place but neither Tim nor I were 100% certain we could make it until the last minute. I was running late for my departure time on Friday afternoon but somehow managed to arrive at Jug End Road a minute before Tim. He got lost for a short time (his theme for the rest of the weekend). We left my truck at Jug End and shuttled down to the Race Brook Falls Trailhead for the 1300’ climb back up the ridge where we had ended the last hike.
It was 18:30 by the time we headed up the trail. Since we were ascending the east side of the ridge, dusk was approaching quickly. That was all the incentive I needed to push hard and minimize my breaks. We really lucked out with the weather for the weekend. It was cool and dry, compared to the hot and humid conditions we had endured while descending this trail only eight weeks earlier. Another significant difference was the absence of noise. The roar of the 100’ waterfall was missing. When we crossed the boulders at the bottom of the falls, there was only a slow trickle of water running down the steep slope.
As we approached the Race Brook camping area, the stillness of the forest was broken by boisterous yelling. My first conclusion was that some locals were having a party up on top of the ridge. The thought of a sleepless night was not a good one based on our proposed mileage for Saturday. Turns out that it was a youth group on an outing and they quieted down by the time we went to sleep. There was one empty tent platform near the trail and Tim graciously offered it to me while he looked for a flat spot to pitch his tent – as far away from me as possible. We both got settled in just before dark and enjoyed some Firewater Schnapps and the sounds of a Barred owl while catching up on work and family stories. At 22:00, we retired to our tents and I listened to some music for a short time before pulling myself deeper into my sleeping back and falling asleep.
Saturday, August 12th
It was great sleeping weather – around 45 degrees. Last night, I had made a mental note to ignore the signs of first light since we were camped on an east-facing slope. At 07:00, Tim gave me a not-so-subtle wake-up call by dropping my food bag and water bottles on the platform. I guess I took my mental note a bit too seriously. Damn… I wanted to be on the trail by 07:00! I packed quickly, downed two breakfast bars, and then hoisted the pack to finish the final .5 miles to regain the AT in the saddle between Race and Everett mountains.
We set off at 07:14 and reached the summit of Everett by 08:00. Just before the summit, we passed an older gentleman that has been sectioning southbound from Katahdin over the past four years. He was making better progress than the two of us. At the summit, I stood on a concrete support pad from the old fire tower but couldn’t see over the vegetation to enjoy the reported 360 degree views. That was a little disappointing since this was our tallest peak to date at 2602’. At least I had a clear view to the south of the last three peaks we had climbed.
I caught up with Tim at the Guilder Pond picnic area and made use of the clean and well-stocked privy. It even had an anti-bacterial hand cleaner dispenser! Suitably freshened up, I continued northward while Tim reviewed the map and elevation profiles. The terrain between Guilder Pond and Jug End was fairly benign with only gentle ascents and descents. Then came the steep descent of Jug End Mountain, the northern sentinel of the Taconic Range. I could feel my toes getting crushed into the front of my boots as I descended the steep sections. Still, I was feeling strong and knew that the first phase of today’s hike was almost complete. We passed a pair of southbound hikers near the end of the descent and they assured us that we were almost to the road where my truck was waiting. During the last 100’ of descent, Tim made a sudden charge from behind and got me to stop by saying that I dropped something. That bit of trickery got him past me and he mockingly celebrated finishing this section first. Little did he know that this bad karma would come back to bite him later in the day.
We dropped our packs into the back of the truck and quickly retrieved Tim’s car from down the road. Then it was time to shuttle one vehicle up to the end point of the hike near Tyringham. The 40-mile round trip (including a lunch stop) took 2.5 hours due to traffic in Great Barrington. The highpoint was definitely lunch at the Roadside Café in the town of Monterey. I ordered one of their specials which consisted of an egg, avocado slices, bacon and Swiss cheese on an English muffin and added a cup of spicy gazpacho soup. Tim opted for a BLT sandwich but didn’t get to enjoy the tasty regurgitation all afternoon like I did. During the shuttle, Tim discovered that two of the four eggs for our Sunday breakfast were cracked. Fortunately, we were able to purchase spares at the Roadside Café for a mere $0.75 each.
By 13:00, we were reloaded and again heading northbound towards the Berkshires and tonight’s lodging - the Tom Leonard shelter. The first six miles were almost perfectly flat and crossed two of the highways we had just used during the shuttling. We were making great time until we reached the Route 7 crossing and found a note advertising home made ice cream and snacks just 0.1 mile to the left. Small side trips like this usually add some spice to the journey and we both agreed to take a short break. A fellow hiker flagged us down when she saw that we couldn’t find the place. It was a small garden shop with a gazebo out front complete with table & chairs. I’ve always wanted to take a mid-day break for a pint of ice cream and a soda, so I did. The hiker was a southbounder and gave us updates on the water and terrain ahead. We lounged in the shade of the gazebo and enjoyed quiet conversation. Based on our progress over the last three years, I stated that eventually one of us would be completing a memorial hike for the other. Tim was itching to complete the last 6.4 miles of the day and left me in the gazebo with my coffee ice cream. Two more southbounders arrived just as I was leaving and I passed another within five minutes.
I saw Tim up ahead as he re-entered the thick woods for the last few climbs of the day. As soon as I reached that point, I dropped my pack and mixed up some Gatorade in preparation for the coming ascents. The climbs weren’t too steep or long, but the combination of a full stomach and general fatigue had me crawling over the last 5.1 miles. I hoped Tim wasn’t worried and wondered if he would come looking for me once he made it safely to the shelter. It was 19:30 when the shelter roof finally came into view and I descended the steep and rocky trail to find that Tim had not yet arrived. A Ridge Runner from the Appalachian Mountain Club was there with his black lab puppy and told me that the only other person present was a hiker named Pete. I dropped my pack at the picnic table and tried to imagine where I could have passed Tim. After all, it had taken me almost 4.5 hours to hike this 5.1 miles and Tim seemed to be moving pretty well when I last saw him.
Before I could begin to think about what to do next, I saw Tim coming down the shelter trail. He explained that when the trail entered the woods, he mistakenly turned right onto a broad, clear trail, a trail without any white blazes. Then he followed this nice trail until it dead-ended. Figuring out that he might have made a mistake, he returned to the point where the trail entered the woods and proceeded to walk up and down the road. Finally, he re-entered the woods, turned left and immediately saw a white blaze right in the spot where I had stopped to mix up my Gatorade. So he was behind me the whole time I was struggling up the mountain, adding miles that don’t count towards our totals. Bad karma’s a bitch…
We were both too tired to cook or eat our freeze-dried dinners and opted for some simple snacks. Tim slunk off to his tent for the evening while I stayed up to chat with the Ridge Runner dude (never did get his name). Just before dark, he asked me if I would care to drink a cold beer that he had brought along for any thru-hikers at the shelter. Since there weren’t any and it made no sense to carry out a full beer, he offered it to me. Although I was beat, I was polite enough to accept his offer and enjoyed a cold IPA while we talked about music and his experiences hiking the trail. Surprisingly, he remembered seeing Tim, I and the kids at the Laurel Ridge campsite during our June hike and was also at the Race Brook trail junction with his family when we left the AT. Small trail world… Afterwards, I ended the evening with music from the .mp3 player and the sounds of mosquitoes buzzing around my head.
Sunday, August 13th
I woke up early after hearing the lab puppy playing in the leaves outside of the shelter. The Ridge Runner didn’t look like he was ready to get up so I enjoyed the warmth of my sleeping bag for another 30 minutes before beginning the pack-up process. I had just finished tying my boots when I heard Tim packing up his tent with some ‘help’ from the puppy. Our first order of business was cooking up the infamous trailside egg sandwiches. Tim had brought along Canadian bacon as an added treat. Upon completion, we had a breakfast better than anything McDonald’s could produce. When Tim commented on the empty beer bottles, I explained that yesterday’s bad karma had caused him to miss out on a nice treat.
The next task was fetching water from the bottom of the gulch. Even without packs it was a tough descent and ascent, although we had no choice as we were both out of water. The Ridge Runner had warned us that water sources would be scarce through the rest of our hike and we should tank up whenever we had the opportunity. Tim got loaded up first and headed out a few minutes before me to complete today’s 13-mile hike. Within a minute, Tim called down to me and explained that the puppy was following him. It took a good bit of whistling and calling before the pup came back down to the shelter. While it was preoccupied with an empty water bottle, I snuck up the shelter trail in a bid to make my escape. Unfortunately, while I stopped to take this picture of the Ice Gulch, I heard the puppy crashing through the woods to follow me. It took a few pokes from my hiking poles and a bit of yelling before the lab realized that I didn’t want it to follow me any more. The Ridge Runner slept through all of this commotion as if something (or someone) had kept him awake all night…
I caught up with Tim at the Route 23 parking area. He looked pretty beat from yesterday’s ordeal and was applying a piece of moleskin to one of his feet. My feet weren’t feeling too bad and I was ready for a longer break at Benedict Pond. A northbound thru-hiker passed us before we got moving and we caught up to him at the Pond. He started four months ago and seemed to be moving at a fairly relaxed pace. When I saw him later in the day, he was lounging on some rocks at the edge of a beaver pond while reading a paperback. I wished that I had the same freedom to enjoy a sunny spot on a beautiful day.
At Benedict Pond, I stopped and washed out my shirt and headband before removing my boots and soaking my feet in the cool, clear water. I would have liked to go for a swim but there were lots of people walking around the pond loop trail and I don’t think they would have appreciated seeing my bare ass (among other things). Tim set our before me but I caught up to him just before the South Wilcox Mountain shelter. It looks that my recent bicycle workouts have done something to improve my hiking stamina. We stopped at the shelter for lunch, a privy visit and filtering water from a small spring-fed pool at the base of a large tree. During lunch, we reviewed the maps and saw that the majority of our climbing was done for the day. We agreed to meet at the Beartown Mountain Road crossing for our next break but ended up staying pretty close to each other over the next 2.4 miles. This road crossing was significant as it marked the beginning of a relatively flat 2-mile stretch and we needed to pick up the pace a bit.
After a short break, we headed out and struggled with a small blazing issue. There was a blaze right across the road from us and obvious signs of foot traffic. However, after a short bushwhack, we hit the actual trail and realized that the crossing wasn’t marked as clearly as we would have liked. I had a similar situation earlier in the day when I crossed Lake Buel Road and saw blazes on two telephone poles to my left. After a short road walk, I realized that something wasn’t right and walked back to find that the first white blaze across the street was not in plain view. The blazes on the telephone poles must have been old and should have been removed or painted over. Yeah… it’s easy to criticize the trail markings when you’re not a trail maintainer, but the quantity and quality of the blazing certainly changes from section to section.
I got my second wind through the following flat stretch and made great time on the steep side-hill descent to the Shaker campground. The descent was unique because the hill was covered in short, dense foliage and the trail was a thin ribbon of dirt running diagonally downward. I surprised a doe that was bedded just off the trail and watched her leap through the ground cover with nary a tree between us. At the Shaker campsite, I propped my hiking poles at the trail junction to make sure Tim would know that I was waiting for him. It was a nice change of pace being out in front. I always feel a bit rushed when I’m lagging behind and don’t take the time to make adjustments to my boots or gear during the day. Today, I took two boots-off breaks and ate plenty of snacks to keep the engine fully stoked with fuel.
We only had 1.8 miles to cover from the campsite to Tim’s car, but it crossed the last challenge of the day – the Tyringham Cobble. A cobble is a hill that has been separated from the nearby mountains due to erosion. As soon as I felt that the slope of the ascent was decreasing, I turned on the afterburners and flew over the last mile. The roof of Tim’s car came into view and I was happy to drop my pack and guzzle the last of my water while waiting for Tim to amble down the hill. He was only a couple of minutes behind me and I was able to get a picture of him from the front (for a change!) as he finished the section.
Technically, we have been hiking in New England since we arrived in Kent, CT some 75 miles to the south. But for some reason, I’m only beginning to notice the trademark architecture and views since we passed Jug End. Maybe it was the small-town charm of Great Barrington, Monterey and Tyringham. Or maybe it’s the people we met along the way. All that I know for sure is that I am eagerly awaiting my return to Tyringham to continue our trek northward.
We drove back to Jug End for the last time while savoring a pair of cold Cokes and comfortable seats. Looking back, we have stopped at that specific trail crossing six different times over the last two section hikes. I made it home by 23:00 after an agonizingly slow stop for a fast-food dinner. It seems crazy to drive close to 600 miles just to hike 30 miles of trail, but the satisfaction makes it all worthwhile.
Mileage Summary – 1.5 miles on Friday, 16.7 miles on Saturday, and 13.0 miles on Sunday. Total AT miles: 29.2. Cumulative AT miles: 288.1.
Trail Summary – Not bad except the terrain and trail routing on late Saturday afternoon. The section between Jug End and Route 7 was about the nicest we have hiked to date.
Hiker Count – Three backpackers on Saturday morning and another four on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, we ran into a bunch of people in the morning but only one day hiker after our lunch stop
Wildlife Count – Flushed a grouse on Saturday and almost stepped on a garter snake and a toad. On Sunday, I jumped a large doe.
Blister Count – My typical right big-toe blister, but it didn’t really bother me.
Lessons learned – We pretty much nailed this hike. Saturday would have been easier if we wouldn’t have wasted 2.5 hours with shuttling and lunch. That would have given us a nice cushion at the end of the day. Sunday was short enough to finish in plenty of time to drive home. I didn’t carry too much food and never ran out of water. All-in-all, it was an honest 29-mile hike through challenging terrain with no problems.