Stupids on the AT
Where: Appalachian Trail, Great Barrington MA
When: 9/11-12, 2021
With: The Stupids (Chip, David, Xeth)
Chip began lobbying last spring for a Stupids hike in early summer, with a vague thought of finding a trail in the Catskills. His back & neck required surgery however, and the hike was pushed out to September. The Catskills was still being considered as a destination, in part to save Xeth some driving and also because it was someplace new. The more we looked into it though, the more issues arose. Long drives for the rest of us, long walks on tough trails to get to a campsite, and bears. Lots of reports of bears.
So we shifted our focus to a spot midway between Xeth and the rest of us, which turned out to be around the NY/CT/MA border in southwestern MA. We'd hiked in the area a couple of times before, along the South Taconic Trail, and enjoyed it. Both Chip & I had been in the area recently...me in 2020, hiking to the tri-state border marker, and Chip visiting and hiking with friends who live in the area.
I suggested using the Mount Washington State Forest HQ as a parking/starting point, but a check of their website found a note saying camping was prohibited until further notice. It seemed odd, but we began seeking other options. I knew of a few Plan B parking spots & trails, but Chip returned from a visit with his friends to suggest an area a bit east & north, a section of the Appalachian Trail just south of Great Barrington. He described a nice shelter & camping area a short distance from a trailhead, and a day two walk along the AT to a spot near his friend's house.
I made a call to the Mount Washington State Forest HQ, looking for an explanation of the camping prohibition. No one answered, but I got a recording stating that camping was in fact open for all. So now we had two options, but David mentioned that he had back problems of his own and was looking for a short walk. None of the routes at Mount Washington were shorter than 3-4 miles to get to a camping area, and Chip's descriptions of the area along the AT convinced us to go with that option.
Arrangements were made. I offered to take care of cooking gear & dinner, and inquiries were made to ensure everyone had the gear they needed (tents, sleeping bags, etc.). Xeth was all set, but David no longer owned a backpack so Chip offered a spare one he had. We made plans to meet at Chip's friend's house. Xeth drove up from NYC, Chip & I drove together from my house, and Dave went over the day before. He'd thought to camp out overnight, but wound up getting a motel room for the night.
We all arrived within 20 minutes of each other and discussed plans to get to the trailhead. David needed to leave early the next day, so Chip's car was left behind and we made the 15 minute trip in Xeth's & David's cars. There was plenty of space in the lot when we arrived...2-3 other cars and a van from the Canyon Ranch spa & resort. The packs were put together and hoisted, pictures were taken, and we began our hike. It was about 11:30.
It was steady climbing right from the road, muddy in spots, but not too tough. Xeth regaled us with an impromtu stream-of-consciousness observational tune, accompanied on guitar. We passed a number of folks coming down the trail, part of a group, likely a Canyon Ranch trip. They noted the huge packs we were hauling, and the small guitars we carried. We didn't have the heart to tell them it was all for a short walk and a single night in the woods.
A note on the packs: Both Chip & I commented on how heavy our packs were for a one-night stay. I'd had to switch to my largest pack to carry everything, even after leaving several items out (I'd originally planned to bring both a tent and a hammock, but left the hammock at home). Some of it was the cooking gear & dinner ingredients, but certainly not all of it. Perhaps I'm just out of practice packing for a hike.
The path came to a short steep climb, and then emerged at the edge of a small (but deep) gorge know as Ice Gulch. Sheer rock walls on either side and a jumble of large boulders at the bottom, which apparently hold ice deep into the summer. We dropped our packs and spent some time there, admiring the view. Eventually we got going again, and just a few minutes later we arrived at a side trail to the shelter. There was small stream to cross, then a few more yards of walking brought us to the Tom Leonard Lean-To (built in 1988). A solid structure with two sets of bunks inside and a picnic table & fire pit out front. A short distance away was a privy, and along a side trail was a series of tent platforms and tent sites. That's where we headed.
We passed through one area that would be good for tents, and perhaps a campfire, then continued a few steps to a tent platform with an expansive view of the valley below. Though the view was spectacular, Chip wasn't interested in sleeping on a platform and there wasn't much room on the ground around it for my tent (which isn't free-standing). So we went back to the other area, dropped our packs there, and returned to the platform for lunch and some guitar playing. Turkey vultures wheeled through the sky above us, riding the updrafts.
At this point, a little after 1PM, we were the only people at the shelter area, but others began to arrive. First were two women, who asked if we were going to use the tent platform with the view. Reluctantly, we said it was available and they took it over. Two guys also arrived, setting up initially at the shelter, though they wound up in a tent area a short distance away. The women and the guys gathered at the picnic table by the shelter and spent the afternoon chatting. They all seemed to be experienced multi-day distance hikers, and were likely sharing their common experiences.
We went about setting up our campsite, collaborating on assembling Chip & Xeth's tents, then just hung out at our site, keeping to ourselves and finding little activities to do. David went for a walk back to the Ice Gulch overlook, I explored the Gulch and filtered water from the stream for dinner, and we all went exploring for wood for a campfire. While I was getting some wood, I crossed paths with a solo hiker heading toward the shelter. He expressed some concern about how much further he'd be able to go that day, and wound up taking the second tent platform. A final visitor arrived later, a woman who took one of the bunks in the shelter. We didn't see her arrive, but noticed her there in the morning.
Around 6PM, I began dinner preparations, which meant boiling a big pot of water for tortellini. I set up the stove atop a tree stump that had been cut off at chest height. It was nice to be able to stand while I cooked, versus the usual kneeling in the dirt. I'd brought my MSR Wind-Pro canister stove, and it fired right up. The pot of water got bubbling after a bit and two packages of dried cheese tortellini went in. When those were done, the stove was taken over to make a pesto sauce, and when that was done, dinner was served. Seth provided a loaf of sesame bread to go with the pasta. An assortment of bowls, cups, and Frisbees were filled with the food and everyone chowed down.
By this time it was getting toward 7PM and sunset. Fortunately, Xeth had constructed an excellent wood pyramid and in no time we had a great little blaze going. The rest of the evening was spent watching the fire, talking, and playing guitars. At our urging, Xeth performed a wonderful acoustic version of one of his Prefab Messiahs songs. From time to time we'd hear owls hooting in the woods nearby, and through the trees we could see lights from houses in the valley, along with the setting moon. Chip was the first to call it a night, heading to his tent at 8, and I followed soon after. I cracked a glowstick and used it to read while listening to David & Xeth continue their conversations as the fire died out. Eventually they retired as well, Xeth to his tent and David to a hammock (with a headnet for the mosquitos).
I haven't mentioned the mosquitos before. They were a constant annoyance throughout the day, and several of the other hikers mentioned how bad they'd been. I didn't get too many bites myself, but they were definitely around. Reports I read later mentioned that this section of the AT was notorious for the numbers of mosquitos.
As usual, and despite some melatonin gummies and a Tylenol PM tablet (and a beer with dinner), I had a restless night. I'd hoped for a solid 6-8 hours of sleep, but instead it was a long succession of dozing and waking. I'm sure I had a few stretches of 2-3 hours of sleep, but it felt like I was up all night. I've learned to accept that on these trips, and didn't let it bother me. In fact, I seemed fairly rested when I decided to emerge from my tent at 6AM.
Chip & Xeth had already been making noises and chatting from inside their adjacent tents, and they emerged as well in short order. David began to stir, and I began preparations for breakfast. My role there was to boil water and provide instant coffee, tea, dry milk, sugar, etc. I used my new stove (Snow Peak Giga-Power), a tiny thing that screws onto the top of a propane canister. It lived up to its name, sounding like a blowtorch when it ignited, but worked well. The first pot of water was split between me, Chip, and David, and a second boiling served Xeth and provided water for seconds and oatmeal. Chip contributed bagels, cream cheese, oatmeal, and peanut M&Ms to complete the breakfast menu.
During the breakfast cleanup we had the only significant mishap of the trip. Chip tossed his Frisbee to David, who returned it, then Chip sent it to me. My toss sailed over Chip's head, into the trees, off into the Ice Gulch. I scrambled down and looked for it for some time, but it was nowhere to be found.
By this time, all but one of the other occupants of the site had packed up and departed. We discussed plans for the day. Despite David's intentions to leave early, it seemed like we'd all be heading out at the same time. Chip and I had talked about doing the "thru hike" he'd originally proposed, a 3.5 mile walk ending near his friend's house, with Seth returning with David the 1.5 miles back to their cars. But Chip was sore from the previous day and said he'd also be doing the shorter route. That left me to do the longer walk solo, which was fine with me.
According to the maps (and my OSM+ trail app), the shelter & camping area were on a small side loop trail off the AT. My plan was to follow the other end of that loop to begin my walk. The end we'd come in on was blazed in blue, like all AT side trails, and I'd followed a blue blazed trail earlier a short distance past the privy, figuring that would be my route. I returned to that trail and followed it downhill a good ways, along a recently maintained path with new stone steps, rock bars, etc. It bottomed out at a well-flowing stream, where it turned and followed the downstream flow. An AT sign on a tree by the water recommended filtering before drinking.
Immediately after that sign, a large tree blocked the trail. I figured it was a recent fall, since the maintenance work I'd just passed certainly would have cleared it. I got over it and noticed the trail beyond was somewhat vague, and didn't look travelled. I thought the two women had come from this direction, and the two guys had left that way, so it didn't make sense. I turned around, got over the tree again, and started back up the trail, looking for a side route I'd missed. I didn't find one, and there was all that recent trail work...it had to be the right way. Reverse course again, back over the log again, and continue on the trail. It went a short distance, then petered out in a clearing of sorts, possibly a campsite. I checked my OSM+ trail app, but it showed I was far from any trail. I figured it couldn't get a good position from the satellites and ignored it.
Around this time I noticed there were no blue blazes on the trees. My plan now was to go back up the trail until I found the blazes and the true path, or until I got to the shelter again (where I knew how to get on the AT). One more time over the log and then a long climb, looking for blazes. I finally spotted some, but they seemed to be on random trees (abandoned paths?) along the trail. Eventually, I arrived back at the shelter and got back on the AT via the path we'd arrived on. About 2 minutes later I passed the other trail to the shelter, the one I'd intended to walk out on. My confusion cost me about half an hour and a tough climb to start the day.
Looking back, I now realize that path I'd followed was the route to the camping area's primary water source. The small stream we'd crossed near the shelter probably dries up, and the larger stream at the bottom of my wayward path may be more reliable (and further away from contamination from the campsite). So the stone work and maintenance on that path was to ensure access to that water. It also explains why the log across the trail wasn't cleared. And my trails app? It was working fine...I truly wasn't anywhere near a trail that had been recorded. If I'd had my recording running, I could have added that spur trail.
[Assumption confirmed. From the AMC's Western Massachusetts Campsites & Shelters webpage: Water 0.2 miles down hill to right of shelter downhill on blue blazed trail beyond privy. The water is the outflow from Ice Gulch, and is noted as running clear and cold (in contrast to the tannin-colored water I'd filtered from the stream by the shelter).]
I'd figured on about a 1.5 hour walk to cover the 3.5 miles, and I was now behind schedule, so I did my best to keep up a steady, vigorous pace. Easier said than done. The trail fell and rose constantly (though it was a pretty area to walk through), and my old muscles and heavy pack made for tough going. Still, I kept plugging along, trying to appreciate the woods around me while cursing the trail. Fortunately, my OSM+ trail app showed my position accurately (now that I was on a recorded trail), so I was able to see where I was and how far I had to go.
The trail went through a series of ridges and valleys, climbing up and then making long turns along the hillsides. Chip told me to watch for a viewpoint along the way, and several times I thought I might be there, but no. Eventually however I did arrive at a large bare rock with an expansive view of the valley below. I paused briefly to let Chip know where I was, then was on my way again. A bridge over a stream a short distance further was another milestone, and then the trail began its final descent to the road, where Chip was waiting and reading a book. Discounting my adventure on the wrong trail, my walk took 1:45, 15 minutes longer than I'd guessed.
I took a final picture to mark the journey's end, changed my shirt & shoes, took some Tylenol, and we were on our way home. I filled Chip in on my misadventures at the beginning of the day, to explain my late arrival. He said that Xeth's guitar now had a minor battle scar after a slip & fall, but otherwise their return trip to the cars was uneventful. All in all a wonderful weekend with my long-time friends. An easy walk to begin, a comfortable site to camp, good music and conversation, perfect weather, and a solo hike to end the adventure.
