GoldenBear

I again note that my choice to hike for short periods, combined with my alternate nick of "Snail's Pace," means I have to do hikes of short duration. I also try hike between cities with mass transit. Combined, this means the miles, that I have done on the Trail, often have innumerable gaps in them. Which means I sometimes have to do wimpy treks to fill in these gaps. Last week (May 27 - May 30) was definitely one of these.

I've gone north from Highway 9 near Bennington VT with the help of trains and cabs. I've gone south from Highway 2 near North Adams with the help of Shuttle. But the 18.2 miles between these two roads was still undone. I tried to figure out a way to do this trek in two one-day treks, helped out by Shuttle. But the only road between these two highways is a gravel road, and I wasn't certain about its quality or the ability to park there.
Info on getting to the parking area on County Road
http://rohland.homedns.org:8008/at/s...0&sectionID=52
was not encouraging: "Parking is okay if you have 4W drive and the road isn't washed out" "Old County Road off Rte 8 is closed before it connects with County Road" "A couple of (passable) water holes and stones" "If you aren''t able to turn your car around on a one lane dirt road, do not try it"

So I concluded that a two day hike was the only way to handle this. Fortunately, getting from North Adams to the trail head east of Bennington is just a matter of riding buses -
- BRTA #3 or #7 from North Adams to the Williams Inn
http://www.berkshirerta.com/schedule...ion=O&timing=W
http://www.berkshirerta.com/schedule...ion=I&timing=W
- Orange Line from Williams Inn to the bus station in Bennington
http://www.greenmtncn.org/regional.html
- Emerald Line from Bennington to the trail head
http://www.greenmtncn.org/emerald-line.html

Note, however, that the first bus leaving the Williams Inn for Bennington is at 9:20 am, and taking that bus would mean I would not get to the trail head until about 11:30. Also, it meant I would have to be on Highway 2 in North Adams by 8:30am. How do I, as a Philly resident, accomplish the latter? My options were -
- riding the Peter Pan bus between Philly and Williamstown, with one night in a budget motel.
- renting a car, parking it near the trail head, and riding the buses between North Adams and Bennington. The cost for this option, even for one person, turned out to be only slightly higher.
I decided that the flexibility of the second choice was worth the extra cost. I know it's a bummer to pay for renting a car for days when it's just sitting at a trail head, but I'll pay for a flexible schedule -- I don't like the stress of worrying about missing a bus by a few minutes. Been there, done that.
Where to park the car in North Adams?
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...t=#post1882820
With the flexibility of a car, I had no problem finding a budget price at the Econo Lodge at the Springs.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...s.html#REVIEWS
Even after the continental breakfast there, I had little trouble dropping off the car at Greylock CC well before 8am. NOW the question was where to stand to get picked up by the #3 bus.
Some bus companies pick up passengers ONLY at designated spots, noted with signs on the road. Others pick up passengers anywhere along the road the bus travels (within reason), with people only needing to flag down the bus. Problem is, I didn't know which approach was used by BRTA -- and I sure didn't want to miss a bus that wouldn't return for another hour!
So, once I dropped off the car (leaving the note as requested), I began to walk west on Highway 2 towards Williamstown. If I saw a sign, I'd stop there; if I didn't, I'd flag down the #3 bus when it came by.
After walking a little over a mile, and not seeing one single bus sign, I concluded that pickup was anywhere along the road -- which turned out to be correct. I also found out that the #7 bus goes from the Stop & Shop to Williams Inn, so a short walk west from the Greylock CC will double the number of possible buses to ride. Note that the BRTA states that a one-zone ride is $1.25 -- it's now $1.75, and you can use dollar bills to pay.

Got to the Williams Inn in plenty of time to catch the Orange Bus Line into Bennington. Note that this bus picks up on the street in front of the Williams Inn, NOT at the hotel's front door. If you sit at the bench between the driveway and road, you'll easily see the bus -- and the only bus sign I saw in Williamstown.
If you ask POLITELY, you can use the bathroom at Williams Inn. Useful if, like me, you have a really weak bladder.

The online schedule for the Orange Line to Bennington (cost a measly $1) seems to say there is "No Service" to the bus terminal in that city. Not sure why they do this, as it most definitely stops there. This terminal has a seating areas both outdoors and indoors, but is clear there is no restroom. Since my bladder caused me to need one AGAIN, I checked on my map app, and noted that the city library is only a block from the bus terminal. Specifically, the latter is at 215 Pleasant Avenue and the former is on Silver Avenue just south of Main Street. Note the library hours, however!
http://www.benningtonfreelibrary.org/
The driver for the Emerald Line is WELL acquainted with trail users, and got me to the trail head on Highway 9 very quickly. In a weird situation, half the buses charge 50 cents to get to the trail head and half charge nothing. Just ask the driver as you get on.

So now I have to get from the trail head (elevation 1360 feet) to Harmon Hill (elevation 2325) in 1.8 miles. Feel free to sneer, "Is that a problem?" -- but, remember, this is my FIRST time back on the Trail in months! Fortunately (and, frankly, as planned), this was the start of my trek, so my legs were pretty strong. More fortunately, the walk up is a fairly well done stairway. I got to the Congdon Shelter by 3pm, and met one delight and one disappointment.
The former was re-meeting a mother & son hiking team I had first met in late June of 2011 -- "Mother and Child Reunion" were just beginning at that time, and it was at that time I learned how slow a backpacker I am. They actually remembered my statement that you are more likely to be killed in car wreck by a left-handed driver of a Yugo than by a bear -- a statement I still stand by.
The latter was AGAIN meeting a troupe of students from Williams College, taking up the entire shelter -- a repeat of my arrival at the Goddard Shelter last year.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/entr...nington-Part-2
So, once again, my hope for a quiet night in a shelter was frustrated.

Turns out it wasn't any noise that made this a miserable night -- it was the cold. Again, real backpackers have no problem handling temps below 40F, but my sleeping bag is a summer one. I got inside my bag by 4pm, and spent the next thirteen hours or so trying to close my eyes and stay warm. Even with the bag, a merino wool undershirt, and a wool over-shirt; I was still uncomfortably cold. I was able to stay SOMEWHAT warm only by covering my entire head within the sleeping bag -- I know, not recommended; but even exposing my mouth gave me a chill. I did not sleep well at all.

As always, I knew I had to leave as early as possible to avoid arriving at the next stop too close to dark. I thus forced myself out of the bag at 5am and began to get ready. Usually this means a cup of hot coffee, warmed by my cat stove. This morning, however, I found that my matches simply would not stay lit -- they are just too old. But this is why I always carry dryer lint and a fire starter. I dipped the former in my alcohol, struck the latter for a spark, and, within a few seconds, I had a fire that stayed lit for about two minutes -- more than enough time to light a stick that I then used to light my cat stove. I soon had my morning coffee, and was even sooner on my way.

The ten mile hike to Sherman Brook Campsite the next day was nondescript, with a surprise on what DIDN'T happen. Specifically, that Mother & Child Reunion didn't pass me. Even three years ago, it was a daily joke that I was the first one to leave a shelter area, but the last one to arrive at the next one. Plain and simple, I get passed by EVERYONE. Just not today. Why? I have no idea -- I certainly wasn't going any faster.
Sherman Brooks Cap has tent platforms, not optimal for my one-person tent that requires stakes to be set up. Nevertheless, I was able to put it up on the tent platform by using the slats between the boards as "holes" in the ground, making for a level and flat tent site. Add this to a much warmer night, and I slept quite well.
Although this was AFTER I started to drift off, and a flashlight from a group I had missed began to shine on my tent. Normally no problem, but seeing lights a dark camp area you THOUGHT was empty, inevitably makes you think of _Friday the 13th_ movies.

No problem getting back to the GCC and my car, and then driving back to Philly. I even had time to take a few photos for those going right through North Adams.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...gh-North-Adams