June 6, 2018
Destination: Mt Wilcox North Shelter
Today’s Miles: 21.40
Start Location: Glen Brook Shelter
Trip Miles: 1535.20
Ok, I did quite a bit of brain dumping yesterday, so today I am going to keep this short. I made it to camp by 4pm and it’s 5:30 now.
I want to do some reading and talk to Sharkbait and Reboot if and when they make it here. I made it to camp pretty early namely because there were a lot of pasture walks and forest path that was flat. However, interspersed with that were some steep and rugged climbs.
In the morning I climbed Mt. Bushnell, and on the north side there was a nice viewpoint and ridge called “Jug End.” Im not sure but I assume that has to do with the shape of the mountain. I passed the road crossing for Great Barrington and walked through some lovely pasture, and then by a monument marking the location of Shays Rebellion in 1787. The trail passed along the Housatonic river once again, this time with a sign that said not to eat fish from the river because they contain PCBs. Great….
Near the Tom Leonard Shelter there is a feature called Ice Gulch. Apparently this deep ravine can hold snow even in mid summer. I was expecting some ridiculously deep chasm but it really wasn’t that crazy. What surprised me there was the body of a dead porcupine in the trail, covered in flies with its entrails hanging out. YUCK! I wonder what got him…..
I hiked on. The hemlock forests were beautiful again today! White birches are probably my favorite tree, but hemlock are a close second, of not my favorite from time to time.
I climbed past the Mt Wilcox South shelter up to a pond with obvious beaver activity and a beaver lodge. I looked for one but didn’t see any.
It was a great day with great weather! I was grateful for all the beautiful views I saw today, for the cooler temperatures, and that I wasn’t that dead rotting porcupine in the trail! Gross!!!
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