Aug 6th, East of Brook Mt.

Aug 6 bivouac east of Brook Mt., just off Berry Brook Rd

I had hoped to get over both Brook and Mary Smith Mt's today. The distance on the map was within my range and I think even with the elevations, I could have done it. But this was not a normal condition. The hike from the bivouac to the top of Brook Mt was ok; it was the down side of the hike that was one of the worse hiking conditions I have ever encountered. There were 100's after 100's of yards of over hanging shoulder and head high raspberry bushes making a curtain over the path. I had to wade slowly through every foot of the overhanging bushes and be extra careful of the debris that was covered by the vegetation. It was a steep downhill in places and I had to inch my way down. The thorns tugged at my shoes, legs, shirt, pack and arms. I was bleeding from numerous cuts when I finally got down to the bottom. It was an absolute nightmare! Later I came to an intersection of the trails and met two men with 6 kids who looked like they were 10-12 years old. The leader, said he born in Ripley, WI. We talked about the trail in both directions and the lack of water. They were headed to the shelter that I had stopped at this morning and had to go up the steep slope I had just come down. He told me that my way out and to the next road had lots of raspberry bushes also. I wanted to tell him to just camp right were he was, after all it was 2 pm in the afternoon, but it was clear that they planned to reach the shelter by night fall. One of the men had on tennis shoes, no socks and cut off jeans. They told me there was not water ahead and that I should turn right when I got to the road and go to one of the houses on the road for water. We went out separate ways. I was low on water but had enough to get to the road. As I hiked I looked for an area that probably had a water source. Over the course of the hike, I had noticed that where there were sudden muddy areas in unexpected places. In these locations I observed there was a certain kind of plant growing and that the plant followed the moisture path. I came across a ribbon of the plants, put my backpack down, and did a recon. through the area. I came across the source and found a small run off from the spring. I went back to my pack and got my green cup and the 2 one-liter bottles. It took me some time at 2-3 oz's per dip to fill the bottles, but I did get them filled. With them filled and some water in my 2-liter bottle, I was free to camp when I found a place. I figured that I would take care of getting water for the hike over Mary Smith Mt the next day. My little green cup, which was my dad's cup that he used while he was sick and before he died, came to the rescue for water once again. When I made camp, I filtered the water I had gotten at the little spring, ate dinner and went to bed. Sometime around 1am or so, I heard a night animal sound that I had never heard before. It sent chills down my back. It was close and moving. It sounded part bird and part mammal. It gradually moved further away traveling at a slow pace. The only thing I can figure is that it was an owl. Later a fox started yipping nearby, but I recognized that sound, no worries, but I was frustrated by the interruption of my sleep, I got out of the tent and yelled at it. The fox stopped making its night sound and I went back to sleep. Aug 7 I fretted about finding enough water to go over Mary Smith Mt and the other mountains last evening and early this morning. I packed up and returned to the road and went to the first house. I went up to the front door, I could hear people talking inside, and rang the doorbell. A woman came to the door and saw that I was a hiker. I announced myself as Garth Fisher, from Janesville, WI that I was finishing off a hike of the FLT and was out of water. She responded that she was from Verona, WI, worked for WIS NPR and was here visiting her parents. She invited me in for coffee and said that water would be no problem. For the next hour we talked of NY, WIS, and her dad told me and later showed me things about his work history. He is 87 and at one time worked for GM setting up large shows in NY related to new car models. He also did pro/am golf. They told me the story about the man who built the stone fence behind the house. And, I learned that his wife had fed a fox in the back yard for years. She created the term Fox Box verses Doggie Bag. I left and hiked the Mt's with enough water and got to Little Pond Campground in the late afternoon. They had my food box but the campground was filled. One of the women working at the gate offered to take me to Big Pond where there was public camping as well as recreation. We drove up there and came across the FLT in the Big Pond parking lot. I hiked about a mile to the back of the pond and found a campsite for the night beside an old stone fence. Aug 8th I had a graduation dream last night at Big Pond. It was like a college graduation, but I sensed it was more about my spiritual journal over the past 7 weeks. I continue to be in a Verizon dead zone and have not been able to contact Gina to let her know that I will more than likely be in Claryville tomorrow. Had a small black bear cross the road in front of me, it paused looked at me, I talked to it as I always do with bears, and then it went off down the hill into the woods. My only encounter with a bear the whole hike. On the map I had 8 miles to hike to get to Balsam Lean To. I started hiking at 7:30 am. Around 11 am the trail came to a crossroads. I hiked down the road a ways to see if there was a house I could approach and ask to use a phone. There was no house, at least within a distance I was willing to walk. I flagged down a car. The man said he was going to a little store and would call Gina if they had a pay phone. I gave him the information. I continued on to lake/pond ??????. As I approached the entrance I talked with a group of women and explained my need to get a message to Gina. They were surprise to see that none of their phones could get service. Like me they expected to be able to get service at any time and anywhere. One of them said she would deliver a message to Gina when they got home. (she did and that is how Gina and Pat knew I would be in Claryville the next day). From that point on the hike was a continuous uphill eventually to 3200 ft. I began to realize that I was going to complete the hike that I started on June 18th. The weather is mild, a strong breeze, my arms and leg are cut up from the raspberry bushes. I have water but am drinking it rapidly as I sweat very heavy. At 3 mile mark up the mountain there was a lean to. Someone had left a can of refried beans. I opened the can and ate half of it and buried the other half. I did not want to overload my stomach with a heavy food. At a rest stop, a day hiker came by, reassured me that I could make the Balsam shelter but she make an off hand comment that I could always camp. The day hiker went ahead, got to the look out point, and came back heading down hill. I wish I could hike that fast. She did complement me on my light weight pack compared to other long distance hikers she had met on the trail. I continued to hike but felt exhaustion coming on. I also had a limited amount of water, which re-enforced the idea that I had to make the shelter before dusk. There have been times when I was moving fast on the trail, and rather than a smooth hiking gait, it was more like a controlled stumble; this was my method of hiking today. At some point I hit a rock or root and twisted my left leg. I began to have a small sharp pain in my let hip joint. This was a different sensation from the sensitivity I have mentioned before in my hip replacement joint. Over the course of the hike, I have said to myself "give me a trickle of water and a 3 X 7 ft flat spot and I can make camp. I could not gauge how far I had come or how close I was to the shelter when I spotted a very small spring flow going across the trail. I looked down hill and saw a small pool of water. I investigated the pool. I could get 2-3 oz's of water at a dip. I decided to make camp on the trail. The trail was on a 30-yard shelf with steep sides both up and down. I dropped my pack and took a 1 gal Ziploc with my green cup to the pool. The water was murky and I got more than enough to filter out 3 liters. As I was unloading my pack, I notice a flat spot behind a 5 ft vertical out cropping of rock. The tent just fit. When a strong wind came up during the night, the rock blocked it. I slept well after hiking 9 hours today. One more day and the hike is completed. Aug 9 Claryville, NY, 563 miles, 52 day journey. I made my decision to camp on the trail based on the information I had at hand. I was told the trail to Balsam lean to was very steep. I had a new type of pain in my hip. I was not sure how close I was to the lean to when I found the water. I had vowed to be careful at the beginning of the hike and figured I should continue to follow that plan. After I started hiking this morning, I learned that I was an hour away from the shelter so techniquically I could have made it. But I was tired and tired people more easily make mistakes. Overall, I think it was the right decision. I also think that camping like that on my last night spoke to the quality of the hike that I had hoped for when I started. I was careful to the end. Today my hip felt fine. I hiked 15 miles, on route to Claryville. It was quiet a contrast to my 4 miles a day at the beginning of the hike. On the way down, I met an older man with 10-12 early HS girls eating lunch on the trail. He looked unkempt compared to the girls. They all had camping gear. He told me it would take me 2 days to get to Claryville and that there was a monstrous hill to climb to get to town. The hill never appeared and I got to Claryville at 3:30 pm The Blue Hill Lodge does not have a pay phone. It continues to be a Verizon dead zone. I do not know if Gina got my messages yesterday. The owner of the lodge says he will give me one free call. I call Gina's house and left a message on the answering machine. At this point I do not know what is on my voice mail. What a sense of "lack of control" with the one call limit the owner allowed me to make. The need for a calling card is very clear at this point. Since there is a lodge and there is a room available at $90, I decide to wait and see if Gina or Pat would come to get me. If they have not gotten here by 7 or 8 pm I will rent a room. I buy a Gatorade and start working on my journal. Within an hour Pat drives into the parking lot. He had gotten lost; otherwise he would have been there much earlier than my arrival. It worked out really well for me -- trail magic right up to the last hour.