Trail Recap 20 of 27: N Adams, MA to Rutland, VT

Pine Cobble Trail near the VT/MA border to Cold River, SE of Rutland, VT:  91.7 mi.

General Impression/Theme:  Long Trail.  This section of the AT 'piggybacks' on the older Long Trail for roughly 100 miles between the Massachusetts border and US 4 near Killington Mountain.

People:  'Twisted Knickers' and 'Matchbox' - headed north from Dalton, MA on a twelve day outing.  We crossed paths on at least eight of those days.  'Corky', headed to Katahdin, hiking in her Crocs, as always - kept up with her strong pace for about an hour one day and thoroughly enjoyed her company.  Thru-hikers 'Swiss Miss' and 'Alien', a couple from Switzerland doing the trail on a 6 month tourist visa.  More thru hikers: 'Whistler' and 'Two Cents' and 'Orange Lightening'.  On a break from the trail to take care of business in MD and NC I stopped in at the ATC office in Harper's Ferry and ran into thru-hikers 'X and N Trovert', husband and wife team who reached Katahdin on September 25th.  'X,' who lives up to her trail name, went to the same High School as I did and is the younger sister of my brother's High School buddy.

Supply/Overnight:  AT trailhead parking lots, Municipal parking area in Bennington, VT,  Manchester Center Price Chopper and EMS outfitter.

Worst Memory:  Two:  First, losing the trail temporarily in dense fog on the open summit of Bromley Mountain.  Second, hearing the news (while in Harper's Ferry) that a hiker died on the trail and then immediately learning that it was someone I had met twice on the trail, Paul 'Parkside' Bernhardt.  It felt like I had been stabbed in the heart - could barely breathe for a while.

Best Day Hike:  This was a tough choice.  Because of its overall appeal along the entire length of the hike, I'll go with the two mile walk to (and around) Little Rock Pond from Danby-Landgrove Road.  The trail follows a babbling stream among lush, dense vegetation for most of the way.

Close second, with a fairly long hike to get to the 'payoff', is the climb to Glastenbury Mountain fire tower from VT 9.  This is a wilderness area and the panoramic view from the fire tower is of a pristine landscape.

Similar fine views are available from the Stratton Mountain fire tower, accessible via the AT or from the adjacent ski area.

Finally Prospect Rock, a fairly short hike up from Manchester Center (or you can even drive up via Old Rootsville Road), offers excellent views of the Manchester area and westward.

Red Eft (juvenile Eastern spotted newt), doing the AT road walk along Kelly Stand Road

Trail Recap 19 of 27: Great Barrington to N Adams, MA

AT approaching Mt. Greylock summit, one of my top photos

Prettiest private garden/yard of any that the AT passes thru: Mass. Ave, N. Adams

Jug End Road, South Egremont, near Great Barrington, MA to Pine Cobble Trail, just a few miles from the VT border:  78.9 miles.

General Impression/Theme:  Bugs!  The mosquitoes were swarming and agressive, especially on the high swampy plateau south of Pittsfield, MA.  The deer flies made their first appearance, and the black flies had not yet quit for the season.

People:  'Sawdog', very hard working MA ridge runner, doing active maintenance work, met twice in three days. Thru hikers 'Tetris', the other 'Maverick', and 'Patches'.  This was my second meeting with 'Patches', first was near Newfound Gap in the Smokies.  Langdon 'Grey Goose' Potts, from TN, who I also met twice in three days, a 52 year old who quit his corporate job to hike the AT and turn his life in a new direction.   Marcus 'Spoon' Siu, my second meeting: one of the tightknit foursome I first met at Icewater Spring Shelter in Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  Nancy E. from Maine, the caretaker for the week at Upper Goose Pond Shelter, avid Maine hiker, great listener and all around enjoyable and caring person.

Supply/Overnight:  Trailhead parking lots, Holiday Inn Express (for a second time) at Great Barrington; Dalton/Pittsfield Wal-Mart, Price Chopper, and Old Country Buffet;  Cheshire, MA; North Adams Price Chopper.

Worst Memory:  Being caught in a thunderstorm on the exposed ridge of East Mountain.  Thunder, lightning, strong wind, a deluge of rain: the raw power of nature hit home.

Telephoto shot of Cheshire Cobbles from AT north of town

Best Day Hike:  I'll give the nod to the hike up to Cheshire Cobbles from the town of Cheshire, MA.  It's a popular day hike and even the walk thru town is a pleasure, very clean and neat.  The view from the rock outcrop is beautiful, and includes the town, Cheshire Reservoir, and Mt. Greylock.

The available short or long hikes around Mt. Greylock have to be my second choice (you can drive to the summit).

Then there's the popular vista point at Warner Hill, southeast of Pittsfield. It's not a high peak, but offers an excellent panoramic view from an open summit meadow and rock outcrop.  The most popular approach is the short one, just a half mile from Blotz Road, but be sure to hike past the summit meadows and on north for more peaceful meadow walking.

Trail Recap 18 of 27: Poughquag, NY to Great Barrington, MA

Resident overseer of the NY Metro AT train station:

The only place you can catch a train directly from the AT (only on weekends) -

NY highway 22 near Pawling

Nuclear Lake, near Poughquag, NY to Jug End Road, South Egremont, MA (just west of Great Barrington), 75.1 miles

General Impression/Theme:  Upscale neighborhoods and towns.  This entire section of the AT (starting at Warwick, NY and extending up to Cheshire, MA) passes through exclusive, high income areas with palatial homes and large estate-like tracts.  The trail towns are packed with high-end shops and restaurants, while things like laundromats are scarce.

People:  'Wisconsin', Mech. Engineering Student who has spent the last three summer breaks doing the AT.  This year he finished the trail, accomplishing the northern third of it despite being hit so hard by Lyme Disease that he couldn't hike one last mile to get to Salisbury (his Dad came to the rescue).  'Day-Glo' and 'Bluebird', a married couple hiking a big section from Del. Water Gap to North Adams, MA. Steve 'Salty' Wilkinson from Graysonville, MD, and 'Peanut Eater', transplant from England, living for the last 35 years in LA, both on successful NoBo thru-hikes.

Supply/Overnight:  IGA at Kent, CT; Salisbury, CT; Trailhead Parking Lots; Great Barrington Holiday Inn Express (20% hiker discount) and grocery stores.

Worst Memory:  The downside of upscale: spoiled kids, underage drinkers, carrying their contraband up to vista points along the AT, drinking, and leaving all their trash on site.  There were some pretty trashy places through this section, and perhaps a shortage of volunteer trail guardians and maintainers.

Best Day Hike:  My favorite is the remote section beside the Housatonic River (no roads this side of the river) between River Road, just north of Kent, CT and Cornwall Bridge, CT.  The trail runs right along the river with constant pleasant views.  Another excellent shorter piece of riverside walking on the Housatonic is the popular section from Bulls Bridge south to Tenmile River.

A very close second (it was hard to choose) is the hike that parallels Undermountain Road near the CT/MA state line.  Park at one of the two side-trail Trailheads on that road (CT/MA 41) and hike the Undermountain trail to the AT, cross Bear Mountain, CT with its stone monument and excellent view, Sage's Ravine with its wonderful roaring stream and waterfalls, then back up to the precarious cliff-edge walk along Race Mountain, affording constant excellent views to the east.  Then hike back down to Undermountain Road via the Race Brook Falls Trail, or do the whole thing in reverse.  You can also access this section from the west, parking in the Guilder Pond Day-Use parking area, but be sure to get in and out before the gate closes.  I gave this hike 'runner-up' status simply because it's a more common type of AT scenery (a summit, an exposed ridge walk and a walk beside a roaring stream) than the Housatonic river walk.

Finally, I highly recommend the hike past Rand's View and the Giant's Thumb (a significant natural standing stone).  Going up to it from Falls Village, CT, you can also take in the handicapped accessible loop of trail southward alongside the river, and visit the Great Falls of the Housatonic.

Trail Recap 17 of 27: Warwick to Poughquag, NY

Fingerboard Shelter, built in 1928, the oldest and most picturesque AT shelter

Barrett Rd, NJ, south of Warwick, NY to Nuclear Lake near Poughquag, NY:  82.1 miles

General Impression/Theme:  Low points.  In this section the AT reaches its lowest elevation; and in my hike I reached my physical and emotional low point.  For more elaboration on the latter, see the 'Worst Memory' section below.

People:  Too many to mention:  Thru hikers 'Goose', 'Blue Grass', 'Maverick', and 'Groundhog'.  Second meeting with Eric 'Bomber' McKinley, who finished his thru hike and is now enlisted in the Air Force, training to become part of (what else) an elite Bomb squad.  'Spiral' and 'Swivel', fast moving ultra-light thru-hikers who were to become part of the 'Parkside Fellowship' that delivered Paul's ashes to the summit of Katahdin.  Other than NoBo thru-hikers I met a number of notable personalities:  Kirk and Cindy Sinclair (The 'Hiking Humanitarian') heading north to their home in Norfolk, CT from Cape Henlopen, Delaware after finishing a year-long thru-hike of the American Discovery Trail - first ones to do it west to east.  A section hiker with a condition called aphasia - a speech/language handicap (result of a stroke), who seemed thoroughly disoriented on our last meeting yet unable to verbalize his problem and unable to absorb my directions - I've worried about him ever since.  A hard working and very helpful maintainer N of the William Brien Shelter (didn't get a name).  And last but certainly not least , the blind but amazingly fast hiker Andres with his friend and guide Chuck.

Supply/Overnight:  Warwick, NY Price Chopper (south of town), trailhead parking lots, the Wal-Mart in Harriman, NY.

Worst Memory:  As I crossed into New York and hiked the difficult rocky spine of Bellvale Mountain alongside Greenwood Lake I found myself descending into a personal abyss, both physically and mentally.  It nearly ended my hike.  I was feeling like a zombie every evening - far beyond merely exhausted, I was too spent to even eat.  Most of all, I was no longer confident that I could achieve my goals - the toll that the tough hiking put on my body led me to question whether I would be physically able to get through the White Mountains and Maine.

I took three days off and went back home - making no promises that I would ever return to the trail.  I did some serious soul searching.  I studied maps, hoping to discover ways I could get through the tough sections without having to hike unreasonable distances in a day.

In the end, my map study proved successful - there were ways to hike every piece of trail ahead and still follow my self imposed rule: off the trail and back 'home' by midnight every night.  And the three days' rest restored me physically.  I had seen my weight drop dangerously low - down to 146 pounds on my 6 foot 2 inch frame.  I had been pushing myself to continue to hike the same miles I had been accustomed to in PA and farther south even though the trail had become much more difficult.

I decided to go back and continue to try to push north, but with an adjusted attitude.  I would take it easier, slower, not force myself to make any particular deadline.  I would listen more closely to my body, and I would take care to keep it properly fed, nourished, and rested.

Needless to say, it worked.  Within a week of returning to the trail, my energy and enthusiasm were back.  I was loving the adventure again, and ultimately I was able to see it through to the end.

Stone Steps, south (west) side of Bear Mountain

Best Day Hike:  I have to go with the obvious choice: The Bear Mountain Park vicinity along the Hudson River.  I recommend hiking up and over the mountain and all the way down the other side to Seven Lakes Road (there are good parking areas on either end and on the top of the mountain in the middle).  There is a handicapped accessible section of AT leading from the mountain-top parking lot to a fine vista looking north over the Hudson River Valley.  And down the slopes on either side you'll find extensive granite stone step work of a quality unrivaled anywhere else on the 2184.2 miles of Appalachian Trail.

Anthony's Nose from Bear Mountain Bridge

View south from Anthony's Nose, courtesy USGS

Anthony Van Corlear, 1858. Painting by Charles Loring Elliott

As an adjunct to this, park beside the zoo at the Bear Mountain Inn and walk through the zoo, by far the most heavily 'hiked' section of the AT anywhere, then cross the Hudson on the Bear Mountain Bridge.  From the bridge the summit of Anthony's Nose will be clearly visible directly ahead, and you'll most likely be able to see people on the rock outcrop at the top.  This is a great destination for a short out-and-back day hike.  Anthony's Nose offers a spectacular view of the Hudson 'fjord', exemplified by the USGS photo above.  This landmark was named after Anthony Van Corlaer, a 17th century trumpeter with a notably ample proboscis.

Trail Recap 16 of 27: Wind Gap, PA to Warwick, NY

Sunfish  Pond on a calm, misty spring day

Wind Gap vicinty in NE PA to Barrett Rd., NJ, just south of Warwick, NY: ~91 miles

General Impression/Theme:  Variety - a section with many different types of trail, which held me in constant interest.  The hiker is treated with everything from steep climbs, bedrock slab scrambling, grand vistas, a major river crossing, and the first glacier-carved ponds, to long swamp boardwalks and puncheon sections, a long walk on levees between open water wetlands, pastures, and high  meadows with vistas.

People:  Paul 'Parkside' Bernhardt - my second meeting with him two months after meeting down south in March. 'Iceman', 'Viking', and 'Achilles', hiking together about 6 days ahead of Paul, but who had hiked and would again later hike many days with him. 'Sun Dog', hiking a big section Duncannon to Katahdin.  He completed this in July, having done Springer to Duncannon last year.  Section hiker Lyle, doing a significant piece from Culver's Gap, PA to Salisbury, VT.  He's already done (by sections) the entire trail south of here.  'Scooter' aka 'The Edge' hiking a section for about a week through NY and also supporting two couples doing similar sections.  'Kit Kat', hiking SoBo between MA and Daleville, VA.  She was also close to finishing the entire AT.

Supply/Overnight:  I made frequent use of trailhead parking lots through here.  Most had good cell/internet access.  Frequented Newton, NJ for major shopping needs.

Worst Memory:  The classic bad luck story - I had hiked 2000 miles by this point and then turned my ankle one evening, off trail, when trying to flatten an aluminum soda can.  Fortunately this was minor, causing just a few days of discomfort.  A second bad memory:  Finding a major road access point (paved Blue Mountain Lake Road) closed for several miles either side of the trail.  I had counted on (*ASS-umed*) this road being open and so had hiked a section of trail toward it without scouting it first.  The result: I had to re-hike this section the next day.

Best Day Hike:  I'm going to mention five of the best from this section, in reverse order:

Number 5:  Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge - an easy two-state loop walk from a big parking area on Oil City Road.  For added variety stay on the AT and plunge into the woods east of the Refuge for a long walk on puncheon through the wooded wetland to Lake Walkill Road.

Number 4:  High Point State Park.  Park in the park, various loop hikes available.  The AT has a fine vista point from an observation deck just up from a parking area.

Number 3:  Mt. Minsi from the town of Delaware Water Gap, PA.  Beautiful deep woods hiking to the summit (rhododendron, hemlocks), a fine view from a rocky outlook along the way, then be sure to continue past the old fire tower foundation at the summit--a few hundred yards farther is the payoff: a superb view to the south of the Delaware River.

Number 2:  Sunfish Pond, shown above.  Be sure to take the Turquoise trail a tenth of a mile east off the AT from the north end of the pond to experience the view from a high rock outcrop on a peninsula - or continue to hike the entire loop around the pond.  The most popular access is a 4 mile stretch of the AT, along a roaring stream at first, from the Delaware River at the large Dunnfield Natural Area parking lot.  But the better hike is from the other direction starting at Millbrook-Blairstown Road.  This offers many great vistas as the AT takes you across smooth open bedrock slabs along the ridge.

Pochuck Swamp Boardwalk from near its S/W end at County 517

Number 1:  My choice for best day hike here is a double day hike.  Park at the big gravel lot off NJ 94 and hike east (trail south on the AT) for two miles through varied lowland terrain to and over the Pochuck Swamp boardwalk - the prime example of manmade trail  and an engineering marvel - best of its kind on the AT.  Then head the other way (east/trail north) from NJ 94 for a beautiful sloped meadow walk followed by a steep rocky climb up to Pinwheel's Vista near the summit of Wawayanda Mountain.  The vista is a rock outcrop via a short blue blazed trail.  Great views west to the obelisk atop High Point.

Trail Recap 15 of 27: Pine Grove to Wind Gap, PA

My trail mementos:

 A ten-pound Pennsylvania Rock with typical quartz striping, found right on the trail

just south of Ashfield Road and the adjacent power line clearing.

With a little imagination you can see an AT logo embedded.

Also collected from the trail are a small pebble of sparkly schist from near Springer's summit

and a pebble of typical pink granite from near Katahdin's summit.

Up top is the remnant of the 'REI' brand label from my 42 year old daypack.

The label clung tenaciously to the pack through all 4368.4 miles,

then finally fell off back home when I ran the pack through the washing machine.

PA Route 501 to near the Leroy Smith Shelter, just south of PA 33 at Wind Gap, PA:  ~83 miles

General Impression/Theme:  'Rocksylvania'.  Pennsylvania rocks.  The greatest concentration of rocky trail is here in the middle-north part of PA.

People:  Dave Coull, 27-year maintainer of four mile of trail S. of Eagles Nest Shelter; Laurie, husband Dick ('Mountain Laurel and Hardy'), and friend 'Elf", hiking northbound for a week - saw them on four consecutive days, April 25-28;  'The Transgender Couple', Hailey Jo and Brandon, working Southbound from Delaware Water Gap, headed to Springer - a married couple both of whom underwent sex change operations; 'Samus', formerly 'Silent Sam', first NoBo thru hiker to catch up with me (that I met), and seventh overall to check in at Harper's Ferry this year.  He left Springer on Feb. 28th.  Off trail (by just two miles), nephew Adrian who lives in Slatington, just south of Lehigh Gap.

Supply/Overnight:  The Hamburg-Port Clinton Wal-Mart and adjacent J.A. Buffet.  Nephew Adrian's house, The Wal-Mart at Lehighton-Weissport.

Worst Memory: Significant neck and shoulder blade pain that forced me to slow down - seems to be mostly stress related, due to trying to power through those ROCKS, rather than taking the trail at a pace it was willing to give.  See my entry in the Allentown Shelter log book to get an idea of how I was feeling:

Best Day Hike:  Because of its variety of landscape with plentiful views, my vote for best day hike in this section goes to the hike through the EPA superfund restoration zone between Little Gap and Lehigh Gap and overlooking the town of Palmerton and its now rusting zinc smelting plant.  The scenery varies from starkly beautiful to 'bombed-out' devastation as a result of decades of pollution from the plant.  The vegetation, in various stages of recovery, provides endless photo opportunites:

Other great choices for day hikes include 1.: the hike to Dan's Pulpit viewpoint from Hawk Mountain Road, 2.: the Pinnacles, billed as Pennsylvania's best AT viewpoint, which along with the nearby 'Pulpit' (distinct from Dan's Pulpit) make a fine outing, and 3.: Bake Oven Knob, just a half mile walk from a huge parking area and a very popular destination for locals, with excellent views both to the SE and NW from separate overlook points.

Trail Recap 14 of 27: Half Way Pt. to Pine Grove, PA

Far and away the best AT logo on the trail:

Stained glass panel on front door of the ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional office,

Cumberland Valley, Boiling Springs, PA

Near Pine Grove Furnace State Park to PA 501 near the town of Pine Grove, PA (no connection other than the similarity of names):  ~102 miles

General Impression/Theme: Civilization!  This section gets my nod for the least wild part of the AT, but that's not to say I disliked it - it was a fascinating section to hike, full of variety.

People:  Bob 'Popeye' Pyhel, caretaker of the 501 shelter, who shared with me the amazing story of his 2007 attempted thru-hike in which he nearly died of a heart attack, only to recover and do a successful thru-hike the next year.  The Mtn. Club of Md. hard working maintainer working at the PA 850 parking area.  'Cool Hand', 'Desperado', and 'Solar Speck' out hiking a section Duncannon to Port Clinton who recognized me from my Trail Journals posts.

Supply/Overnight:  Commuted from home at first, then trailhead parking lots (all have good cell/internet access in this populous area), I-81 rest areas, Duncannon.

Halifax Township fire, Peters Mountain

Worst Memory:  Fire.  This and the next section both had significant fires right on the AT during the unusually dry spring season.  I passed the Halifax Township fire just days after it happened, with the embers barely out, still smelling strongly of smoke.  The more publicized Port Clinton fire was no larger, but was visible from major highways and population areas.

New Centerpoint Knob plaque, installed July 2012

Best Day Hike:  There is a 'best vista' - that of Duncannon and the Susquehanna River from Hawk Rock.  There is a 'best interactive experience' - the unabashed rock scramble over Rocky Ridge: start at Whiskey Spring Road and go south.  There is the most historic landmark: the long lost, but recently found and newly re-installed plaque at Centerpoint Knob.

And there is my personal favorite: the walk through the Cumberland Valley, and in particular the stroll beside Children's Lake in Boiling Springs from the newly reconstructed (April 2012) AT hiker parking lot to the ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional office.  It helps that I hiked this during the peak of spring bloom.