Massachusetts

Massachusetts welcomes you

Day 114

Several of us managed to tent under a large canopy normally used for summer camps. This meant the bulk of our tents were dry, though the ground was wet. After waiting out a bit of morning rain, charging devices and eating our fill at McDonald's, Blink, Whitman and I got a ride back to trail from a local trail angel.

My lunch spot had a view and a breeze

We ended up hiking most of the day together. It's been quite a while since I had extended conversations during the hiking day, and I appreciated the company. Sadly, Whitman decided to head back to Great Barrington for another day due to an ankle injury. Blink and I stopped at a nice lake in the late afternoon and ate dinner together, though he decided to hike another 2 miles to the next shelter.

Nice afternoon ledges

Sadly, in selecting my tent spot this evening I stepped fully into an uncovered pile of human poop. We've all had emergencies when our guts don't cooperate, but then you're supposed to still deal with it after. This was egregious and unfortunately made the largest level spot in this small area off-limits for tents.

Day 115

The bugs continue to bite and the trail continues to be flooded. I was navigating around mud and roots all day, and it was hot and muggy. If you aren't rain drenched, you can only be sweat soaked. I started to get new blisters on my toes from my perpetually wet socks.

A highlight of today was a little roadside snack stand. The adjacent property owners, where the trail crossed a road, have a picnic table and a shed set up with snacks, outlets, and a fridge full of soda and ice cream for sale. It was well worth the stop and few dollars.

Snacks!

A most exciting thing happened during this snack break. There was a cow pasture adjacent to us with insufficient fencing. All of the sudden, there are 5 cows grazing along the side of the road. It's a small road with a car coming by every 2 or 3 minutes, but this was enough traffic to agitate the cows. They start crossing the road and crossing back. After about the fifth car, one cow in particular starts getting spooked. At this point, I am the last person sitting at the picnic table when the cow runs toward me. I have no defense against a panicked, wide eyed cow. Luckily, all humans or cows appeared to emerge unscathed. By the time I've left and crossed beyond the pasture (the trail took us straight through the rest of the herd), I can hear shouting in the distance that I presume was wrangling the escapees.

Agitated cow before it charged

I spent the night at Upper Goose Pond cabin, staffed with a caretaker by the AMC. It's on a popular boating lake. The cabin has no electricity or water, but the caretaker cooks pancakes for breakfast AND surprised us with chocolate chip pound cake for dessert. There was even bonus trail magic delivered by canoe from another local trail maintainer. The cabin holds 16, and with the nearby tent sites full as well it was quite a crowd. I caught back up with people I hadn't seen for a bit and took a quick dip in the pond whose fish were not shy about nibbling at your toes.

Day 116

As per usual, I was one of the last hikers to get up and moving in the morning. 6:30 and people have already packed and left. Oh well, I know that I need more sleep than others and I simply don't like 5 am wake ups as a regular routine.

As a bonus for taking my time, I got to hear fellow hiker Blink playing the banjo. Not sure I've seen anyone else carrying an instrument, but it happens.

All things considered, the terrain was pretty flat. The only thing slowing you down was mud and roots. By far the highlight of the day was the Cookie Lady. The Cookie Lady lives adjacent to the trail and provides hikers with a spot to rest and recharge (electronics and otherwise). There was lemonade and of course many home baked chocolate chip cookies. I talked with her for a bit and even got some golden retriever snuggles.

Signs are clear, this is the correct way

My luck changed during an afternoon storm, long enough to get pretty soaked but luckily over by dinnertime. About a dozen hikers packed into the shelter given the forecast for more rain, many of whom were at the cabin. As a late arrival, I ended up on the floor partially tucked underneath the bunk.

Day 117

Today was a unique double town day where the trail crossed directly through two different towns. Maybe 10 hikers took over the counter at the diner in Dalton, a quick hour and a half of hiking from camp. Some stayed there or the larger neighboring town, and some like me planned to continue 8 miles to the next town. I took a shower at the community center that was immediately sweat off, but it is almost always worth the clean feeling. I packed out a burrito for lunch, too.

What a monument to cheese

Cheshire, MA had a pretty nice campsite. There was potable water, a porta potty, trash cans, a bear box, and a shed with bicycles to borrow and outlets for charging. The tenting field was level with nice grass and no signs of puddles/flooding, and there were poles to hang two hammocks. It's not next to railroad tracks, busy roads, or loud industrial activities (at least on a Friday night). It was across the street from an ice cream shop, too.

Directions said to turn left at the snowplow

I borrowed a bike to get groceries, and I'm cooking dinner when what do I hear but an ice cream truck! One of the other hikers, 60+ mind you, runs to wave it down, and it stops in the driveway of the site. About half of the 6 hikers got ice cream.

Day 118

The monument is actually a repurposed lighthouse

Today I hiked Mount Greylock, which marks the first point on the AT that I had hiked previously. It's interesting to compare my experience and perception of the trail. With fitness and experience on the trail so far, climbs definitely felt less steep. Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts, and it has a monument on top. This time, I didn't bother climbing those stairs again.

Random haunted lake cabin

I crossed 1600 miles today. In the town of Adams at the base of the mountain, a local church stocks coolers of trail magic drinks, snacks, and assorted supplies.

Thumbs up for miles

Better overlook photo than at the summit

At the end of the day, I surprisingly felt like continuing one more campsite for a total of 21 miles. This took me across the border into Vermont, after a rock scramble that again felt much harder last time. It was also about 10 degrees hotter then but similarly buggy.

In front of the Vermont sign was a large mud puddle

Three states left. Happy hiking!