Wilcox Backpack

It's been a few years since I've been on a backpack adventure, but Matt asked that we give it a shot this fall in preparation for his trip up Mt. Ranier next summer.  I cleared my calendar and researched some routes somewhere between home and Brooklyn.  I found a 12.3 mile section on the Appalachian Trail (AT) in Western Massachusetts, running from Tyringham to Rt. 23.  Alex welcomed a chance to get away from shed-building for a weekend in the wilderness, so we were off!

On this map, north to at right.  We started at the (right) parking area on Main St. and finished at the one on Rt 23 (left).

After the car drop, we drove to our starting point on the Tyringham Main Road.  We rebalanced the gear a bit then stepped off about 11:05am.

We're loaded up and ready to go.  We're in t-shirts as it is unusually warm for October.

Our goal for today is the south shelter on Mt Wilcox - 8.8 miles to go.

We're heading to the mountains in the distance.  The boardwalk makes the walking easy.

For the first weekend in October, there lots of green left with this exceedingly mild weather.

Look carefully and you'll notice that we are climbing over a barbed wire fence, not to keep hikers out, but rather animals in.

Our views were at the beginning of this trip. You can see some of the ground cover is starting to turn colors.

Yes, we're in the Berkshires!  The colors on the hill are muted with the overcast skies.

At this point the trail is running just on the valley's edge with wide-open views below.

A picturesque farm and homestead.

Time for a snack break on the trail.  Alex is just ahead of me...

... and Matt is just behind.

We pass a very large tree that blew over in the forested area of very large trees.

It turns out there are some fall colors along the trail...

... as well as a glacial erratic

The sun begins peek out and illuminate the colors around this pond.

    

Across the pond sits a beaver dam.

While on the near side, we can see beaver teeth marks on this stump.  Beavers know exactly where to gnaw on the tree to make it fall in the right spot.

So that ends the hiking part of the day.  We covered 8.8 miles at 4:30pm; that's 5h25m on the trail including lunch and breaks.

We've got our campsite set up.  We're right next to an older shelter, pretty much by ourselves.

Matt & Alex will share my tent, which is a little larger than Matt's.

Alex has been designated "master chef" for this trip.

On two stoves we cooked steak tips and angel hair pasta.

Our biggest problem was drinking water.  There was supposed to be a spring nearby, but it was dried up.  The only water source that could be located was a bit muddy.  We only pumped 1/2 liter of water before the pump got clogged.

Dinner was delicious.

At this campsite we were actually able to have a campfire, somewhat unusual for a wilderness location.  Alex loved the idea and gathered enough dry wood for a nice long evening.

Our first day ended in 8.8 miles at 4:30pm; that's 5h25m on the trail including lunch and breaks.

It was a fairly windy night with some intermittent showers, but quiet except for the concert we heard in the distance.

It's a bit murky at our campsite first thing in the morning.

Clearly Alex & I used he same valet.  (Actually, this was a complete coincidence.)

A breakfast of hot oatmeal and sausages was satisfying, but we have to eat under cover of the shelter.

The rain took a break and it looked like we might miss the worst of it, so we starting hiking the last 3.5 miles at 8:42am.  But about 15 minutes into the descent, the started up again.

It didn't just shower; it rained and rained and rained.

Notice the rain pelting the surface of the water.

Looking very soggy indeed, we made it back to the car at 10:13am, a very good pace especially considering the weather conditions.  Matt drove us back to my car, then he headed south and Alex & I headed to Dunkin'.

It took a whole 3 days for my boots to dry out.  I was sore for a couple days but there were no lasting ill effects. Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to tackling another section of the AT.  I won't be a through hiker, but maybe I can chip away at it.