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[at-l] SWHS Spring AT hike part 2

Sherman Brook Campsite         4/22/97        Tuesday                  Day  4

     Arrived in camp about 5:00 PM  after walking in snow from the summit of
Greylock until noon.  We did use the notch road for about 2 miles to deal
with the difficult snow conditions.  A grandfather and grandson team was
heading up to the summit.  "Happy Hiker" finished all but 500 miles of AT 25
years ago.  Raising a family prevented him from completing his hike.  His
daughters never got into hiking and his wife never liked it.  But his
grandson wants to finish the 500 miles with his grandfather.  This dynamic
duo completed all of the New England 4000 footers in 18 months.  They are
chomping at the bit to begin their backpack waiting for school to get out for
the summer.  This week is Spring vacation in most of New England.  So the two
have been car camping and hiking in preperation for their Summer hike.  They
live in eastern Maine.  The grandson Aaron is all excited about trailplace
web site after I described it to him.  He does not own a computer but his
friend has one at home and often surfs the web with Aaron.
     Happy Hiker was getting muscle cramps in his thigh so he walked down
with us and offered to slack pack some of us into N. Adams when we got to his
pickup truck.  Three of us had a great walk into town.  He then drove three
girls to a Stop & Shop for food and supplies while Tom watched all of our
gear at trailhead in North Adams.  What a great team - maybe my daughters
will bless me with a grandson who likes to backpack,  they better get started
since I am aging fast.  Tom and I ate lunch on the side of the trail while we
waited for the girls.
    We had a pleasant hike from town to the tentsite (about  2 miles.)  There
are 3 tent platforms, just enough for us.  They are spreadout for privacy.
 So, Tom and I had a pleasant and quiet dinner.  I am very tired and hope to
get to sleep by 7:30 PM.  I think it will be easy to sleep tonight  since we
have privacy.  We need to get up early tomorrow because we will be doing a 13
mile day.  And there will be  snow at higher altitudes (2500 feet). 
Congdon Shelter              4/23/97               Wednesday            Day 5

     A very long day with 13+ miles.  More than half the hike was uphill.
 Not real steep but steady.  The north side of the slopes were covered with
snow.  Sometimes I sunk up to my thigh in snow and slush.  It did not take
long to get my socks wet.  The south side of the hills were dry but uphill.
 So we had to work for every step we made all day long.  
     Sarah is having problems with her heels.  She has no blisters but her
heels appear to be bruised.  She purchased her boots a half size large so she
could wear two pairs of socks.  She broke the boots in by wearing them to
school for over a month.  She did some long walks in them and was sure the
were ready for our long hike.  But when we walk uphill her heels become very
sore.  I taped her feet with moleskin which helped but not enough.  She takes
slow long steps therefore is walking faster then she appears.
     We stopped at Seth Warner Shelter access trail for a break about 11:30
AM.  While everyone else had a snack I hiked in to the Shelter for photos for
TrailPlace.  The register indicated that a northbound Long Trail Thru Hiker
had been there on Sunday and another started north on April 13th.  The second
must have had a heck of a time dealing with the storm on 4/18-19.  Wish I
knew how he made out.
   When we left Seth Warner area we planned to summit an unnamed mountain
(3200ft) then go down slightly to a power line.  We decided to meet again at
the power line to make sure everyone was ok and to eat some lunch.  Kate and
Robyn headed out first.  Crystal and Kristen stayed to have a small lunch.
 Tom, Sarah and I left shortly after Kate and Robyn.  We did not catch up
with Kate and Robyn until 3:00 PM.  They were waiting at the power lines.
 Hiking down through the snow proved very strenuous.  I love the snow and
enjoy skiing so was in my element but it was still a time consuming effort.
 Kate and Robyn had been waiting for a while and wre getting cold so I sent
them own then waited for Crystal and Kristen.  When Tom got to the power
lines we decided he should keep as close the the leaders as possible so he
headed out to catch up whith them.  He did not catch them until reaching this
shelter.  Kate and Robyn are two of the strongest hikers I have ever had the
pleasure of hiking with.  I fed Sarah a powerbar and a tuna fish sandwich on
tortilla shell.  That sort of perked her up for the next five mile leg of
todays hike.  She took just as Crystal and Kristen reached the powerlines.  I
stayed with C&K while they took a break.  I decided I needed to be the last
into camp today to bring up the rear.  We didnot leave the powerlines until
after 3:30 PM.
   We continued to hike through snow and mud.  Up dry hills and down snow
covered hills.  Then level areas were often through bogs with bog bridges.
 The most trecherous sections involved hiking a bog bridge covered with snow.
 Sometimes you ould not tell where the bridge ended and the bog began so you
would get a boot full of cold water.  Othertimes the bridge would be very
slippery with slush and ice.  As the afternoon progressed Kriten began to
move a little faster then the rest of us so pretty soon she was out of sight.
 About 5:30 we caught up with Sarah.  Crystal began the get ahead of Sarah.
 I stayed with Sarah to make sure she was not alone.  We finally made it into
to camp at 7:05 PM.  Kate and Robyn arrived about 6 and Tom about 6:15.  This
shelter has four bunks with a table that takes all of the floor space
remaining.  The bunks are double so Tom and I occupy one bunk and Sarah is
the lucky girl with a bunk to herself.  We are exhausted but fullfilled from
a great day of hiking.  It is kind of sad knowing that the hike will be over
tomorrow morning.  Along the trail today we saw moose scat and moose tracks
in the snow.  I heard an owl while hiking.
   We cooked most of the remaining food for dinner tonight.  Then talked and
joked until about 9:00 PM.   Awwww what a grat day.  :)



Pizza Hut   North Adams Ma.             4/24/97	Thursday		Day 6

     Well the hike is over.  Today was pretty easy with less then four miles
mostly downhill and with no snow.  We slept until 8:00 AM our latest morning
so far.  Most of us did not eat much for breakfast anticipating a stop for
food after reaching the van.  We left the shelter in small groups.  Tom and I
were last making a special point to police the area pickingup any trash we
could find and sweeping out the shelter.  We did not see the girls again
until we reached the final downhill strech.  It is very steep decending to
route 9 just east of Bennington.  Crystal finds it very difficult hiking
downhill so I passed her just before reaching the highway at Noon.  We
cleaned up a little at the van.  Some of us had a change of clothing others
had just a change of shoes.
   We headed into Bennington for gas and lunch but there was no fastfood
pizza joint.  We headed toward North Adams to get Tom's car and to find food.
 Passing through the beautiful town of Williamston we stopped to checkout the
only pizza restaurant but the girls felt we were too grungee for this
setting.
  In N. Adams we found this Pizza Hut.  After ordering three pizzas and three
pictures of soda Kate noticed Theran sitting at a both not far from our
table.  We invited him over, took some pictures and related some trail
stories.  I drove Theran back to the trail head while waiting for the pizza
to cook.  It has been a great trip.  We plan to stop in Greenfield for ice
cream then get home about 5 PM.

(We are now planning our Summer hike in the Whites.  Hope to do about 50
miles.)
                   
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