Massachusetts

Day 60, August 6

After a night of my coughing, we set off at 5:09 am, jimming in compound-low gear up Bear Mountain. The morning was cool and the sky largely cloudy. We crossed into Massachusetts, descended into Sages Ravine Click on "trail segment"
select "terrain"
then zoom out , then climbed Race Mountain. Late in the morning we stopped, and I dozed for a few minutes, not having slept well the previous night.

When we reached Mass 41 Click on "trail segment"
select "terrain"
then zoom out I left Jenny with instructions to find a hidden place to take a nap, and walked the one-and-a-half miles to the post office at South Egremont. I bought a load of groceries, then walked back along the road to the trail. I was pleased to find Jenny had used her vacation time wisely with a good nap.

After a jaunt through a mosquito infested forest, the trail lead along a few more miles of roads. At one point, an old and very fat dog tried to bite my leg.

The trail climbed almost to a summit, then made a long and trying traverse, climbing and descending hither and yon. Jenny summed it up with the comment, "It's amazing so many have hiked this part of the trail without staging a full scale rebellion."

We hiked in a light rain, beneath umbrellas today, and eventually reached the Tom Leonard Shelter Click on "trail segment"
select "terrain"
then zoom out . another two tenths farther we stopped at 8:50 pm and pitched the tent near the trail.

Day's mileage: 27.0

Day 61, August 7

We rose with the alarm and began packing our gear. I remarked that the morning was darker than usual. Before setting off I glanced at my watch. I was surprised to find that the time was 4:28 am. It seems that Jenny had intended to re-set her watch alarm to 5:00, but had accidentally set it for 4:00 instead. We set off at 4:30 am and sleepily groped our way along the complicated trail until daylight finally began revealing the terrain.

We passed the Mt. Wilcox South Lean-to at six miles into our day, and continued ahead a short ways before taking a breakfast stop. A fellow came along, thru-hiking north, and we exchanged a few details, then he pressed ahead. In another mile we caught up with him, and the three of us hiked together for the remainder of the day. Jenny and I enjoyed having someone else to talk with, and the miles seemed to pass quickly. "Michael from Mountains" haled from Cape Cod, MA.

The sky was cloudy and the day cool - a good combination for reeling away the miles. The terrain was also conducive to higher mileages. I asked Mike what advice he might have for the aspiring AT hiker: "Don't let other people tell you what you can't do; don't let them place limitations on you."

Mike stopped for the day at the October Mountain Lean-to, and we pressed ahead to the "cookie lady's" house at Washington Mountain Road Click on "trail segment"
select "terrain"
then zoom out . There we obtained water from a spigot, by invitation of a sign, for the cookie lady herself was not at home.

Another half a mile of trail hiking, and we stopped at 8:22 pm, and pitched the tent near the trail.

Day's mileage: 33.6

Day 62, August 8

After a night of wracking coughing that seemed to strike me only when in the horizontal position, we set off at 5:12 am. Jenny had corrected the alarm on her wrist watch. Daylight revealed a clear sky, but soon a pervading fog moved in, keeping the morning pleasantly cool. We came upon a porky on the trail, who gave us some trouble getting around. It was the closest we've been to a porcupine and the closest we would care to be.

The morning's forest was a little boggy and the trail featured a great many split log bridges. We stopped at a creek to bathe, then after climbing Adams Mountain we descended into the town of Dalton Click on "trail segment"
select "terrain"
then zoom out . This section of trail was a new re-routing, and to our surprise and delight it lead past a Laundromat. With our hiking clothes, packs and sleeping quilt in the machines, we walked a block farther to a pharmacy/snack shop, and enjoyed a ham and eggs breakfast. The nearby bakery was closed, the day being a Sunday, but the pharmacy sold some of their pastries so we enjoyed a few fresh donuts.

After collecting our laundry we walked out of town and followed the trail as it climbed Crystal Mountain. After descending, we entered the town of Chesire. At one point a big, gnarly German shepherd dog came barking at us, teeth bared.

The trail led to the post office, but it avoided further commercial enterprises at the town's far end. We turned left onto Mass 8 Click on "trail segment"
select "terrain"
then zoom out and hiked five-tenths to a gas station convenience store. After enjoying a picnic, we returned to the trail and began the ascent of Mount Greylock. As we crossed one of the expansive fields at the base of the mountain, we caught a glimpse of a coyote trotting through the grasses. It was large and somewhat plump, like the one we had seen in Bear Mountain Zoo. The ascent of the mountain was quite a nice hike, particularly in its upper regions where the forest of gnarled trees brought to mind a scene of Tolkein's.

Reaching the summit, we were surprised to find it was only 3,400 feet in elevation. On the summit stood Bascom Lodge Click on "trail segment"
select "terrain"
then zoom out , where many tourists and day hikers mingled, enjoying the late afternoon ambiance. A small group of day hikers stood near their guide, who was reprimanding two of his students for wearing running shoes, unlike the boots he and his other students were wearing. I walked up to him and interrupted in jest: "Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing what you said about running shoes. I've worn these (pointing at my feet) 1,500 miles from Springer Mountain. Would you recommend I go back and start again wearing boots?" The students broke into laughter.

Inside the lodge we paid the clerk $1.50 each and enjoyed hot showers, the first in many a mile. The last, in fact, since Delaware Water Gap, 11 days previously.

Following the trail again, we met the two students in the running shoes returning from their outing. In smiles, they reported that they were "still alive." Darkness fell with an abruptness that seemed to be increasing with the advancing of the season, and we stumbled ahead over innumerable slippery rocks and roots. With only one flashlight, our procedure was for Jenny to hike in front, and I to follow very closely behind with the flashlight, trying to shine it around her on either side.

At one point she stopped abruptly and said: "There's an animal ahead; it might be porky." I went ahead with the light and found it was indeed a porcupine. I was impressed by Jenny's "night sense" and keenness in sensing the presence of an animal nearby.

We stopped at the trail junction to a parking area at 9:18 pm, and pitched the tent near the trail.

Day's mileage: 30.0