[at-l] Ready's Journal August 1 TD 48

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

As planned, we got a late start. It was luxurious lounging
in the tent, watching the mosquitos outside the netting
and knowing they couldn't feast on us at this moment.
Except for the obnoxiously loud youth campers nearby
it was a wonderful morning.
Once packed up, it took some time to hike up to the shelter;
we were really way down low below it. We found out from
one of the hikers there that the Barefoot Sisters were only
about an hour or so ahead of us!. We hoped to catch them
  but knew that this would be a long shot.
The hiking involved lots of climbing today and only some
descents and level walking. Mostly it was on undulating hills,
but with an inordinate number of sections involving rocky or
bog bridge stepping.
It was another absolutely perfect hiking day - clear and cool
with low humidity. We saw beautiful trees, meadows, pastures,
and fields of luscious ferns. The magnificent white birches are
becoming common up here in the north.
At one point, after having just crossed through some particularly
verdant stretches of ferns, we suddenly came into a stand of
evergreens, hemlocks? Don't adjust your tv screen!
As far as the eye could see it was all clay-red! It was disturbing.
Everything had that same hue - the tree trunks, forest floor,
and the backdrop. What was most startling was its abruptness.
You could actually see the "line" at which the color world went
monochrome.
Very strange.
We each found today's section of trail especially beautiful.
Only wildlife however were the squirrels and chipmunks; we
saw lots of large tree toads and several bright green frogs.
We found Isis and Jackrabbit at the trailside eating lunch.
We joined them and chatted awhile. We determined that we
had probably missed them yesterday as they had crossed
Rte-7. We had been at the Corn Crib enjoying lunch while
they were meeting - would you believe it!? - Feix!? He had
been en route to Maine for a month-long hike. What a
shame to have missed him.
On the other hand, how fortunate to have run into the Barefoot
Sisters! They were heading to Upper Goose Pond, our destination
for tomorrow. We should be able to meet up with them again
then, as they were taking a zero day there.
We hiked on after lunch and while hiking decided that we wanted
to stop and see Kimosabe and Mother Hen tonight if possible,
pick up our maildrop and handle some chores. We'd then hike
out a short distance for Upper Goose Pond.
Spur headed out ahead of me to pick up our maildrop in Tyringham.
I hiked on at a slower pace and met him at Jerusalem Road.
I reached the road only minutes after Spur and watched him
hurry up the road to the PO .8 miles away. I hauled out his pack
which he'd stowed in a grassy patch just before the road crossing,
had time to birdbath at the roadside spring and begin my journaling.

Spur was back shortly after, grinning. He'd managed to reach
Kimosabe and Mother Hen. Plans had been set. They'd pick
us up at Tyringham Road one mile north on the trail. We were
happy and so were they. Apparently Mother Hen had inadvertently
shut off their answering machine and was worried she'd missed
our call. They'd walked in the door from three days of being away
not 5 minutes before Spur's call!
We crossed a meadow of grazing cows, walked the one mile and
then waited in the shade for our hosts. They ferried us to their
beautiful home where we spent a splendid evening.
We had a terrific meal of spaghetti, garlic bread, beans, salad,
lots of ice, cold lemonade - and all was topped off with cake and
ice cream! The dining room window gave a superb view of the
sunset above trees and a beautiful green field.
We got laundry done and each took a glorious shower. We
spent some time on the computer reading email and looking
at photos. We spoke with Spur's mom about some meds that
might be useful for relieving the sciatica and found the phone
numbers for some chiropractors and pharmacies to call tomorrow.
My parents had sent a package of all kinds of goodies -
Lipton's, leek soup, cocoa, Danish candy, shampoo, etc.
Even a tiny backpack jammed with stuff! What fun! We'd
be sorting our maildrop and this package tomorrow.
We got to bed pretty late and journaled well into the night.
  It sure was good to be in a soft, clean bed.


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