Begin: Day 49 (Saturday, June 8) Cornwall, CT
End: Day 54 (Thursday, June 13) Becket, MA
Biggest Trail Miles in a day this period: 21.3 (longest to date)
Total Trail Miles Hiked: 531.6
This week we added photos to CT and MA
DAY 49 - Saturday, June 8
Return to Trail
Start: Cornwall, CT - 1484.5
End: Belters Campsite, CT - 1495.4
Miles: 10.9
We finally left the motel after long three night stay. Lemonade’s stomach was feeling well enough to move on so we did a gentle 10-mile hike to a campsite called Belters. It was a little odd that first night since this was actually be the first time we did not camp with other people and we pretty much had the entire site to ourselves.
DAY 50 - Sunday, June 9
Last full day in CT
Start: Belters Campsite, CT - 1495.4
End: Salisbury, MA - 1506.8
Miles: 11.4
We left Belter’s campsite around 6:30 AM and we were on a early morning mission. There is a café very close by in the town of Grand Falls, CT called the Mountain Café. It was a fantastic breakfast and gave us plenty of energy to tackle the day. Interesting enough we met two hikers that happened to be sailors who own a 38 foot Irwin that they plan on sailing to the Bahamas this year. Perhaps we will see them again.
It was an easy and beautiful hike today and the grand falls in Grand Falls were quite stunning. Due to the rain we did not stop for lunch or take mini breaks. This made the hike, a little bit challenging for Lemonade, but since the terrain was not too aggressive, she did okay.
We ended the day in Salisbury, Connecticut, where we reprovisioned, ate dinner and stayed at a hostel for the evening.
DAY 51 - Monday, June 10
Entering Massachusetts on an Epic Day
Start: Salisbury, MA - 1506.8
End: Hemlock Shelter, MA - 1520.0
Miles: 13.2
Ascent: 3773 | Descent: 2612
Today was a tough day due to numerous, steep climbs and decents. We went over Bear Mountain in Connecticut before entering Massachusetts and then went over Mount Race and Mount Everett. There were some epic ledges on Mount Race which had you walking on the edge of quite high cliffs for a fair distance. During one of the descents, my tracking poles decided to fail on me, so I had to quickly order a new set so they would be waiting for me in a few days. I did a quickie repair on them but I did not trust them with my full weight.
We stopped at Hemlock shelter for the night.
DAY 52 - Tuesday, June 11
500 Miles!
Start: Hemlock Shelter, MA - 1520.0
End: Leonard Shelter, MA - 1534.4
Ascent: 2365 | Descent: 2735
Miles: 14.4
We crossed over the 500 mile mark today.
Within the first hour of leaving Hemlock shelter we went over the peak of a mountain and stumbled upon two very large rattlesnakes on top of the peak. It was still cool so they were quite sluggish but we still gave them a wide berth.
The highlights of this hike was some tough descents and a lot of flat walking through bogs and fields.
We spent the night at Tom Leonard shelter. This location was neat since our tent was on a wood platform next to a cliff and we had a great view of the valley and mountains.
DAY 53 - Wednesday, June 12
New Record for Trail Miles in a day
Start: Leonard Shelter, MA - 1534.4
End: Goose Pond Cabin, MA - 1555.7
Miles: 21.3
Ascent: 4212 | Descent: 4261
Our original plan on this hike was to go about 11 1/2 miles to Shaker campsite. Since we got out of camp early and made good progress, we debated whether to move on further. We did more and and since where we ended up was so memorable I think it was a good decision.
Shortly after starting our hike, I was happy to find some old hiking poles leaning up against a fence that was in much better shape than my old ones. They were actually ski poles, but they did the job until I receive new poles the next day.
We had lunch around 1 p.m. at our original planned stopping point and decided to push on another 10 miles to Goose Pond Cabin. It ended up being our longest day at over 21 miles and we were quite tired when we arrived at 7:30 PM that evening, just an hour before sunset.
Goose Pond Cabin is just for thru-hikers. It’s a free bunkhouse and the caretakers cook you breakfast in the morning. There’s also canoes and swimming available for the hikers.
During our hike that day, there was a little stand right at a road crossing where hikers could get snacks or drinks. It is on the honor system to pay and was a nice little late afternoon respite.
As a sidenote, we saw our second porcupine today and it was actually climbing a tree. It was probably about 30 feet off the ground and since Florida does not have many porcupines, Lemonade and I were quite enthralled with seeing this. I did not actually realize porcupines are good tree climbers so I learned something new.
DAY 54 - Thursday, June 13
Short Day
Start: Goose Pond Cabin, MA - 1555.7
End: Berkshire Lake Lodge, MA- 1557.3
Miles: 1.6
Ascent: 481 | Descent: 392
We left Goose Pond Cabin later than normal since we had such a short day planned. We went for a nice little canoe around the lake before leaving.
We then hiked less than 2 miles to Berkshire Lake Lodge for the evening. We always intended to stop here since we had ordered some things and had them delivered to the motel. We spent the rest of the day eating and sitting out by the little lake with other hikers talking about our journey.
Sweet Lemonade
Several people have noticed and commented on Lemonade’s feet issues. We are not sure if it was the new shoes or the forced three-day rest, but she is feeling much better! Her toes have more room in the shoes, the pain on the top of the foot has nearly disappeared and the arch pain, possibly a sign of planters faciitis, is decreasing. Fingers crossed that this continues!
(AT Post #8)
Beautiful vistas! I've never hiked this area, it's gorgeous! Glad to hear Lemonade is truly on the mend. Thank you for sharing. Richard Reinert