No thunderstorms overnight but the rain did get started. It continued throughout the day. One of the folks from the post office yesterday said they were expecting about two inches.
This was really unfortunate because clearly there were many great views to be had on the hike, but they were all obscured by fog.
Made very slow progress today because of the rain. The initial climbs were OK, but walking along large slippery rocks was similar to my first day in New York.
Reached the summit of Bear Mountain first. Yes, this is a new Bear Mountain. It's a common name. Coming down it was a scramble which took extra time in the rain.
Sage's Ravine followed. It was full of old growth hemlocks. Apparently these trees avoided being logged for charcoal because they were too resinous, so some are 200 years old (learned this at the post office as well). Then I crossed the border into Massachusetts where I immediately had to ford a stream.
For some reason the Massachusetts trails had really poor drainage. I frequently had to wade through "puddles" that went on for 10's of meters and were ankle deep. The brush around the trail made it impossible to avoid them.
At times these puddles turned to streams when the trail was inclined. I don't have a photo because the threat of weather to my phone was too great. I felt like a salmon swimming up river, not a hiker on a trail. Really slow going through this terrain.
Made it to The Hemlocks Shelter. Happy to have a dry place to spend the night. Enjoyed a cup of tea to warm up a bit before hanging gear to drip dry a little.
The new shoes did really well in the water, all things considered. They drain quickly. A blister from my old shoes on my left heel is getting worse, but I think that can be attributed to blister life cycle and not the shoes.
In hindsight, I kind of wish I hadn't hiked today and waited out the rain. The conditions were poor and I missed some amazing views. Oh well, you can't time everything perfectly.
Late Night Update
Around 2030 a group of 6 people (2 leaders, 4 students) showed up. They said hello and promised to be quiet but you can only do so much when setting up camp and cooking for 6. Needless to say, even with earplugs, I was up until they settled down around 2200. Hard to blame them for being up late in the shelter when it's pouring rain.